New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-03-12
My PUBLICATIONS.
srODDl2DpS POETRY.

M the Younger Amer can poe.s, no one bs' NAN
..in.d greater eobsi.tnsy with bis early promise
during course OF ever. widening, though not YET
completed development, than the dainty anger
who here presents new Offering from his simmer
ur;me 10 succeed the vernal blossoms whose ira
Grant ,uee,p-,s and beauty have been prophetic OF
rich maturity.
Mr.. sxoddard has uxurian. fancy, temper+
m,nt Alive 10 all the forms Of sensuous impression,
a passion for the subtle refDemebe OF cohcePa'h
and of aI gusge and singular susceptibility 10 the
contagious influence Of poetic thought and imagery.
With hi, natural love for the melody Of dlcaon and
N. entertainments Of fancy, be comb nes an earnest
,udy Of the poetic art. II is in the aspect OF arr
rather than Of passion, that poetry makes t strong
est appeal to bis mid. lie is not the suolect OF
those enthusiastic eIcitements which hft the poet
above himself, 5ire him with conscousne"
which he can scarcely recognize az his own, cothe
the universe in vail Of weird Illusions AM pour
Themselves out in & gush Of Involuntary verse a.
their only appropriate or possible u'teraoce. On
the contrary, be ia always self possessed always
,o,,ter of his own emotions always critical even 10
bis most cres,ve moods always nicely dssec'ing the
phenomera Of passion, and with consunmate acute
ne,s and kill noticing their adaptation as materials
of Ant. He is not haunted By thoughts winch sp'n-
tapeously move harmonious numbers lie 10 never
the fool of emotions which strive for expression in
lyrjc forms. But be daIlies lovingly with bis fancie'
a, though they had inspired him with gratitude for
takirg ouch beauteous shapes beneath his Pla'ac
hand. Like the engineer who thought that rivers
were made to feed catals, he seems 10 regard the
flow of human experience as designed to supply the
poet with moving power He does not gain relief
BY writing from the glow Of pent-up Gres, but re-
oices in the strings of the soul, no less than In
the spectacle of nature az afording the warp and
wool for the exquisite weaving by which he fash
ions the experience of life into the pictures oil
poetry.
His delight in the work of construction IS genune
and intense. However laborious it may be, he
loves it for itself He writes poetry for the
,ake Of writing 1t. The example of poetic success
in others e1erts magnetic influence over his own
mind. Hence be derives high inspra ion from
the study of his favorite writer's. The great i'm
apinatiye spirits who rule in the realm of modern
poetry easily bring him under the dominion of their
draw too largely from their urns, instead Of COM
muninq with the vital heart of nature, be has too
much force and individuality of genius to become
their docile imitator. From profound Interior SYM
patby. he Yields himself 10 the magic of their en-
t;c4ments. but gives the form aud coloring OF his
o,yn mind 70 tho impressions for which he is most
obviously indebted to their intimacy. Ia many re-
,pect,. Stoddsrd is the child Of the age. tie lives
in the emotions to which the experience OF others
has ayen poetic expression. The spirit OF discon-
tent, of aspiration, of sensuous idolatry OF social
protest, which has found so many echoes in the
present century, has ef no trace OF bitterness In
his heart, but is turred to more genial issues as
source of poetic illustration. The tones OF restless
LONGING which breathe through SO much of poetry
of Byron, Shelley Keats, TenDyson, with more or
less reference 10 their own inward history, are often
repeated by Stoddard in numbers OF haent sweet
ness, but divested of their personal character and
used solely for the purposes Of art They doubtless
toncb his sympaihes r..eucUEe biu for the time,
and nroupt the utteranee of an exquisite song,
while the inner current Of HE being gdes on IN in
accusto med channels.
R,ery thiog he writes is marked by careful and
conscientious finish. The love of form predomnates
in his mind, and permits nothing of imperfect SYM
metry TO proceed from his PEN His subtle concep-
lions are elaborated with minute precision; be is
never impatient to give them the last touch although
be often leaves them in dim, uncertain light which
fails to sppease the imagination Of the reader. The
action of the moral sentiments is not a faysriA
theme in the present volume. Nor does the author
usually delight in the delineation Of what is noble
and lovely in character. His admiration Of exser-
nal nature also, shows less the worshiper at her
chosen shriDes than the receptive student Of rural
poetry. Subjects from classic tradition, bright and
delicate jets OF fancy subtle expression Of passion,
are among the materials which most strongly attract
g. NAL earnestness. In the
g. realm of thought, apart
From all that wrngs the heart"
he ia preeminently at home, ranging cheerily over
the fair land which abounds in the flowers of
song" and showing the most artistic sense in the
choice of objects 10 harmony with his n.ture. If
be does not belorg to the spontaneous order Of po
cts from wbose heart sopg gushes as from the
breast Of the skylsrh nor to those solemn spirits of
PIoPncN uncton WIN sPeaA lfom Wlng"Q morse
or Stygian boat" the word that comes to them as
divine burden, he is not to be COMPOUNDED wi h
the poets Of culture and art, like Pope and Rogers,
who never rise above the limits of the conventional
and commonplace, and seek to hiie the frigiaity of
their conceptions beneath vail of brave, sonorous
language.
Many of Mr.. StOddard's most characteristic pro.
ductl0hs ere OF the brti,st compass comnrisinr