made him write such poems as _The Recruit_, _The Street Sounds
to the Soldiers' Tread_, _The Day of Battle_, and _On the
Idle Hill of Summer_? Change the colour of the uniforms, and these
four poems would fit today's tragedy accurately. They are indeed
superior to most of the war poems written by the professional poets
since 1914.

Ludlow, for ever associated with. Milton's _Comus_, is now and
will be for many years to come also significant in the minds of men as
the home of a Shropshire lad.




CHAPTER III

JOHN MASEFIELD


John Masefield--new wine in old bottles--back to Chaucer--the
self-conscious adventurer--early education and
experiences--_Dauber_--Mr. Masefleld's remarks on
Wordsworth--Wordsworth's famous Preface and its application to
the poetry of Mr. Masefield--_The Everlasting
Mercy_--_The Widow in the Bye Street_ and its
Chaucerian manner--his masterpiece--_The Daffodil
Fields_--similarities to Wordsworth--the part played by the
flowers--comparison of _The Daffodil Fields_ with
_Enoch Arden_--the war poem, _August 1914_--the
lyrics--the sonnets--the novels--his object in writing--his