This is copied from the publisher's website (Macmillan):

The Rattle Bag is an anthology of poetry (mostly in English but occasionally in translation) for general readers and students of all ages and backgrounds. These poems have been selected by the simple yet telling criteria that they are the personal favorites of the editors, themselves two of contemporary literature's leading poets.

Moreover, Heaney and Hughes have elected to list their favorites not by theme or by author but simply by title (or by first line, when no title is given). As they explain in their Introduction: "We hope that our decision to impose an arbitrary alphabetical order allows the contents [of this book] to discover themselves as we ourselves gradually discovered them--each poem full of its singular appeal, transmitting its own signals, taking its chances in a big, voluble world."

Penelope wrote: 1. Adieu, Farewell, Earth’s Bliss
By Thomas Nashe 1567–1601[/i]

I came across some information that puts this poem in context. For starters, it is from a play.

Alongside this running dispute, Nashe produced his more famous works. While staying in the household of Archbishop John Whitgift at Croydon in October 1592 he wrote an entertainment called Summer's Last Will and Testament, a "show" with some resemblance to a masque. In brief, the plot describes the death of Summer, who, feeling himself to be dying, reviews the performance of his former servants and eventually passes the crown on to Autumn. The play was published in 1600......
He remained in London apart from periodic visits to the countryside to avoid the plague - a fear reflected in the play Summers last will and Testament, written in the autumn of 1592. William Sommers, whose comments frame the play, was Henry VIII's jester. It includes the famous lyric:

Adieu, farewell earths blisse,
This world uncertaine is,
Fond are lifes lustful joyes,
Death proves them all but toyes,
None from his darts can flye;
I am sick, I must dye:
Lord, have mercy on us.

I think the criterion of personal favorites is as good as any. I also like the arbitrary arrangement by alphabet. My favorite way of listening to Beatles' songs is the A-Z format that radio stations sometimes use.

My copy of the book is published by Faber & Faber in 1982.

On the back cover, this what it says:

Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney write: The verse we have chosen is meant....to amplify notions of what poetry is. We have, for example, included a number of poems from oral cultures - hunters' prayers, charms, incantations of various kinds - which fill an emotional space that literary verse tends to leave empty. We have used much contemporary verse in translation because this often reaches its way towards awareness not commonly touched on by the vernacular literature. And we have fetched material from America fairly deliberately since this part of the English language inheritance is not as current here as it might be.

Lovely!!! And I remember now, that this blurb is what made me want to read it.

Penelope wrote:My copy of the book is published by Faber & Faber in 1982...Lovely!!! And I remember now, that this blurb is what made me want to read it.

Penny, I think you've picked a winner. After a peruse of the list of poems, I am very excited about the collection.

I often when I go somewhere new try to picture it through the eyes of some who may have come before me,

"And the eyes staring at strange places and times"

from After Looking at a Book.... hit me like a punch in the gut.

Number 4:



Afterwards by Thomas Hardy



When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay,
And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings,
Delicate-filmed as new-spun silk, will the neighbours say,
'He was a man who used to notice such things'?

If it be in the dusk when, like an eyelid's soundless blink,
The dewfall-hawk comes crossing the shades to alight
Upon the wind-warped upland thorn, a gazer may think,
'To him this must have been a familiar sight.'

If I pass during some nocturnal blackness, mothy and warm,
When the hedgehog travels furtively over the lawn,
One may say, 'He strove that such innocent creatures should come to no harm,
But he could do little for them; and now he is gone.'

If, when hearing that I have been stilled at last, they stand at the door,
Watching the full-starred heavens that winter sees
Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more,
'He was one who had an eye for such mysteries'?

And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom
And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings,
Till they rise again, as they were a new bell's boom,
'He hears it not now, but used to notice such things'?

No. 233 in the Top 500, by the way . The man recalled in the poem is how I picture Hardy himself would like to be recalled. With all the concern that we might have for our "legacy," this puts into perspective what is really worth striving for in life.

I think I told you that my son was researching our family tree. He has got back to 17th century with my husbands branch and up to 1790 with mine.

But what is nice is when you can see an obviously nice person. Their reputation stays. So my own Grandmother, was something of a black sheep (which I knew) but her sister - Zilah!! - was such a kind and generous person that stories of her live on.

I'm aiming to be like Zilah! - pronouced Zilla - Aunt Zilla.

I'm afraid that we learned that Thomas Hardy was a bit of an old grump in his old age. But this poem shows his inner self, not so.

DWill wrote:I think by 'editorial decisions,' giselle might have meant why the editors selected these poems and not others. Did they just go with a "these are our own favorites" approach, or do they have something to say about criteria for selection? The title "Rattle Bag" is evocative of something, I'm just not sure of what.

Yes, I am interested in the editorial decisions because Hughes and Heaney are reknowned poets in their own right and so I'm thinking about their 'criteria' and whether or not there is a particular theme or themes. I note that this book is a companion to "The School Bag", a selection of poems for students. Also, I had wondered where I had heard the expression 'rattle bag' before and then I found this:

How to Use a Rattle Bag

There are quite a few ways to lure deer when you're out hunting. One of the simplest and least expensive methods is rattling. You can use basic rattling techniques to catch a buck's interest and cause him to wander over your way. One of the favorite hunter's tools to do this is a rattle bag.

Instructions

Hold the rattle bag in one hand and sharply hit the bag with the palm of your other hand in order to make a reasonably loud sound that imitates the sound of two bucks' antlers hitting against each other.

Use both hands to methodically rub or grind the "antlers" against each other in the bag. This should be a much quieter sound than the initial crack in step one. Continue for about five to six seconds.

Rest for several seconds and resume the grinding.

Continue this grinding and resting pattern for 30 to 45 seconds.

Rub the "antlers" against each other one last time as you separate them in the bag.

Refrain from using the rattle bag again for at least 30 minutes before repeating the process.


So, is this book a 'rattle bag' of poems ... poems that grind together in a certain way and produce a certain result? do they attract 'deer'? and what happens to the deer? or is this just a catchy book title with no particular intent?