The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-22
VOGUES IN POETRY.

VUGUES In PUElRY.
To speak of vogues in poetry seems al
most absurd, and when poetry is consid-
cred in it's essence, simply poetry, it
becomes entirely so. What, then is to be
understood from a vogue" or ''vogIes,"
applied to the popular or rather, the
editorial demand for verse? The query is
one TO which it is difficult to give an eX-
plicit answer for, while the term vogue
when used in this connection, partakes
largely of the meaning of fad" there are
points in which a vogue differs materi-
ally from fad" A fad" may apply to
any one of ten thousand things that are
temporarily popular or it may apply, in
certain relations, to things of permanent
value that hold their places in the esteem
of the learned and the wise through the
lapsing ages Even the classics become
'fads" with many people when their better
informed neighbors begin to urge the i'm
portance of an acquaintance with them,
and it begins to be understood that an ap-
probation of them is, to certain extent
a passport into the best society. In such
instances the fad" becomes also benef-
cence, leading many minds into broader
and sweeter realms of thought than they
had dreamed of before.
"a vogue in literature" on the other
hand, means that certain FORMS manner
isms, trends of thought, methods of eX-
preston, tricks of construction, and even
peculiarities of technique, are promoted
into sort of hypercritical rage, and, while
the rage lasts, are looked upon as abso-
lutte requirements of art. In fiction almost
every successful novelist of the century,
from the author of ''Waverly'' to Ian
McClaren' Rudyard Kipling, has sue
ceeded in establishing a vogue" that has
lasted until some other 'star" has arisen
with newer, if not more taking methods
IN fiction it is the author, the publisher
and the public that establish vogue, and
its duration depends upon so many contin-
gencies that no seer is wise enough to fore
tell the ultimate fate of the Immediately
popular author. In poetry, however the
vogue is largely governed. if not created,
by the editors and critics; but even here
an author occasionally comes to the sur
face who either possesses such strength
and breadth of thought or such peculari-
ties of expression that he is hailed by the
people as q genius, and the demand for
him and his work forces the tardy acquies-
cence of the critics. But, as a rule, the
vogue in poetry is not the result of the
popular appreciation as it is in fiction. 1t
proceeds from the inner consciousness of
men and women who have set themselves
up as "tiXers' of the literary standards of
the age, and who assume to possess some
occult or otherwise superior knowledge as
to the elusive spirit of song, and are often
able to locate it where common people
would never think of looking for it, These
superior people edit great magazines and
journals of criticism, or are the favored
authorities to whom the editors yield obei-
sance. They are often very able, learned
and excellent people, but, after ALL they
are only human, and their judgments are
no more binding than those Of other men
and women of culture.
These purveyors of literature very often
establish, as far as they may, certain
canors to which all poetry must conform
in order, as they aver, to at once meet
the demands of art and the approval of the
public. These rules are in excess of the
ordinary rules of versification, and are not
infrequently founded upon the preferences
the fads, or even the whlms. of the critic
and his set. Usually these critics are poets
themselves, and, in some cases, write poet
ry of a very high order of merit The
trouble with them is that they narrow the
horizon of poesy until it includes only
limited field of view. the field which offers
to their own tastes and predispositions the
most grateful fruitage, or that ripens
cruder and coarser vegetation, in which
the average public is presumed to delight
Thus we find them on the one hand, riding
some pretty hobbies to death, or. upon the
other. introducing to the public, with the
seal of their approval, things that are de-
void of the spirit of poesy and only toler-
able by reason of some more or less sue
cessful attempt at hUmor or some trite
morality hidden under a brush pile of
weary verbiage. Vagueness of meaning.
something that makes the reader scratch
his head and read again and again in
search of the inspiring thought-if he cares
enough about it to do so-as one reads an
enigma or a puzzle, time after time. in
search for the required letters or words
that are hidden in its body, is one of the
Vogues dear to our modern editorial critics
and critical editors.
This misty foggy sort of poetry, where
the thought, if there be one. eludes you
and fits from you like a bat on a misty
evening when the moon is new is supposed
to be very suggestive, very Browningish.
indeed, because Browning, great poet as
he was. sometimes fell into a foggy mood
and wound a slender thread OF Thought
through long inVolutions, until il was SC
obscured and lost in the flow of words that
it became puzzle at which that class of
analytical enthusiasts who are most happy
when taking things to pieces. in order to
md hidden treasures within them, delight
TO toll. IT may be said of them that they
seldom fail to find the precious things Tor
which they seek. for if they are not there
Their maginations supply them, which is
quite as good.
Next to the puzzle poem, the short poem.
founded upon some theme drawn from
Greek or Roman history or mythology. or
unfolding some classical allusion Is a ia
yorite with our critics. Such verses may
De poetical or they may simply conform
70 the rules of rhythmical CONSTRUCTION
~ seems to make little difference, If they
give OIL the necessary flavor Of learning