[Moses] swings along rather well,
Genial, slack verse that is easy to read,
The rhythms loose and ambulatory,
  The line lengths uneven,
  The language now formal, now colloquial,
  Echoes of the Bible mingling with knowing modern diagnosis,
  Hesitant about miracles, but coming down on their side in the end,
  Perfunctory in scholarship, but showing signs of reasonable background reading,
  Narrating, explaining, interpreting, sympathizing, even one might say
  Empathizing with his hero, whom he admires, admires,
  And more than admires—likes. For he's on Moses' side all right
  And keeps him human while demonstrating his greatness….
  Whether this ambulatory verse, chatty (almost) pre-film-script narrative
  Tells more of the story, or tells it better
  Than the Authorized Version of the Bible
  Is not perhaps a tactful question to raise.
  For Burgess is sorting out his picture of Moses
  For himself, a modern self, not making a holy record
  For a...