The Bugle Song and Other Poems

Various

This splendid volume of some of the best poems from a fine selection of our greatest poets paints an ageless depiction of civilization's interaction with and questioning of the natural world. Glorious imagery combined with introspection concerning the plight of mankind prevails throughout this excellent collection.

However, amid the poems' vivid descriptions of nature's splendor runs a thread of another type of nature - the nature of being. This is a nature that brings into stark focus the ephemeral reality we share, it questions our direction, the paths we collectively tread and the destiny we all approach. Along our shared life paths we find ourselves surrounded by the beauty and diversity of the natural world, a rustic diversion from the remorselessness of a life that unremittingly approaches . . . who knows what.

Whether it be the trepidation coupled with urgency of Moore, "The rapids are near, and the daylight's past!", or the contemplative comparison of Goethe, "Fate of man mortal, how art thou like wind!", these five magnificent poems encompass common themes - the transitory quality of life itself and the uncertainty concerning that which awaits us; or in the words of Longfellow pondering the mysteries of "the Silent Land," just who or what will be there, "To lead us with a gentle hand / To the land of the great Departed."
- Summary by Bruce Kachuk

Genre(s): Anthologies

Language: English

Section Chapter Author Source Reader Time Language
Play 01 The Bugle Song Alfred, Lord Tennyson Etext Bruce Kachuk
00:01:50 en
Play 02 Song of the Spirits over the Waters Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Etext Bruce Kachuk
00:01:27 en
Play 03 A Canadian Boat Song Thomas Moore Etext Bruce Kachuk
00:01:34 en
Play 04 Song of the Silent Land Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Etext Bruce Kachuk
00:01:35 en
Play 05 Song of the Imprisoned Huntsman Sir Walter Scott Etext Bruce Kachuk
00:01:56 en