Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1860-07-13
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Mr.. EDITOR

In the second number
of your paper I saw an article on Poets
and their influence" which contained
some sentiments SO widely differing from
all my ideas on the subject, that | cannot
willingly consent that the writer should
have it all his own way especially as you
have so kindly extended the use of your
columns to the readers of your paper. af.
The writer premises that I" Probably nc
class of men have had greater influence
in all ages, in forming the character Of
mankind, than Poets.'' / am not inclined
to discuss this point, and have only to say
that the assertion needs still greater quail
| iication before it can be received. -
My principal difference with the author
is with respect to the origin and source Of
all poetry. His ideas on the subject, in
fact, seem to be rather indistinct = in
deed he informs us that the term 'sPoet'
is somewhat indefinite an altogether
new idea; - for he tells us that poetry
seems to be a part of Human Nature, and
then at once cancels the statement and
renders the whole paragraph paradox by
saying that man is so constituted that he
cannot resist poetic influences, = that is a
part of himself He then turns in anoth-
er direction and gives us to understand
that the elements, the showers, the tEun-
der, the lightnings, the seasons, the wind,
are all surcharged with poetry. 1t ra-
dates from every object which bears the
impress Of the Creator; it fills our minds
with ss sunwritten volumes, = another
anomaly; in fact it is a kind of all-perva-
ding essence, something like electricity,
and that poets are aspiring Franklins, who
soar their kites, bottle up some of this ''es-
sense uncreate, a quantum sufficit), con-
dense, shape and clothe it, and then send
it forth for the edifcation of their fellow
men. + .-rye --s---E rs- sf-..r #
| cannot but think that our writer is
greatly mistaken, and I believe that the
difficulty consists in his supposing that
whatever is beautiful and sublime is poeti-
cal. Now beauty and grandeur and sub
Unity are by no means poetry. There is
no more poetry in beautiful landscape or
in glowing sunset than there is music in
them. Poetry is something different in its
nature, = something higher than the wall
ing of winds, Or the flash of lightning; it
is the creation of the mind, the offspring of
mans immortal nature, and it appears not
to his senses, but to his emotional and in
tellectual nature. r Eaa-s a7 srstf .as
Poetry consists of thoughts and ideas,
but the phenomena of nature do not con-
sist of nor contain IDEAS. Nature may
furnish the subjects for ideas and poetry );
but it no more follows that Nature is po-
ct and her works poetry, than it does that
a brick maker is a mason, and brick are
walls or buildings; or that a man who
sells lumber is carpenter, and that lum-
Der is a house. 70 -54...sa.f
Mr.. Editor, am not writing this for
buncome, nor for the fun of the thing. |
sincerely believe that the term poetry"
would not convey to the mind the exalted
idea it now does, if it were to cover all that
our friend would have it any more than
the word music " would, if it were so ex-
tended as to embrace every noise from the
howl Of the wolf to the roar of the ocean,
from the whistling of the boy to the tones
of the organ. I am not an old fogy. but I
do not think that the present generation
has as correct an idea of the province of
poetry as did their ancestors. The poets
of the present age, and especially those on
the other side of the ocean, feeling disin-
cllned to follow the beaten path, or unable
to cope with the old masters in the depart
ments wherein they excelled, have turned
aside into paths which lie on the very linn
its of poetical license. Hence often the
productions of our first class poets are
sheer nonsense to a large class of readers,
because perspieuity has been sacrificed to
originality; yet often this very dimness
and want of distinctness is considered as a
merit, and qualified by the facinating ad-
jective e ethereal" If that noble produc-
tion of the great Horace, the ears Poeti-
ca were only studied more by our poets, We
should have less of this ss ethereal poetry.
But my own time, and your patience |
fear, require that 1 should close. If
may come again, would like to say some
thing of the province of Poetry But let
US call things by their right names What
ever Grandeur, or Sublimity. or Beauty,
or Sentimentalism may be, let them be
known by their right names and let that
which is poetry be called epoetry;;" but
do not degrade and dilute, if may use
the term, one of the now noblest words in
the language, by connecting that with it
which it does not include PHYL.
Hg Mr.. Golden, of Georgia, made himself
conspicuous in the Charleston and baltimore