James's Reviews > Selected Poems

Robert Graves led a long and productive life – despite being reported as killed in action at the battle of the Somme, he lived until 1985 and produced other successful and well-known works including ‘Goodbye to All That’ (his autobiography) and the ‘I, Claudius’ novels (written as an autobiography Roman Emperor Claudius) – which were then later successfully dramatised for television.

After having been deeply impressed and affected by reading the war poetry of Owen and Sassoon, this collection of Graves output concerning the Great War and/or written at the time of the war or after, unfortunately came as something of a disappointment. I found it difficult to connect with and take much away from most of these poems. I found the vast majority of the works here overwhelmingly esoteric, infused as they are with metaphor, simile and analogy – and as such somewhat impenetrable. Perhaps it was my level of understanding, but essentially I don’t take much away from any literature that has to be actively studied to be understood? Whilst I can appreciate that there is music and lyricism in the words and in the structure – but as to meaning, that was more often than not sadly often lost on me as being impenetrable.

The majority of the poems here seem to those that just happen to be written at the time of the Great War and for the most part have love as their central subject along with references to the classics, mythology and biblical stories? Not that poetry written by a poet at that time had to be about war necessarily…clearly Graves is seemingly a very different kind of poet.

This is a large collection of works and as such there are some poems that shine out for me in and amongst (as per below). It is just that these poems are overwhelmed by and hard to find amongst the ones that held little or no meaning for me.

Armistice Day, 1918
The Patchwork Quilt
At Seventy Two
The Sweet Shop Round the Corner
Recalling War
The Untidy Man
A Dead Boche
Warning to Children
Call it a Good Marriage
The Suicide in the Copse
The Last Day of Leave
Two Fusiliers

Whilst I understand and appreciate that this is essentially perhaps another kind of poetry or at least drawing overwhelmingly from different inspirations and subject matter – ultimately for me, this collection lacks the power and impact of his then contemporaries, Owen and Sassoon.