Part 2 opens with poems about fortunate islands, former schools, lost affection, and middle age before expanding into reflections on summer, Christmas, homeland, travel, literature, and fame. Moving through Oxford, St Andrews, Tintagel, and Mediterranean landscapes, Lang remembers youth, vanished happiness, and the lingering sorrow of love in a gentle and lyrical voice. Poems about the book lover’s paradise, railway novels, neglected merit, and literary reputation humorously expose the fashions and pretensions of contemporary publishing and scholarship. The “Science” poems playfully address primitive humanity, evolution, and ancient belief, while the “Cameos” recreate Helen, Oedipus, Artemis, Isis, and other classical figures as brief and finely carved poetic scenes. Personal memory, classical myth, romantic loss, scientific speculation, and literary satire ultimately combine to suggest that art and remembrance continue to offer lasting consolation in a rapidly changing world.
