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EVAN ROBERTS AS A POET We cannot give a fair treatment to the life history of Evan Roberts without devoting a chapter to him as a poet. When the reader will have glanced over his poetical productions, which are found in this volume, he will see that we are amply justified in doing so. Some of these pieces are full of rich poetical ideas. About the age of twenty, his consciousness was filled with poetical aspirations. He brooded much over the matter, and sometimes expressed his experience in poetical forms. Examples of this are seen among his productions. In 1899, he wrote some letters from Mountain Ash to his friend John Hughes, a large portion of which is written in the form of poetry, and translations of them are given in this volume. Before long he offered one of his productions to the Editor of the bardic column of the South Wales Weekly News — Mr. David Jones (Dafydd Morganwg) — an able and cultured poet, a keen critic, and not easy to please. Unless there were some merit or signs of future development he would unhesitatingly refuse to publish the writers production. He had the capacity to detect a promising young man at once, and would do all he could to help him. The poet was perceived by him in the first piece of Evan Roberts, and he published it. Closely did he keep his eye on him for the next six years, and published a number of his pieces from time to time. Some of his editorial comments on these show that he thought much of the young poet, and regarded him as a coming man in this branch of literature. In Evan Roberts’s library I found the Biography and Work of the Rev. Robert Owen, of London, presented to him by Dafydd Morganwg as a token of esteem and small acknowledgement for his work. He also corresponded occasionally with Mr. Roberts until his death, in 1905; and in the last weeks he lived expressed his opinion of him thus to me — If Evan Roberts will keep on, he will be one of the foremost poets in Wales. I am pleased to think now that I did not wrongly estimate him more than five years ago, when I received his first attempt at poetising. We see by reading his poetry that his efforts in this respect had much to do with his mental development. In fact, these were very effectual in preparing him for his life’s great work. When leading his poetry thoughtfully, we find that it contains all his great and ruling ideas about the salvation of sinners. The salient points in his poetical productions are those ideas so greatly emphasised by him in his addresses in Revival meetings. The piece entitled, A Sacrifice for Thy Sake, has in it some of the most valuable and deepest ideas of Evan Roberts. This shows the great ability of its author to enter into the very spirit of his subject, to observe and describe the circumstances set forth in the piece. Scarcely can we find a more penetrative power to describe the feelings of people on board ship going for a voyage than in the first four lines. The spirit of the true poet is revealed in the last of them, where he says that sorrow had lost its existence or essence to the company on board. It is difficult to find a stronger line than this in poetry. After having shown the different ways in which the happiness of the company had manifested itself on board, the above forms a grand climax. A reflection on this piece in its different aspects will soon convince any unbiased reader that the author is a man of great promise. More, he will be compelled to admit that such poetical genius as is revealed in this is not found on all the pages of even the best authors. The ideas are full of moving power, and the description of the whole situation is almost perfect. The application in the last four lines, in which the death of Christ is brought in, is full of force, and indicate that the author has a true conception of the death on the Cross. The stanzas on the New Century bring out the ruling desires of Evan Roberts. These are the fruit of much meditation and a high degree of thoughtfulness. He shows an ingenious ability to express his ideas about the new century in the most appropriate figures. But what strikes us most is the last two verses. In these the desires of their author with regard to the church are given expression to. By this time he has realised these ideas to a very large extent. The Revival has brought out the spiritual energies of the church, and its light in Wales shines brighter than ever. Full of beauty and terseness are his verses on ‘Neither will they learn war any more’. These reveal his desire for peace in all circles of society, and show also the disastrous results of war. We perceive in his poetry, as we do in his addresses, the ability to put much in few words. The verses on the above subject are a good example of this. About the most beautiful of all his productions are his verses on ‘The Last Black Cloud’. To me they are the crown of all he has written in beauty. The first and Iast stanzas are rich in real poetical imagination, and cannot be easily surpassed. The piece on ‘The longing of a youth for his home’ is well worked out. Faithful is the way in which the experience of a young man from home is described in it. We can gather from the lines that their author has reflected on his experience, and has understood its most sacred elements in this connection. All the verses are powerful and natural, and some of them contain most telling ideas. The poet is revealed in all the verses on the subjects, ‘The Trodden Rose’, ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Expectation’, ‘But’, ‘Measure Thyself by a Greater One’, ‘The Soldiers Welcome Home’, ‘The Lark’, ‘The Sunday School Teacher’, ‘Thy Will be Done’, ‘Granny’, ‘The Lost Verse’, ‘The White Leaf of the New Year’, ‘Little Johnny and His Pitcher’, A Father and Mother’s Advice’, ‘Working for Jesus’, ‘The Strong Drink and Temperance’, ‘Whosoever will come shall not be rejected’, as well as others bound in this volume. His epigrams are some of the most trenchant things; and as for his hymns on the Holy Spirit and other topics, we may safely say that they contain the cream of the Gospel. Considering the age of the author, some of them are truly wonderful, and will stand side by side with the productions of the greatest Welsh hymnologists. Unnecessary it is to dwell any further on the poetical productions, seeing that the reader can judge for himself of their merit. However, they are of great interest in many respects, as they — (1) show what ideas engaged the mind of Evan Roberts at the time of their composition. The train of his thoughts are well represented in them. They are the product of seven years meditation on the subjects contained therein. (2) By them we are enabled to see the level on which the author thought in those years; and when we remember his age, it must be admitted that he thought on a very high plane. We do not find terms, thoughts, nor sentences in his poetry that betray weak and inferior mental capacity; rather, they reveal a strong, clear, and fruitful mind, and one possessing a rare gift of imagination. Only such a mind could produce such works as these (3) In them we see the high taste of Evan Roberts. A most refined and cultivated taste runs through them all; its superior is not found in the most gifted of young poets. Bad taste in young poets is often met, and is, to a certain degree, tolerated, if talent is detected in their work. Be that as it may, no sign of bad taste shows itself in the work of Evan Roberts (4) In many of the verses we find some of the most beautiful ideas, and those artistically clothed in the finest language. They contain true poetry, and will live as long as the Welsh language. (5) Whatsoever may be the imperfections of his poetry from the strict stand-point of poetical rules and small technicalities, this is certain it contains the germs of the sublimest poetry, and a prophecy of the development of poetical capacities of a superior order, if cultivated. The pieces contain a much more important thing than adherence to small rules, namely, the spirit of the true poet. But we are not so much concerned with the quality of his poetry as with the part his endeavours in this line played in his preparation for the great work he was called by God’s Spirit to accomplish in Wales. His efforts in this direction enriched his mind with ideas, developed his imagination, added to his vocabulary, and polished his language. He worked hard on a Welsh book which treated on the grammatical and other aspects of poetry. This study enlarged his knowledge, and strengthened his mind to think. The consequences of his poetical studies are obvious in some of his finest addresses. These contain flights of poetical imagination that cannot often be equalled. If he will continue to compose poetry as he does now, we prophesy a brilliant future to him as hymnologist.

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