Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1860-07-18


NE wozxs OF Lam EpsAa At.As PoI, With Memoir
BY Rr1as wne GsEoA and notices Of his Lie and Genius
By p. Wills and J. B. hsleil II
The works of Pos are voluminous. considering
hat he died at the age of thirty-eight and may be
.lassisd as poetical scientific, romantic, critical
and humorous; The order of their merit we con
,ider to be that in which we have arranged them
We shall only have space to notice those by=NEhich
he is best known, his poetcal works.
The poems if not the best of his works are at least
the best known. We select type Of his genius in
this department his best known poetieal effort
a TIE RAVEN
This poem may be considered as combining two
of PoEs great characteristics, the morbid melan-
choly which enters into every thing he said wrote
and did, and his extraordinary command of rythmi-
cal expression. So far as his writings are subjee-
tive that Is SO far as the feelings, experience In
short the personality of the author enter into them
bitter gloomy despairing spirit is their character
istic-a SORROW into which no hope enters regret
which cngs around its objects, cherishing all asso
Citations that tend to enhance its poignancy averung
its aspect from any light which might cheer Its grlef
relieve its main or elevate the crushed spirit to that
noint of view from which it might be contemplated
with hope and resignation. 1t is regret, we must
say, winch cO0leUlpiHtcS
from an entirely rreligious point of view the spirit
uas crusbed to earth clingng around the grave and
charmed house of human hopes and affections and
beholds in the sky above only vast lurld mass oi
clouds charged with sorrow and terror, where, II 1t
could rise to the religious point OF view 1t mgn1
discern the heavenward aspect of the same cloud
olded by eternal sunshine and SPAWNED by the over
archng bow of hope. He contemplates death only ID
the grave iacking that purged vision which alon'
can look beyond the grave. This we are conscious
NAV be called bigotry-but bgotry consists not In
holding the truth but in holding it Indignantly IN
ch.ritably what we lave said is said in pity not IN
hate it is said with profound regret that the heart
which is bowed in
Sorrow for its lost BenOre,'
can hear cheering answer to Its longing tln
the Ravens reiterated
"NrvERMoIE"
But assuming that this special idea of lasting
monotonous inconsolable grief is the object 10 De
EXPRESSED, the success with which words and meas
ura and rhyme are made to do i'll transcends any
| thing with which we are acquainted, the
lone drawn monotone of slow trochaics. the
| frequent reiteration of mournful refralls'
especially the Responding fall of the melody
| in the short line at the end of each stanza:
like the intermissions in which pain procures re-
spite from sheer exhaustion, the actual limitations
of sound in theY tapping tapping of the raven, all
i these touches of art combine to produce IN one
short poem the most perfect thing as work OF art
| that the English language has produced. One
prieyes that sweeter and hOlier strain cannot make
its way into the funeral movements of the sympho-
nv that seraphed voiced angel of hope cannot even
for moment displace the croakings of the obscene
bird winch has made its nest in that stricken heart
for erernors. but as expressing what was intended
to be expressed, human language has never sur
passed PoE's Raven. And if poetry were to be
Judged not by what the ideas which it expresses
but only by the way in which they were expressed,
this enc work would stamp Poe one of the great
est poets of his age-or of any age.
But such is not our estimate of poetry. Rhythm,
the ccncourse of sweet sounds the adaptation OF
sound to sense all these the materials of poetry,
not poetry itself; they constitute the coiOrs which
the word-painter uses in his art but tue picture
must consist of something more than coer be teFer
so dexterousy laid The idea in the painter OF
postr mind this is the picture, this the poem; II this
is great, ennobling, then the mere artists skin
which brings it out and expresses it is secondary
merit essential indeed to the effect, but IN ltseI
nothing except so far it embOdles an idea WHICH
is essentially sublime and beautiful Now in our judg-
ment this cannot be said of the leading idea IN the
| Raven its theme is death and bereavement, the
contemplation of which subject can indeed be made
poetical if conceived in poetical spirit The test
of this H. are our thoughts death elevated OF de-
graded by the perusal; alas! every thing IN this
poem tends to our regarding it in the most degraded
prosaic point of view the mere cessation OF GER
tain physical processes the discOntinuance OF Whch
leave no thought possibility of supernatural hfe
and therefore no hope, consolation. no lifting up
of the affections to spiritual love which should re-
place the carnal passion.
In one sentence we must cOndense our opinion.
The contemplation of mortality spart from the I'M
mortality in which it is destined to be lost of cor
ruption without any thought of its putting on IN
corruntion can never in our estimation be regarded
a poetical mode of considering death and whether
in his poems or his prose romances OF bs scientific
speculations. our author, fond of mixing
| death his theme, whether in a sentimental OK
| speculative point of view. rises above this
material earthly conception of the subject, and
therefore never attains the exalted regions OF its
poetica which is in other words, its spiritual cog
! nizance.
/ There Is poem OF our dutaAOE III "iih~AA 49, 1870
vellous command of the rythmical and melOdic re-
sources of the English language are perhaps even
more remarkably manifested and in which he does
not aim at anything beyond the artistic manage
| ment of sound as a medium of description we al
| Jude to The Bells" The ringing of all sorts OF
bells is described with musical expression almost
incredible till heard, it could only be adequately
represented by giving the whole poem, for which
we of course have not the space, and We will limit
ourselves to the close of it in which is described
the continued vibratory sound heard after peal Is
| concluded.
| Keeping time, time, time
| In a sort Of Runic rhyme,
| To the paAn Of the bells
| or the bells
| Keeping time, me, time
| IN a sort Of Runic rhyme
| TUshe throbbing Of the bells,
| OF the bells, bells, bells
To the thrOhbing Of the bells,
| Keeping time, time, time,
| As he knells, kneS knellSI
| In happy Runc rhyme
| To the tolling Of the bells,
| of tle bells. bells, BELLS
| To the tolling OF the bells,