ABSTRACT
A substantial compilation has been made by Kenneth Hopkins in John Cowper Powys: a Selection from his Poems, London, 1964. The Feather is an interesting Powys symbol, to be associated with water-birds. Powys's favourite borderline of mists and clouds naturally shows an emphasis on whiteness. The colour is as emphatic here as in Rupert Brooke's poetry, with similar mystical connotations. As in Brooke a Face may appear, associated with whiteness. Death, whiteness, and sea are interrelated. In 'On the Downs' the poet is happy with the ocean, and Its drift of shells and shingle far from land, Far out to sea, where the great steamers go. The ship sailing heavenwards as silver flame on purple sea matches the end of The Brazen Head. Apart from the more general descriptions of ritual and practice, Cavendish's volume includes detailed accounts of astrology, alchemy and the symbolism of the Tarot pack.
