(Download) "Cap and Gown" by Frederic Lawrence Knowles # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: Cap and Gown
Author : Frederic Lawrence Knowles
Release Date : January 04, 2004
Genre: Poetry,Books,Young Adult,
Pages : * pages
Size : 100 KB

Description

The gay verses which celebrate undergraduate life must not be taken too seriously. They seldom pretend to the dignity of poetry. College verse, if I understand it, is verse suited to the period and point of view of undergraduate days. Light, graceful, humorous, sparkling, —this it should be for the most part; serious sometimes, it is true, —for young men and women about to take upon themselves the responsibilities of mature life are at heart by no means frivolous, but touching the note of grief, if at all, almost as though by accident. Life is often sad enough in the after-years, and for the period of sorrow, sad verse may be in place. Happier still if they never need make such a sorry exchange. Yes, like all sound art, college verse must, above all else, be honest. Let us not say, however, that the thoughtful moods of young men and women may not sincerely be set to the music of verse. One department in this collection bears the name 'In Serious Mood', and its sentiment rings as true as that of any other. In looking over very many undergraduate papers, I have been struck with several facts. I will give them for what they are worth, leaving their explanation to others. First, there seems to be a general fondness for the sonnet, and a very general lack of success in writing it. Second, the French forms of light verse are exceedingly popular—particularly the rondeau, ballade, and triolet. These, more easily lending themselves to gay moods than does the sonnet, are written with much greater success.