This collection of poems was published in 1951.
C. Day Lewis was an Irish borne poet and Poet laureate (1968-72). He also wrote mystery stories under the Pseudonym Nicholas Blake. As a poet he came under the influence of W H Auden and in 1932 he was part of the tripartite with Auden and Stephen Spender who published New Signatures. He had arrived as a poet, but supported himself with his mystery stories and other publications. He became a member of the communist party in the 1930's and his commitment to Marxism influenced some of his poetry.

Lewis has selected the poems himself and has written a curious self effacing preface; accusing himself of not developing as a poet and saying that his work has deteriorated in recent times. He says that the reader may notice many changes or fresh beginnings from this selection, but no development. this might account for the layout of the selection which starts with section 1 Lyrical and Reflective Poems 1937-47 before moving on to two long narrative poems in section 2 and then finishing with Lyrical and Reflective poems 1929-36. Lewis goes on to say how the reader should approach his poems;

"To approach a new poem, armed with all the latest instruments of criticism, and ask those to tell us whether we ought to admire or dislike it is none the less an imbecility for being rather common practice today. We must be able to enjoy before we learn to discriminate. The chief value of criticism is to deepen his understanding of a poem which already appeals to him."

This is a collection of 55 poems and I had a positive reaction to 26 of them and seven of those I liked very much. There were 5/6 that I could not get into, either because they were obscure or that I had no interest in the subject matter. As for the rest they were poems I would have no interest in re-reading. I think that liking nearly half of the collection is a pretty good ratio. Reading a collection of poems like this can reveal repeated themes. Some of his best poems are about youth and childhood with glimpses into the future and with an air of mystery. He writes about relationships, some of which show a keen sense of humour and others lean towards loneliness and death. There are a couple of excellent love poems. Towards the end of the collection there are a collection of 'political' poems and the theme that emerges is of the sacrifices that need to be made to achieve a better (Marxist) world. Some of these are almost like a call to arms and become a bit monotonous. He is a good observer of nature and it infuses some of his poems about childhood and fond memories.

Many of his poems have a rhyming scheme and they show a poet who has worked hard at making them scan well. I have the feeling that he has worked hard to make his poems, there is not much evidence of spontaneity, I could be wrong about this. I like his use of imagery, for example when talking about mutability in the poem Beauty's end is in sight, he says

"And sprouting seed crack our cemented heart"

In another poem "My Love is a Tower" he has the image of "time mumbling at the base" and eventually the tower will fall and:

"He has no strategy/Unless he suck up the sea/And pull the earth apart"

The poetry avoids allusions to classicism and for the most part there are no difficulties in vocabulary. 4 stars ( )