Highly Rated

Not sure why, but I've never rated Longfellow. Not that I'd ever read much, but I'd vaguely got the impression, from a distance, that he represented the commonplace in terms of mid-nineteenth century verse - and I mean 'verse' rather than 'poetry'. Vaguely pleasant but essentially dealing in romantic clichés after the fire of Romanticism had died away. Nothing to write home about, to throw another cliché on the fire or, rather, the embers of that splendid but sort-lived movement.

So when I read his poem Snow-Flakes over at Carol Rumens's surpassingly excellent Poem of the Week page at the Graun it came as a bit of a shock to realise how wrong I'd been. It's a brilliant piece. I immediately wanted to commit it to memory. Just gorgeously sad and superbly crafted and meant. And, as is often the case when Ms Rumens's picks a belter, the comments BTL are themselves responsively excellent.

I recall having to completely rethink my attitude to Tennyson when I had to teach him for 'A' level back in the 90's. Looks like there's more of the same to come with Henry Wadsworth as soon as I can get my hands on a juicy Selected.