New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-04-17
From The Dial foI April.
WORDSWORTH AND TENNYSON,
az rALrn w.Ioo EMERaoS:

n
Tennyson, and Play by Henry Taylor. Words
worth's nature or character has had ali the tune 1t
needed IN order to make It's mark, and supply the
want of talent We have learned how to read him.
We have ceased to expect that which he cannot
give He has the merit Of Just moral perception,
hut not that Of deft poetic execution. How would
Milton curl his lip at such siPshod newspaper
style Many OF his poeIns,-as for example, the
Rylstone Doe might be all improvised. Nothing
of Milton, nothing Of Marvel, Of Herbert, Of Dry
den, could be. These are such verses as ID lust
state Of culture should be GERS de Soclete such as
every gentleman could write, hut none would think
OF printing or Of claiming the poets laurel on their
merit The Pindar, the ShaksPeare, the Dante
while theY have the Just and open soul, nave also
the eve to see the dinInest star that glimfners IN
the Milky Way, TIE serratnres Of every ieai' the
test objects OF the microscope, and then the tongue
10 utter the same things IN words that engraFc
them on all the ears Of mankind. The poet de-
mands all gifts and not one or two only.
The poet, like the electric rod, must reach from
a point nearer to the sky than all surrounding OBJ
jects down to the earth, and into the dark, wet
soil, or neither is Of use. The poet must not
only converse with pure thought, but ne must
demonstrate it almost to the senses bis words
must be pictures, his verses must be spheres and
cubes, to be seen, and srnelled, and handled.
fable must be good story and ITS meaning mus
hold as pure truth. In the debates on the Copy
night Bill, in the English Parliament MIR. Sergeant
Wakcly, the Coroner, quoted Wordsworth poetry
IN dcrision and asked the roaring House OF Com.
mons what hssmeant, and whether a man should
have public Ysward for writing such stuff. Ho
mer, Horace, Milton and Chaucer would defy the
Coroner While they have wisdom to the WISE
~, ,,o bay y
tcrnal meaning Colcridge excecntly sad OF
poetry, that poetry must first be good sense, as
palace might well be magnificent, but tlrst 1t must
be house
Wordsworth rs open to ridIcue OF this kind.
And yet Wordsworth, though satisfied II he can
suggest TO a sympathetic mind his own MOOD,
and though setting a private and exaggerated
value on his compositions, though conoundlng
his accidental with the universal consciousness,
and taking the public TO task for not admlring
his poctry,--is really a superior master OF the
English language, and his poems cvince power
of diction that is more rvaled by his contcm-
poraries, than is his poetic insight. But the CAPT.
tal merit of Wordsworth is, that he has done more
dor the sanity of this generation than any other
svriter Early in life, at Crisis, 1t Is SAID, IN his
private affairs, he made his election between as
Stunning and defending some legal rights with the
chances of wealth and position IN the world
and the inward proInptngs ofhs heavenly genus
he took his part; he accepted the call to be poet,
and sat down, far from cities. with coarse clothing
and plain fare to obey the heavenly VISION. The
choice he had made IN his will, manifested itself
IN every line TO be real We have poets VINO
write the poetry of society, of the patrcian and
conventional Europe, as Scott and Moore, and
Others who, like Byron or Buwcr, write the poetry
4 A. |, 4 L.,
self into his place, made reserves stipuaons;
man and writer were not to be divided he sat at
she foot of Helvelyn and on the margin of Winan-
slermerc and took their lusrous mornings and Their
sublime midnights for his theme, and not MARROW,
nor MassiDger, nor Horace, nor Milton, nor Dante.
He once for all forsook the styles, and standards
and modes of thinking Of London and Paris and
the books read there, and the aims pursued, and
wrote Hclveyn and Winandermcrc and the dim
spirits which these hauns harbored. There was
not the least attempt TO reconcile these with the
spirit of fashion and selishness, nor TO show with
great Difference TO the superior judgement OF Duke5
and Earls, that although London was the home Tor
men of great parts, vet Wcstmorcland had these
consultations for such as Fate had condemned TO
the country Gfc but with u complete satisfaction,
he piticd and rcbukcd their false lives, and celc-
brated his own with the religion of q true priest.
Hence the auagonlsm winch was immediately
selt between his poetry and the spirit OF the age,
chat here not only criticism, but conscience and
vill were parties the spirit OF literature, and inc
modes of living, and the conventional theories oil
the conduct Of life were called III question: "i
wholly new grounds,-not nom flatohlsii, nor
from Christianity, but from the lessons which the
country muse taught stout pedestrian climbing
a mountain, and in following river from ITS
parent rill down to the sea. The Cummings and
Jcffrcys of the Capital, the Court Journals and
5Aterary Gazettes were not we'll pleased and voted
the poet bore. But that which rose IN hlm so
nigh as 70 the lips, rose IN many others as high
as TO the heart. What he said, they were pre-
pared TO hear and confirm. The influence was
IN the air, and was waited up and down INTO lone
and into popuous places, resisting the popular
taste, modifying opinions which ]. did not change
and soon came to be felt in poetry, IN cy:tlclsm IN
plans of life, and at last IN legislation. In tbs
country, it very early found strong hold, and lis
effect may be traced on all the poetry both OF Eng
land and America.
But notwithstanding all Wordsworth's grand
merits, ii was great pleasure 10 know that Al
fred Teanysons two volumes were coming out IN
the same ship; ii was great pleasure to receive
them. The elegance, the wit.nd subtlety of this
writer his rich fancy, his power of language, his
aetrical skill, he independence on any living mas
ters his peculiar topics his taste for the costly and
gorgeous, discriminate the D,usky poet Of gardens
and conservatorics of parks and palaces. Perhaps
we felt the popular objection that he wants rude
truth, he is too fine, In these boudors OF damask
aud alabaster one is farther off from stern nature
and human life than in Lalla Rookh and The
Loves of the Angels, Amid swinging ceasers and
pegfulned lamps amidst velvet and glory we long
Tor rain and frost Otto OF roses Is good but wild
air is better critical friend OF ours atfr!ns that
the wee, which bereaYed modern painters of their
a.. L.. Il. q. l,.,-.