The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-01 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth.
Popular Edition. One Vol. Pp. 704. Moxon.
In the form of a noble volume we have here the
only complete popular edition of the great philoso-
phic poet of nature, William Wordsworth. Within
the first quarter of a hundred pages are comprised
the Poems, written in youth, beginning with the
Extract penned iu 1786, and ending with the tragedy
of the Borderers. Afterwards come the Poems re-
ferring to the Period of Childhood, followed imme-
diately by those founded on the Affections. Next
in order are those on the Naming of Places—then
the Poems of the Fancy—then the Poems of the
Imagination. As a finale to the Poems of Fancy,
there are the four cantos of The Waggoner. And
as the sequel to the Poems of Imagination, the tale
in four divisions of Peter Bull. In three parts
are sulesequeatly arranged the noble sonnets
of a miscellaneous eharacter—"" best, beautiful "
among them all the Sonnet on the Sonnet. A
Sonnet than which no nobler was ever written by
Milton or by Petrarch. Memorials of Two Tours in
Scotland— taut of 1803 and that of 1813 —OCCUPY
the next position in this comprehensive collection of
the poetical works of Wordsworth. Then there are
placed in sequence—the two parts or divisions of the
group of poems Dedicated to Liberty and National
Independence. Referring to 18-20,-wc next Irma
Memorials of a Tour oa the Centineut —an 1 relating
to 13:37 Memorials of a Tour in- Italy. Sabj .fined
to the Series of Sonnets in honour of The Rile r
Duddon, come the seven cantos of The iVLite
Doe of Rylstone, in which the fate of the
Nortons is culebrated. Portioned out into
three parts, are the numerous Sonnets of an
Ecclesiastical character. Then comes Yarrow
Revisited, and after that Evening Volunteers. A
Tour in the Summer of 1833 will be found to have
suggested the next collection of Poems. Af erwar•ls
we have Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. Son-
nets, especially dedicated to Liberty and Order, aro
followed by Sonnets upon the Punishment of Death.
Purely Miscellaneous Poems are succeeded by In-
scriptionfe—then by Selections from Chaucer mo-
dernised—then again by Poems referring to the
Period of Old Age—then Epitaphs an t Elegiac
Pieces—then The Prelude—and firrelly, and to
crown all, The Excursion. Appendix, Prefacce,
Dedication, Postscript, Additional Poems, an
Index to the whole of the Poems, an 1n-
(1,.x to the first line of them all—such, ra-
pi•ily summarised, are the contents of a volume
coinpriNing within it the published attestations of
the poetic genius of Wordsworth. As a frontis-
piece to the book acro is all CLlglaViag from the
well-known portrait cf the venerable Poet of the
Lak,,s, by Pickersgill. The little celandine, the
daisy, the daffodil, the primrose, the snowdrop, are
among the flowers especially wreathing .a coronet
for Wordsworth. The cuckoo, the redbreast, the
green linnet, the skyl.trk, are among the familiar
birds singing his praises as if in hrat it ude for
having been sung by him. Anything ahnost— an
• idiot—a kitten playing with dead leaves—a robin
chasing a butterfly—an echo—a needle c7se—a
sea shell—a rock—a cloud—a:bird's nest—each in
' tun is theme enough for Wordsworth. .