Word: motifs
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...speaking tour he stops at the house of Sally, his oldtime sweetheart. There, in her bedroom, the play ducks into the Christmas Carol motif. First he sees three children - himself, Sally and a playmate. But when he tries to play with the children, other people interfere, the figures of his mature life intrude, demand speeches, advance fragments of his own mouthings...
This strong yet simple motif is what gives the piece a backbone and makes of it, a coherent entity. Such long narrative poems must be more than a collection of vivid images to make a lasting impression on the reader. The undiscriminating bunches of images and short imaginative flights so often strung into a narrative of sorts would be much better chopped up into separate lyrics. They need to be strongly and vigorously subordinated to the central motif so that they do not stand out as an occasional flashing jewel on a wire but, as Mr. Morrison succeeds so well...
Once an important industry was ship-building at Portsmouth. A ship under construction is the motif of the State seal. But because no ship has been built in New Hampshire since the War (and not because the barrels in the seal-picture contained rum) there is a persistent movement to change the seal to New Hampshire's famed "Old Man of the Mountains...
...make a highly nattering photograph of a lovely lady in an exotic attitude: lying on her back on the floor; peering from a bunch of balloons; reflected in a mirror. To this is added a not nearly so flattering drawing and a slightly malicious little essay. The motif of many of his photographs and all of his drawings is charmingly and stuffily Edwardian, the epoch which is presently amusing England's Bright Young People. Photographic effects which he loses by scratchy, amateurish retouching are regained by cleverly arranged profusions of artificial flora, drapery, gimcracks, for Photographer Beaton is admittedly...
Again the animal motif is seen in the bronze censer surmounted by three lions, which in spirit resemble the Babylonian rather than the Assyrian. Though this piece is not of the same importance artistically as those already mentioned, still as an example of a decorated house-hold utensil it is not without interest...