New-York daily tribune., 1844-05-03
Iv,IrrR SAVAGE LANDoR.
,.ou.. xyw SPIRIT OF THE ACE BY Il. L HoRNEl
CONTINUED.

viii perhaps be discovered in future years than
in the solitary course of Walter Savage l.andor
amidst the various lights of his day" Tic ha'
iucontestibly displayed original genius as a VII
ter; the highes, critical lacuity--t!lat sympathy
with genius and knowledge which can only re-
sui, from imagination and generous love OF lru;'i
and also fine scholarship IN the spirit AS well
as the latter OF classical attainnen,s. But the
public, tacitly, has denied his charms or worse
admitted them with total MISUNDERSTANDING f;'I
from its benumbed fingers, woEk after work, not
because any ono ventured TO say, or perhaps even
to think, the books were unworthy, bat because
the hands were cold. a writer OF original genius
NAV be popular in his lifetime, as sometimes
occurs, by means of certain talents and tracts
comprehended in his genius; by the aid of start
ling novelties, or by broad and general effects
and by the excitement of adventtlous circuri
stances ON which ground is to bo worked the
problem of Lord Byrons extensive populaTi;y'
with tho very same daily and yearly reading
public that made mocSs and moves at Coleridgc,
and Wordsworth and Shelley, and Keats. But
as a general rue, the originality Of man, say
and do what he may, is necessarily in itself an
argument against hIs rapid popularity. In the
case of Mr. Landor, however, other causes then
the originality of his faculty have opposed his
favor with the public. He has the most select
audience perhaps,-thc ittcst, ewest,-of any
distinguished author of the day; and this of his
choice "Give me- he said IN one Of his pre-
faces, ten accomplished men for readers, and
am content and the event does not by aiiy
means so far as could desire, oatstrip tie
,nodesty, despair, or disdan, OF this aspiration
He writes criticism Tor cn'ics, ana poetry ior
poets his drama, when he is dramatic, will suppose
neither pit galery,nor crltlcs,n dfamatcjaws
He is not publican among pocis-hc does not
sell his Amreeta cups upon the highway. He
delivers them rather with the dignity of givor,
to ticketed persons analyzing their favor and
fragrance with learned deicacy, and appeal
to the esote,ic His very spelling OF English is
uncommon and theoretc. Tie has vein Of hu-
NOR which by its own nature is peculiarly subtle
and evaslve; he therefore rctiues upon ii, by lis
art, in order TO prevent anybody discovering it
without a grave solcitous, and courtly approach,
which is unspeakably ridiculous 10 all the parties
concerned, and which no doubt the author Sc
crety enjoys. And as if poetry were not, in
English, sufficiently unpopular dead language
he has had recourse to writing poetry in Latin !;
with dissertations on the Latin tongue TO fence
it out doubly from the populace. "Odi profaaun
puLguS, ct a1cco."
Whether Mr.. Landor writes Latin or English
poetry or prose, he does it all with certain arts.
and respected the cunning of his right hand. At
times he displays an equal respect for its willul-
ness. In poetry, his ''Gcbir, )" the Phocmans "
and some other performances take high classic
rank He can put out extraordinary power boIl,
in description and situation; but the vitality,
comprehcnded in the power, docs not overflow
along the inferior portions Of the work, SO TO
sustain them 10 the level of the readers continued
attention. The poet rather builds up TO his Oau
elevations than carries them out and on and the
reader passes from admiration 10 admiration, by
separate states or shocks and not hy u continuity
of interest through the intervals of emotion.
Thus it happens that his best dramatic works.
those, the impression Of which on the mind is
most definite and cxcellcnt,-arc fragmcntary
and that his complete dramas arc not often read
through twice, even by readers who applaud
them, but for the sake OF particular act
scene.
A remark should be made on Mr.. Landar's
blank verse, in which the poems just named and
several Others are written. 1t is the very best Of
the regular syllable class the versifcation Of
"numbers," as they have been Enthusiastically
called by the schools. His blank verse is not
only the most regular that ever Was written, but
il is the most sweet, and far less nono,onous
than we should expect Of q musical system which
excluded occasional discorGs. 1t mas all the
effect of the most melodious rhyming heroic
verse; indeed, II often gives the impression of
elegiac verses in rhyme. AS blank verse it is
very bad model There is more freedom in lis
dramatic verse, and always the purest style.
His dramatic works Except the compact little
scenes entitled Pentalogia,' which are admlra-
blc,) are written upon an essentially undralnatjc
principle; or, more probably, on no principle at
ALL MIR. Lander well knows all the laws"
and they seem to provoke his will to be lawloss.
In this species of drama-looking composition liz
displays at times the finest passion, the most
pure and perfect style Of dramatic dialogue, and
an intensity of mental movements, with their
invisible, undeclared, yet necessarily tragic re-
SUITS all of which prove him to possess the most
wonderful threc-iourths of great dramatic
genius which ever appeared in the world. But
the fourth part is certainly wanting by way Of
making good his ground to the eyes, and ears,
and understanding of the masses. In his I" An
drea of Hungary" the action does not commence
ull the last scene of the third act and IS not
continued in the first scene OF the fourth Instead
of the expected continuation, after all this pa
tence, the confounded reader has his breath
taken away by the saunte,ing entrance of Boo
cacio-the novelist-accompanied by Fiamlnctta,
who having nothing whatever to do with the
drama, the former sings her p little song This
extremely Ilee-aDu-cdsy style Ol uedClHH tlc
boards is SO very new and delightful that it OK
cites the idea of continuing the scene by the In
PRODUCTION of the Genius Of the Drama. with
paper speech coming out Of his mouth, on which
is inscribed the Laws OF Concentration and Con-
tinuty, the Laws Of Progressive action, and the
Art of Construction. To whom, Enter the An
thor, ,cith cGst-aet. He makes his cast to ud-
miraton; trips up the heels of the Genius OF the
Drama, and leaves it sprawling. 1t is his own
doing.
In whatever Mr.. Landor writes, his power,
when he puts it forth is of the FIRST order. He is
classical IN the highest sense. His conceptions
stand out clearly cut and tnc, in magnitude
and nobility as far as possible removed from the
small and sickly vagueness common TO this Gen.
tury Of letters. II he seems obscure at times, 1t
is from no inirmi,y or inadcquacy of thought or
word, but from extreme concentration, and invo.
luton in brevity-for short string can be tied