The commonplace needs no defence,
Dullness is in the critic's eyes,
Without a licence life evolves
From some dim phase its own surprise;

Under these yellow-twinkling elms,
Behind these hedges trimly shorn,
As in a stable once, so here
It may be born, it may be born.


"The Bungalows", line 45, from A Shot in the Park (London: Jonathan Cape, 1955).


The commonplace needs no defence, Dullness is in the critic's eyes, Without a licence life evolves From some dim phase its own surprise; Under these...

The commonplace needs no defence, Dullness is in the critic's eyes, Without a licence life evolves From some dim phase its own surprise; Under these...

The commonplace needs no defence, Dullness is in the critic's eyes, Without a licence life evolves From some dim phase its own surprise; Under these...

The commonplace needs no defence, Dullness is in the critic's eyes, Without a licence life evolves From some dim phase its own surprise; Under these...