This poem by Gerald Louis Gould (1885 - 1936) is one that is quoted often. The main idea is that we limit ourselves and set up our own boundaries in our heads so that we cannot fulfill our potential.
From the very first line, Gould personifies east and west and makes them the limitations of a layman's thoughts and imagination. The poet expresses his insatiable desire to move beyond this and his refusal to stay in one place for long.
The call of nature (the sea, the stars and the sky) is tempting him to visit places that he has never visited before, even though the journey is full of uncertainty.
Gould is from Norwich, and is an alumnus of University College in London, plus Magdalen College in Oxford.
Gould was part of the propaganda section, an official in 1914, which has been suggested as a reason why he wasn't producing much poetry concerning the war.
During this time he was also a Daily Herald journalist and a Lansbury's Lamb, a optimistic youthful gentlemen who helped produce it after it was bought by George Lansbury in 1913. Other members of this group were Douglas Cole, Francis Meynell, William Mellor and Harold Laski.
From the very first line, Gould personifies east and west and makes them the limitations of a layman's thoughts and imagination. The poet expresses his insatiable desire to move beyond this and his refusal to stay in one place for long.
The call of nature (the sea, the stars and the sky) is tempting him to visit places that he has never visited before, even though the journey is full of uncertainty.
- Gerald Gould
Gould is from Norwich, and is an alumnus of University College in London, plus Magdalen College in Oxford.
- The war years
Gould was part of the propaganda section, an official in 1914, which has been suggested as a reason why he wasn't producing much poetry concerning the war.
During this time he was also a Daily Herald journalist and a Lansbury's Lamb, a optimistic youthful gentlemen who helped produce it after it was bought by George Lansbury in 1913. Other members of this group were Douglas Cole, Francis Meynell, William Mellor and Harold Laski.
- Family life
