Tag Archives: Robert Louis Stevenson

“From a Railway Carriage” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
 Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
 And charging along like troops in a battle,
 All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
 All of the sights of the hill and the plain
 Fly as thick as driving rain;
 And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
 Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,
 All by himself and gathering brambles;
 Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;
 And there is the green for stringing the daisies!
 Here is a cart run away in the road
 Lumping along with man and load;
 And here is a mill and there is a river:
 Each a glimpse and gone for ever!

“Time to Rise” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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A birdie with a yellow bill
   Hopped upon the window sill,
 Cocked his shining eye and said:
   "Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head?"

“Away with Funeral Music” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Away with funeral music -- set
   The pipe to powerful lips --
 The cup of life's for him that drinks
   And not for him that sips.

“Grown about by Fragrant Bushes” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Grown about by Fragrant bushes,
 Sunken in a winding valley,
 Where the clear winds blow
 And the shadows come and go,
 And the cattle stand and low
 And the sheep bells and the linnets
 Sing and tinkle musically.
 Between the past and the future,
 Those two black infinities
 Between which our brief life
 Flashes a moment and goes out.

“Requiem” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Under the wide and starry sky,
   Dig the grave and let me lie.
 Glad did I live and gladly die,
   And I laid me down with a will.

This be the verse you grave for me:
   Here he lies where he longed to be;
 Home is the sailor, home from sea,
   And the hunter home from the hill.

BOOKS: “A Child’s Garden of Verses” by Robert Louis Stevenson

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A Child's Garden Of VersesA Child’s Garden Of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Until recently, I was only acquainted with Stevenson as a novelist, but I had a powerful experience with his poem “The Hayloft” (included in this collection.) I was intrigued by how a poem written by a nineteenth century Scot could prove so nostalgia-inducing for me, having been a 20th century American farm-boy. So, I read the collection, and found that “The Hayloft” was only one of many examples that had such an effect. Others include: “Land of Counterpane,” “Block City,” and “Land of Nod.” The nostalgic power of the poems derives from the fact that Stevenson does a phenomenal job of capturing a child’s enthusiasm for play, and in that regard I’m sure the collection will resonate more broadly than just I, or even than just farm kids.

Afterall, there’s a lot of Stevenson’s experience that is dissimilar to mine. Besides his era and his nationality, his mentions of nurses, gardeners, and cooks is surely much different from my own upbringing, being devoid of household staff. But the book only needs to draw upon that love of play and imagination to take one back.

For a work from the nineteenth century, this collection of 50+ lyric poems has aged well. There is the occasional word like “gabies” or “whin” to send one to a dictionary, but those archaic or obsolete terms are rarities. Furthermore, the lyricism of the poems makes them easily read or sung.

I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers, particularly children or those looking to reexperience childhood.

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“The Hayloft” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Through all the pleasant meadow-side
   The grass grew shoulder-high,
 Till the shining scythes went far and wide
   And cut it down to dry.

These green and sweetly smelling crops
   They led in wagons home;
 And they piled them here in mountain tops
   For mountaineers to roam.

Here is Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail,
   Mount Eagle and Mount High --
 The mice that in these mountains dwell,
   No happier are than I!

O what a joy to clamber there,
   O what a place for play,
 With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air,
   The happy hills of hay!

“Where Go the Boats?” by Robert Louis Stevenson [w/ Audio]

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Dark brown is the river,
 Golden is the sand.
 It flows along for ever,
 With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
 Castles of the foam,
 Boats of mine a-boating --
  Where will all come home?

On goes the river,
 And out past the mill,
 Away down the valley,
 Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
 A hundred miles or more,
 Other little children
 Shall bring my boats ashore.

BOOK REVIEW: The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon page

This novella has become more than just another Victorian sci-fi story. The central idea is a kernel that has been revisited in so many popular characters, perhaps most notably Marvel’s “Incredible Hulk.” The titular characters often feature in books, movies, and stories that use the Victorian literary world as their stomping grounds (e.g. “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and “Van Helsing.”)

It’s hard to imagine that anyone doesn’t know the gist of this story. [Spoiler, if you’ve lived under a rock your entire life.] Dr. Jekyll succeeds in splitting off his dark side, and soon comes to regret it. Whereas Mr. Hyde is usually portrayed as gargantuan on film, in the book he’s dwarfish—representing only a part of the whole. It’s telling that it’s impossible to get to reading this book without knowing the twist from a million references to it in pop culture—e.g. the Looney Tunes cartoons.

Still it’s worth reading the original. It starts with a lawyer telling one of his friends a ghastly tale in which a vile, little man—Mr. Hyde–runs into a girl, and then stomps over her body as he makes his exit. The lawyer becomes concerned when he learns that his good friend and client, Doctor Jekyll, is leaving all his worldly possessions to the dastardly Hyde for reasons the lawyer cannot fathom. The book may not be action packed by today’s standards, but it does have good pacing and revelation of information. The descriptions of grotesquery are also gripping. The story is also told in a manner that is very different from how it would likely be told today, and that also makes for interesting reading. Furthermore, it’s short–less than 100 pages over 10 chapters.

I’d recommend this book for anyone who is interested in the classics of science fiction and speculative fiction.

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