Poems
Places And Men
In Sussex here, by shingle and by sand,
Flat fields and farmsteads in their wind-blown trees,
The shallow tide-wave courses to the land,
And all along the down a fringe one sees
Of ducal woods. That ‘dim discovered spire’
Is Chichester, where Collins felt a fire
Touch his sad lips; thatched Felpham roofs are these,
Where happy Blake found heaven more close at hand.
Goodwood and Arundel possess their lords,
Successive in the towers and groves, which stay;
These two poor men, by some right of their own,
Possessed the earth and sea, the sun and moon,
The inner sweet of life; and put in words
A personal force that doth not pass away.
Flat fields and farmsteads in their wind-blown trees,
The shallow tide-wave courses to the land,
And all along the down a fringe one sees
Of ducal woods. That ‘dim discovered spire’
Is Chichester, where Collins felt a fire
Touch his sad lips; thatched Felpham roofs are these,
Where happy Blake found heaven more close at hand.
Goodwood and Arundel possess their lords,
Successive in the towers and groves, which stay;
These two poor men, by some right of their own,
Possessed the earth and sea, the sun and moon,
The inner sweet of life; and put in words
A personal force that doth not pass away.
Analysis (ai): The poem aligns with Victorian sensibilities in its reverence for landscape and historical memory, yet departs from grand narratives typical of the period by centering on overlooked creative figures rather than aristocracy or empire.
- Subject and Theme It contrasts inherited power—represented by ducal estates and lasting architectural forms—with the enduring influence of two poets, Collins and Blake, whose spiritual connection to place supersedes material ownership.
- Representation of Artists While Blake is often remembered for his mysticism and Collins for melancholy, the poem emphasizes their emotional immediacy and lived experience in these locations, framing them as intimate inhabitants rather than symbolic figures.
- Less-Discussed Angle The assertion that these “two poor men” possessed nature more fully than the titled elite reverses Victorian hierarchies of value, suggesting that artistic perception confers a deeper claim to place than lineage or land.
- Comparison to Other Works Unlike Allingham’s more folk-inflected or lyrical pieces, this poem adopts a reflective, almost elegiac tone focused on legacy, placing it closer in intent to his later meditative verse.
- Within the Author’s Oeuvre Among his lesser-known works, this stands out for its explicit engagement with literary ancestry and regional identity, positioning Allingham as both observer and participant in a poetic tradition rooted in real geography.
- Form and Structure The sonnet-like octet leads into a sestet with flexible rhyme, blending descriptive precision with conceptual argument, a formal shift that mirrors the transition from landscape to legacy.
- Modern Resonance Though pre-20th century, the poem prefigures modern concerns about cultural ownership and the role of the artist in defining place, particularly in how creativity challenges institutional permanence.
- Language and Diction Archaic phrasing such as “doth not pass away” and “dim discovered spire” lends a timeless tone, elevating the poets’ contributions beyond their historical moment.
- Tone and Irony The understatement of “two poor men” carries quiet irony, undermining the visible power of aristocratic “lords” while asserting the lasting presence of poetic vision.
William Allingham (19 March 1824 – 18 November 1889) was an Irish poet, diarist and editor. He wrote several volumes of lyric verse, and his poem “The Faeries” was much anthologised. But he is better known for his posthumously published Diary, in which he records his lively encounters with Tennyson, Carlyle and other writers and artists. His wife, Helen Allingham, was a well-known artist, watercolourist and illustrator.
