Complete Verse

by Hilaire Belloc

Here is the distinctly surreal world of Henry King, who perished through his 'chief defect' of chewing little bits of string; of dishonest Matilda whose dreadful lies led her to death by burning; and of Godolphin Horne who 'held the human race in scorn' and ended as the boy 'who blacks the boots at the Savoy'.





Here too are the beautiful lyrics of longing and loss; the sonnets and epigrams; the hugely enjoyable Bad Child's Book of Beasts - not to mention More Beasts for Worse Children; and The Modern Traveller, one of the finest satirical poems in English.





Complete Verse reveals all of Hilaire Belloc's dazzling range and makes plain why he is one of the most truly popular poets of modern times.

Genres: Poetry

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc, French-born British writer, is considered a master of light English prose and also widely known for his droll verse, especially The Bad Child's Book of Beasts in 1896.

The sharp wit of Belloc, an historian, poet, and orator, extended across a large literary output and strong political and religious convictions. Throughout his career, he prolifically wrote across a range of genres and produced histories, essays, travelogues, poetry, and satirical works.

Cautionary Tales for Children collects humorous yet dark morals, and the historical works of Hilaire Belloc often reflected his staunch Catholicism and critique of Protestant interpretations. He led advocates of an economic theory that promoted and championed distribution of small-scale property ownership as a middle ground between capitalism and socialism, alongside Gilbert Keith Chesterton, his close friend.

In politics, Hilaire Belloc served as a member of Parliament for the Liberal party, but the establishment disillusioned him. His polemical style and strong opinions made him a controversial figure, who particularly viewed modernism, secularism, and financial capitalism as threats to traditional Christian society in his critiques.

Reviews

[Terence Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume contains all Belloc's extant verse, including privately printed and some "not hitherto printed for general circulation." The verse is divided by type: Sonnets; Verses and Songs; Epigrams; Ballades; Satires, Imitations and Grotesques; Epigrams; and, of course, Cautionary Verses. Belloc's greatest strength, I think, lies in his humorous rather than serious verse. Sometimes it's difficult to draw the line; his most humorous verse is his most successful serious verse. (My personal favorite is "The Fanatic.") There are probably a lot of lines here you'll recognize, without having known they originated with Belloc.

The editor did a noble job collecting all these verses. My copy is beautifully made, a strong hardcover with thick pages and good readable font. There are no notes, editorial or historical, and one feels the lack. Belloc is often commenting on contemporary characters and events, and unless you're a real Belloc fanatic (more power to you if you are), you're likely to miss a lot.

[Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was mostly a joy to read (but sometimes uncomfortable in terms of outmoded attitudes regarding imperialism and ethnicity) and I can understand why Belloc is regarded as one of the great comic poets of the 20th Century.

Of course, not all his poems are humorous. The serious and sober ones are nothing special and, frankly, rather boring. I found little amusement or inspiration in the sonnets that open this volume. There are also some poems that bend the knee to the establishment and these rather reactionary verses left a sour taste. Things improved when the 'ballades' section was reached, and from then on the book became more and more entertaining.

The most remarkable poem in this large collection is 'The Modern Traveller', a very long mock-epic that is a satire on the West's colonisation of Africa. It is funny and a little unpleasant in turn, with an unstoppable momentum thanks to Belloc's mastery of rhythm and rhyme.

In fact Belloc's main strength is his use of jingle-jangle singsong clattering rhythms in which the eye of the reader is compelled to descend through the lines of the poems at high speed, rather in the manner of a ball bouncing down the steps of a spiral staircase. I love this percussive and tumbling poetic style. When it is in the service of absudist (sometimes nonsensical) material and presented with an ironic sanf-froid, the results are deeply satisfying.

Not technically his best poem, but one of my personal favourites, 'Tarantella' demonstrates this technique of his very well. It zings along, evoking a scene vividly, and it is also a musical pleasure for the inner ear. Here is the poem in full:

Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?
And the tedding and the spreading
Of the straw for a bedding,
And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,
And the wine that tasted of the tar?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
(Under the vine of the dark verandah)?
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda,
Do you remember an Inn?
And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers
Who hadn't got a penny,
And who weren’t paying any,
And the hammer at the doors and the din?
And the hip! Hop! Hap!
Of the clap
Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl
Of the girl gone chancing,
Glancing,
Dancing,
Backing and advancing,
Snapping of the clapper to the spin
Out and in–
And the ting, tong, tang of the guitar!
Do you remember an Inn,
Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?

Never more;
Miranda,
Never more.
Only the high peaks hoar:
And Aragon a torrent at the door.
No sound
In the walls of the halls where falls
The tread
Of the feet of the dead to the ground,
No sound:
But the boom
Of the far waterfall like doom.

[Steve Clark]

Pimlico (1991). (1991)