Note 66 — 13. That Literary Wanderer, E. V. Lucas

“The metal bar, cold or lukewarm, will do anywhere, but heat it to melting-point and you must confine it within the rigid limits of the mold or see it at length but an amorphous splash at your feet.” This vivid metaphor of Mr. Pritchard’s is surely one of the most inspired explanations and justifications of poetic form ever set down. It can hardly be cited except by the supporters of traditional verse forms, as in a preceding sentence of his eloquent passage Mr. Pritchard speaks of “rime” and “metre” as well as of rhythm.