The Poetry of John Greenleaf Whittier: A Readers Edition by John Greenleaf Whittier

The Poetry of John Greenleaf Whittier: A Readers Edition Reviews

• 
  Betsy

  I really enjoyed Joliff's annotations at the beginning of the poems. Selection and organization are well done and help make Whittier accessible.
• 
  Greg

  Whittier was a writer of popular verse. My favorite in the entire collection is not a verse poem, ironically, but “Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyll.” I can think of nothing that better evokes the time and place than this bit of prose, and it is beautiful. That being said, his verse is quite famous. My favorite selections from this volume are:
  
  

  “When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
  When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
  When the funds are low and the debts are high,
  And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
  When care is pressing you down a bit,
  Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
  
  Life is queer with its twists and turns,
  As every one of us sometimes learns,
  And many a failure turns about,
  When he might have won had he stuck it out;
  Don’t give up though the pace seems slow-
  You may succeed with another blow.
  
  Often the goal is nearer than,
  It seems to a faint and faltering man,
  Often the struggler has given up,
  When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
  And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
  How close he was to the golden crown.
  
  Success is failure turned inside out-
  The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
  And you never can tell how close you are,
  It may be near when it seems so far,
  So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
  It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit”

  
  
  From “Ichabod”
  

  Oh, dumb be passion’s stormy rage,
  When he who might
  Have lighted up and led his age,
  Falls back in night

  
  
  From “Official Piety”
  

  A pious magistrate! Sound his praise throughout
  The wondering churches. Who shall henceforth doubt
  That the long-wished millennium draweth nigh?
  Sin in high places has become devout,
  Tithes mint, goes painful-faced, and prays its lie
  Straight up to Heaven, and calls it piety!

  
  
  From “Maud Muller”
  

  For all sad words of tongue or pen,
  The saddest are these: “It might have been!”

  
  
  From “Mabel Martin”
  

  Beautiful in her holy peace as one
  Who stands, at evening, when the work is done,
  Glorified in the setting of the sun!

  
  
  
  
  See my other reviews here!
  
• 
  Kristen

  I love John Whittier. I would personally rate him the best American poet, second only to Emily Dickinson. I wonder why he isn't quite as famous as the others. My favorite poem is "Choose Something Like a Star," which I understand is often misattributed to Robert Frost. Here's my favortie stanza:
  
  Say something to us we can learn
  By heart and when alone repeat.
  Say something! And it says "I burn."
  But say with what degree of heat.
  Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.
  Use language we can comprehend.
  Tell us what elements you blend...
  
• 
  Luke

  Guess what... Jolliff edited this book