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 The Chinese Chanting of the Classics

one to theother,althoughthedetails
thematicresemblance
may vary infinitely, the same man singing the same poem
at differenttimes. The general effectof the
differently
monosyllables, each one ofwhich is a word, is clear and nasal
in quality, with the soft yet nasal ng sound of the French
languagemuch in evidence.
It is interesting to think of the probable effecton an Anglo
Saxon audience of reciting one of our own classical lyrics,
sayHerrick's To Daisies, not to shut so soon, in this oriental
fashion. The "closeness of the Chinese soul", of which Carl
Sandburgwrites so assuredly,has decidedlyits limitations.
Eunice Tietjens

A JITNEY-BUS AMONG MASTERPIECES

A type of criticism coming into vogue lately is of the sub

jectiveor pseudo-impressionist
variety,imitative
of theleisure
lymode of thematuremindsof certaindistinguishedFrench
critics. Butthe minds of those in this country who affect
the method are anything but mature-in years or in expe
rience. Having acceptedas theirmottoAnatole France's
remark that criticism is a soul's adventures among master
pieces, it does not occur to them that it may make some
differencewhether the soul is, or is not, well qualified for
the adventure. I often feel,when reading such criticism, as
if I had been asked to take a jitney-bus sight-seeing tour
througha metropolisofmasterpieces-ornear-masterpieces,
as it may happen. With these the guide is indifferently
familiar, but familiar at any cost, and their raison d'etre as

[39]
POETRY: A Magazine of Verse

explained by him is somewhat vague: "On the right, ladies

and gentlemen, this is in a style I do not care for. On the
other hand, this on the leftmeans much to us. This I like.
This, althoughverybeautifulin its time,is impossible
today.
Why? But, of course, you know!"
For criticism of this type is no more exact than that. It
does not "come to grips" with anything. (I have been wait
ing a long time to use that phrase; I have seen it in almost
every article I have read for the lastmonth!) In fact, noth
ing is easier than this sort of criticism, when there is no
real thought back of it. It is, often, only too obviously the
product of a lazy mind; a lazy mind that tries to protect
itselfby affectinga knowingness thatcoversignoranceand
inertia.For it isnot necessary,in thistypeof criticism,to
have anybackground whatever.
All criticismis,of course,subjectiveand personal. But it
only becomes of value through the critic's attempt to relate
his subjectiveand personalfeelingsto theobjectivequalities
of thework criticised. If he does not so relate it, his personal
reaction is of no value whatever.

In this country we have a dire need of constructive or

criticism. I do not like the term"creativecriti
synthetic
cism," as I think it is itself partially responsible formuch of
and unspecific
thevalue of irrelevant
thedelusionconcerning
criticism noted above. Criticism may not be as parasitic as
the mistletoe, but it adheres to the thing criticised as tena
ciously as the bud to the tree. Otherwise it is not criticism,

[40]
 a Jitney-bus among Masterpieces

not even creativecriticism;it is somethingelse. Pater's

eulogy, for instance, of Leonardo's Mona Lisa is not criti
cism; it is an entirelyseparateliterary taking
performance,
Mona Lisa's smile as a starting point. It is no more criti
cism than Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn. The urn was a
perfected work of art, and propagated another work of art,
as art forms are capable of doing; but no one would claim
thatKeatswas indulgingincreativecriticism.
However, I have no desire to indulge in an argument
over this term, an argument capable of being prolonged in
and never settled,like thatotherequally futile
definitely
argumentover thedividinglinebetweenproseand poetry.
I merely wish to indicate thatwhen a definitework is under
consideration, as for instance in a review, constructive or syn
thetic criticism may not be arrived at through a shunting of
for exact thoughtand exact ex
the critic'sresponsibility
pressionin relationto the thingcriticised. It is, rather,
thedirectresultof these. A. C. H.
ARMENIAN POETRY

The Armenian poemswhich followappear in English

for the first time. They are the lamentations of a race that,
in spiteof fivecenturiesof subjection,remainsone of the
naturallypoeticpeoplesof theworld. These poemswere
not written by intellectuals but by untrained men and women
whose inheritance for more than two thousand years has
and arid periodsinAr
beenpoetic. During the turbulent
when massacres and deportationbrought
menian history,
[41]