[261] Recompense
I have not heard lutes beckon me, nor the brazen bugles call,
But once in the dim of a haunted lea I heard the silence fall.
I have not heard the regal drum, nor seen the flags unfurled,
But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world.
I have not seen the horsemen fall before the hurtling host,
But I have paced a silent hall where each step waked a ghost.
I have not kissed the tiger-feet of a strange-eyed golden god,
But I have walked a city's street where no man else had trod.
I have not raised the canopies that shelter revelling kings,
But I have fled from crimson eyes and black unearthly wings.
I have not knelt outside the door to kiss a pallid queen,
But I have seen a ghostly shore that no man else has seen.
I have not seen the standards sweep from keep and castle wall,
But I have seen a woman leap from a dragon's crimson stall,
And I have heard strange surges boom that no man heard before,
And seen a strange black city loom on a mystic night-black shore.
And I have felt the sudden blow of a nameless wind's cold breath,
And watched the grisly pilgrims go that walk the roads of Death,
And I have seen black valleys gape, abysses in the gloom,
And I have fought the deathless Ape that guards the Doors of Doom.
I have not seen the face of Pan, nor mocked the Dryad's haste,
But I have trailed a dark-eyed Man across a windy waste.
I have not died as men may die, nor sin as men have sinned,
But I have reached a misty sky upon a granite wind.
-- Robert E. Howard
|
For those of you who have never heard of Robert E Howard, he was to
swords-and-sorcery what Tolkien was to high fantasy. His Conan books
practically defined the genre for later authors; he stands along with
Tolkien as one of the founders of modern fantasy.
Unlike Tolkien, he did not intersperse his novels and stories with poetry;
nonetheless many of his poems clearly inhabit the same general fantasy
universe that his fiction does. Today's, for instance, deals with the
age-old theme of a barbarian commenting on civilized life; there is, of
course, little doubt as to where Howard's own sympathies lie.
As for the poem itself; as befits a barbarian's outpourings, it is more
energetic than polished; a somewhat disconnected sequence of highly vivid
images expressed in strong, masculine couplets[1]. The imagery is, of
course, instantly familiar to anyone who has read any sword-and-sorcery
fantasy; while it does at times appear cliched I have to wonder how much of
that was due to Howard's influence on the field.
[1] masculine rhymes are those that rhyme on the final syllable only.
Then again, long exposure to fantasy has meant that even the triter phrases
are laden with associations, and thus evocative when set against the
backdrop of the genre. Which is only appropriate, given how heavily the
genre was influenced by Howard - it has in a sense helped lend his own works
a certain measure of timelessness. I do have a few complaints against the
poem - the occasional break in scansion, a few words I wish he'd avoided,
and especially the abruptness of the ending - but they're far outweighed by
the sheer cornucopia of strange and wondrous images.
m.
Biography:
The Britannica, oddly enough, doesn't deign to list either Howard or Conan.
There is also (somewhat ironically) a lot more on the net about Conan than
about Howard; still, I did manage to find the following biography:
http://www.spe.sony.com/classics/www/misc/about.html
Here's an excerpt, but do follow up te link, if only for the Howard quote at
the beginning:
Robert Ervin Howard was born in Peaster, Texas in 1906. The son of one of
the southwest's most prominent pioneer physicians, Howard's youth
coincided with the last days of Americas frontier culture, a fact that
would forever influence him and his stories.
Very early on, Howard steeped himself in the folklore and history of the
southwest, the Rio Grande valley. He became fascinated with the legendary
virility and strength of the pioneers and delighted in the innate poetry
found in the exploration of virgin land.
At the age of 15, he began writing his yarns, tales of savage men living
outside the rest of society, battling against other men, for land and
pride. Though the circumstances and settings changed, the hero, or
anti-hero, was always somehow a shade of the same creature--part savage,
part nobleman, part poet, part pioneer--not unlike Howard himself.
Always described as an imposingly tall, dark, brawny man with piercing
blue eyes, Howard's characters were as much himself as they were pulled
from his extraordinary imagination. Howard's mentor and friend, the
legendary father of pulp fiction H.P. Lovecraft, described him as "a lover
of the simpler, older world of barbarian and pioneer days, when courage
and strength took the place of subtlety and stratagem, and when a hardy,
fearless race battled and bled...the real secret [of Howards stories] is
that he himself is in every one of them..."
Links:
http://pages.ripco.net/~bbb/howard.html is a pretty comprehensive Howard
site.
http://collins.wssnet.com/gentzel/reh/index.html is worth a look, too
Howard fandom is alive and well - see
http://www.robjob.com/rehupa/samples.html
and the web ring at http://markbutler.8m.com/conanwebring.htm
From: Ron Evans <cosmos41@>
Largely artless, boring, replete with strained alliteration and
mechanical internal rhymes that fail to compensate for the obvious --
Howard had nothing to say in this poem and did his subject justice with
his crude, fumbling imagery and utter lack of poetic sensibility. The
kindest thing that can be said of this poem is that it is short enough
to keep most readers from falling asleep. Sorry, Robert...no cigar.
From: Joseph William Marek <josephwilliammarek@>
I read the previous comment, plus your own, on the Howard poem
"Recompense." I don't know why you chose this particular poem, but I
think you're selling him short.
During the first half of 1929 he was published regularly in serious
poetry magazines before abandoning poetry to write prose exclusively.
(I can supply a list if you want.)
Howard's best work, both poetic and prose, has strong evocative
language. There is a literary journal, The Dark Man, dedicated to
Howard's work, that you should know about.
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From: Frank Coffman <fcoffman@>
I must respond to your posting and the commentary and
criticism thus far presented on Robert E. Howard's
"Recompense."
First of all, your biographical reference needs to be
altered (or at least supplemented for comparison) to the
following URL:
http://www.rehupa.com/short_bio.htm
This biographical synopsis, by Rusty Burke (who is working
on completion of what will be the definitive REH biography,
supplanting the decidedly flawed work of L. Sprague deCamp)
is at the REHUPA (Robert E. Howard United Press Association)
web site [well worth general perusal].
To compare REH to JRRT is not entirely inaccurate --
especially with reference to their influences on later
fantasy ("Sword & Sorcery" and "High Fantasy" [as you term
Tolkien's variety]. Both had some antecedents, but Tolkien
was decidedly following such mythopoeic pioneers as William
Morris and Lord Dunsany (albeit decidedly more successfully
-- at least in terms of popularity than either of these
"High Fantasy" predecessors). Howard's invention of what
has come to be known as S & S was more purely invention,
more purely his own.
Also, it is wrong to maintain as you do that "he did not
intersperse his novels and stories with poetry," as many
prose chapter epigrams are directly from his own original
poetic work or from others -- G. K. Chesterton in
particular.
I must differ from your assessment of "Recompense" as a
"barbarian outpouring," "more energetic than polished." I
definitely disagree with your assessment of the poem as
"barbarian comments on civilized life." While, for whatever
it might be worth, I can't disagree that the couplets that
make up the AABB stanzas, are definitely masculine-rhymed.
The poem, of course, is personal and the voice is Howard's
own (so "barbarian" only in a vicarious sense). It is a
commentary on the power of the creative imagination and the
beck of fantasy and NOT upon barbarism vs. civilization --
although REH does touch often upon that theme.
What you (and Mr. Evans as initial critic) have not noticed
is that the essentially heptameter couplets are not guilty
of any lapses in scansion. The meter is a fine literary
adaptation of the folk ballad, the 7-beat lines being
essentially iambic with MUCH anapestic variation to achieve
the lilting rhythms. Furthermore, the couplets are actually
literary ballad stanzas arranged differently on the page.
Notice that 4343/ABAB would be the pattern of each
heptameter "rhymed couplet" if they were divided on the page
into segments -- thus: 4 and 3 make 7.
This also supports my further contention that the "internal
rhyme" (not really internal at all, but only so by
arrangement) are NOT wrenched by any means.
As for Mr. Evans hasty dismissal and sketchy assessment, I
sometimes believe that T. S. Eliot was right in maintaining
that only poets should judge poetry. His critical
commentary was at least short enough so that I did not fall
asleep. Robert E. Howard might not eventually rank among
the great names of American poetry. I believe this is
largely due to the general dismissal of popular literature
and even popular culture by so-called "serious" critics. Bu
Howard's decided poetic skill, extremely informed poetic
sensibility, and brilliant imagery will make him read well
beyond the day when Mr. Evans' critical works are forgotten
(if they ever become generally known).
Mr. Evans throws out condemnations quite easily but supports
no charges made against the poetic skill of Robert E.
Howard, whose "Recompense" is far from being the work of a
poetaster throwing out slipshod verse. The fact that REH is
known almost exclusively for his prose is not reason to pass
hasty judgment upon his poetic output, which, if it is not
all gold, yet there is much gold in it.
Frank Coffman
Professor of English
Rock Valley (IL) College
Editor, THE DARK MAN: The Journal of Robert E. Howard
Studies
From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@>
--- Frank Coffman <fcoffman@> wrote:
> I must respond to your posting and the commentary and
> criticism thus far presented on Robert E. Howard's
> "Recompense."
Thank you for your long and detailed response - it's a pleasure to have someone
take the time to explain why he disagrees, rather than merely abusing us for
our stupidity. (Yes, we have had this happen).
> First of all, your biographical reference needs to be
> altered (or at least supplemented for comparison) to the
> following URL:
>
> http://www.rehupa.com/short_bio.htm
>
> This biographical synopsis, by Rusty Burke (who is working
> on completion of what will be the definitive REH biography,
> supplanting the decidedly flawed work of L. Sprague deCamp)
> is at the REHUPA (Robert E. Howard United Press Association)
> web site [well worth general perusal].
Bookmarked!
> Also, it is wrong to maintain as you do that "he did not
> intersperse his novels and stories with poetry," as many
> prose chapter epigrams are directly from his own original
> poetic work or from others -- G. K. Chesterton in
> particular.
Here I confess myself ignorant - I've only read two of the Conan novels. Thank
you for the correction. I find that interspersed poetry is a definite draw in a
fantasy novel - could you recommend a good Howard work in that area?
> I must differ from your assessment of "Recompense" as a
> "barbarian outpouring," "more energetic than polished."
I'll return to this later...
> I definitely disagree with your assessment of the poem as
> "barbarian comments on civilized life." While, for whatever
> it might be worth, I can't disagree that the couplets that
> make up the AABB stanzas, are definitely masculine-rhymed.
> The poem, of course, is personal and the voice is Howard's
> own (so "barbarian" only in a vicarious sense). It is a
> commentary on the power of the creative imagination and the
> beck of fantasy and NOT upon barbarism vs. civilization --
> although REH does touch often upon that theme.
My assessment was based on lines like
I have not knelt outside the door to kiss a pallid queen,
But I have seen a ghostly shore that no man else has seen.
and the whole of the second verse. The 'barbarian' cast was ill-chosen
(influenced by the Conan books) - in retrospect, I meant something closer in
spirit to the adventurer seeking out the lonely places of the world. The
player's alter ego in Zork and related adventure games comes closer, perhaps.
My problem with the 'beck of fantasy' reading is that, viewed purely as
representatives of the fantastic, there is nothing to choose between the two
sets of images. The things that the narrator "has not seen" are as firmly
entrenched in the list of fantasy archetypes as those that he has - they merely
draw upon the more 'civilised' aspect of a canonical fantasy world.
> What you (and Mr. Evans as initial critic) have not noticed
> is that the essentially heptameter couplets are not guilty
> of any lapses in scansion. The meter is a fine literary
> adaptation of the folk ballad, the 7-beat lines being
> essentially iambic with MUCH anapestic variation to achieve
> the lilting rhythms.
Yes, and I'm very embarrassed by that. Rereading the poem, I cannot see why I
thought the scansion in any way flawed, or even which lines might have tripped
me up.
> Furthermore, the couplets are actually
> literary ballad stanzas arranged differently on the page.
> Notice that 4343/ABAB would be the pattern of each
> heptameter "rhymed couplet" if they were divided on the page
> into segments -- thus: 4 and 3 make 7.
> This also supports my further contention that the "internal
> rhyme" (not really internal at all, but only so by
> arrangement) are NOT wrenched by any means.
Conceding entirely the rigour and elegance of the verse form, I'd like to
return to my 'unpolished' comment. It was a judgement born of disappointment -
when I first read the poem, I was entranced, and swept along by the imagery and
the rhythm, but when I took a closer look at it, I was struck by its
disconnectedness. While any given line is as beautiful as one may wish, the
poem as a whole is vaguely incoherent - there is no real progression, and the
sequencing of the images seems altogether random. Far more grave (in my
opinion) is the abruptness of the ending - the strong, metrical lines that
should have firmly and definitely rounded off the poem instead seem to bring it
to a precipice and drop it off, so that I was left with a sense of
incompleteness. This feeling of incompleteness persists no matter how often I
reread the poem, or how often I tell myself that logically it does end neatly
enough. Indeed, were it not for the ending I doubt I'd have noticed the earlier
disconnectedness, but like a snipped-off rope the unterminated ending leaves
some frayed strands showing.
I must add that I would never have run the poem if I didn't like it (I'd go as
far as to say 'love it') - I just don't think it's as flawless as you do.
martin
From: "A.C.Tambeau" <runic@>
Hello, Gentlemen.
I'd like to comment on this poem, but as I lack the technical expertise
that your education has provided both of you, I fear that I'll be
somewhat less exact. It is to be hoped, however, that I'll be as
eloquent.
This is one of my favourite poems, and I must have read it a hundred
times. I like the rhythym of the thing, the -feel- of it, especially the
fifth stanza, which is the most exciting in my opinion. I -love- the way
he states his accomplishments, the way his tone dares any to belittle or
devalue them while remaining as humble as possible. To me, this says "I
have done a hundred things you cannot fathom". While many I've discussed
the poem with call it hackneyed and cliche, it must be (and thankfully
has been) considered that Howard was a pioneer of the genre. This is the
price one pays for being the example others emulate.
The thing I like best about the poem is the narrator himself. As a
nordic barbarian we can assume that the culture which produced him
relies heavily on heroic death to gain entrance to the final reward, he
has not followed a life which has led him to glory. Rather, he has lived
in the places between places, not facing his enemy head-on, but as a
skulking tracker, a spy, and a pioneer into dark places. He stands
outside his culture, as a counter-example to the virtues his society
proscribes, and therefore has been judged by his own beliefs alone. Much
like the narrator of Robert Frost's famous poem, he 'took the road less
travelled by, and that has made all the difference.' He's lived a life
less ordinary but no less full than others. While he may not have "...
died as men may die, nor sin as men have sinned" , he has achieved his
final reward.
Thanks for reading!
From: mark.shipley@ Mon Jan 9 17:00:14 2006
Gentlemen:
I think you misjudge Howard. He is not writing of a fictional
character's thoughts. His poem is a fairly powerful record of a strong
writer's vivid inner world. Howard is disappointed that he himself is
not a fantasy hero, or even a man of great note. Howard's "recompense"
for not being a hero is the strength of his own inner vision and fantasy
life. In his mind he has "seen the dragons come fire-eyed across the
world."
I must confess to not giving a great deal of value to expert meter
and poetic technique. I am far more interested in imagery and the way a
poem acts upon my own emotions. Howard's poem succeeds well on this
level.
The only sad note to the poem is that one is not quite convinced
that Howard's "recompense" really sufficed. He killed himself at age
29, a disappointed and bitter man who could not defeat his own
psychological foes.
Mark Shipley