The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-02-22


Poetry,n as conceived from descriptions given
of the entertainment by the Iroquois and Hurons
of Father La6tan, that the dramatic and odic
poetry OF the Greeks, with strophe, antistrophe,
and ,epode, or with verse and chorus, was
natural growth from the song-dancers of savage
life. His opinion would have been confirmed,
If be had gathered what is now known Of the
soDgdsnces OF other tribes in America, Poly
nesia, and Africa. % fo yrr ff.. 1.tr -.i
The circle was the form most readily taken by
crowd of lockers on, at an open piece OF action,
as 1t is that taken by children about q street
acrobat, or by men round a boxing match.
But, while our acrobats and boxers answer to
the single drdmdtis pTsonG of dramatic poetry,
1t is still an open question, whether the chorus
arose from musician, like the piper, aiding the
drama, or was at first the body of bystanders.
DR.. Brown thinks that the chorus in It's original
state was indeed, the audience who surrounded
the narrator OF actor, and answered him, at
every pause, with shouts of triumph, approba-
ton, or dislike. ... D..
Among the Tonga tribe, in the time of Captain
Cook, trained chorus OF many men wqs set in
The middle OF the ring, and played music or sang
words in answer 10 the performers. 1t was so
in performance OF twenty women, who sang
soft air, accompanied with graceful limb-actons,
followed by brisk dance, and were answered
in the same tone by the chorus, In another
Tonga sopgdance, the chorus sang at one time
with the bands oil performers, and at Others in
answer 10 them; though in one of the song
dances, the whole body of performers was
divided into two choirs, each with charagus;
and, after match of song between the two
charagi, there was another of strophes, with
The two sides. In the Kaffir war dance the drd-
mats perSono are chiefs, and their warriors
usually make up the chorus and dance, with
wooden limitations of their weapons
In all these song-dances we have the elements
OF dramatic and odio poetry-the dance as the
poetry of notion the air as the measure of
time, and the song as the theme of the piece.
We have here also, as IN other cases, enough
to warrant the saying that extremes meet; for,
after we rise up through the sundry forms OF
music, we reach at last the opera. which bears
near likeness to the songdance OF the savage.
So, when we have been brought to the highest
forms OF civilization, we find that the greatest
happiness OF princes Is found in the pursuit of
hunting; and as high skill Is shown by the
Nimrod of the townless Wild so we are told by
Captain Cook that in a song-danee of Tonga
men, a charagus delivered his song with an air
so graceful as might put to the blush our most
applauded performers.
A trained chorus must have come into the
song dance of saVages at very early day; for
we find that the time of their turns, and the
measure of their songs and shiftngs of their
figures are so true that they must be as we'll
known TO the performers as the figures of
quadrie are known to the best dancers of the
ballroom. Father Lafitan writes that some of
the songs OF the American tribes we're so old
that often the singers did not understand what
they said; and Mariner tells us that the song
dances of Tonga are of sundry kinds, marked
by different names, some OF them with Hamoan
songs, as clearly requiring to be learned be-
forehand as italian by an English or German
singer.
note to the Pindar of Benedictus (162O) SAYS
that the dancers of the lyric song-dance took
one turn (strophe) from right to lett, with the
sun, and return (antstrophe) from left to
right, with the planets from West to East, while
the epode was sung in stationary posture, an
swermg to the steadfastness of the earth. DR..
Brown, however, would not go to the stars for
the turn or return of the dance, but holds that
the reverse wheel OF the antisthrope was "for
plain reason preventing pI00nasa
ariseth from running round in the same circle" Z"
From an insight into these song-dances, we
can understand why music and hardship held
so high place among men. In many of them,
as in the war dance of the Kaffirs, the drdnnGtis
persona were kings; and two OF the Tonga
dances are performed only by heads Of tribes
and mobiles. And, since the songs OF these dances
held forth to the minds OF youth the highest lore
of the time-as in the poem of Hesod, and in
some of those Of the old Scalds of the North-or
Quickened their minds by patterns of bravery
and generosity, or some kind OF great-minded-
ness, SO, while the three graces of the drama,
Dance, Tune, and Song, kept the circle pure as
a,school OF good training, courage held high
place in the State. The art was, like man him.
sell, leaning to lower aims, prond in deterius,
though wise men and bards themselves did
their best to preserve 1t as an instrument Of
song; but the more it degenerated, the less
honor had the bard even OF high-aiming song
Thus, while, in the time OF Hoel Dda the
social rank OF the bard was near that of the
King, now, when the Muse has so often pan
dered to the low tastes which she ought to have
refined, the place OF the Poet is only where he
can hold himself by his birth, his wealth, OIL
his earnings.
From the song dance came much of our poetic
word store. A verse-UerSIs (verto)-answert
to the Greek strophe or turn in the ring-dance
a tCot is the measure of one step; and the wore
stanza means stopping, as at the end of turn
So the burden or short chorus of the old sons
was, in its first use, sort of answer to the ring
singers-as its name, indeed, in British, Woul(
seem to show; the Welsh Byrdon (Byrton) means
the short strain, rs an answer to the longer
strophe.
The burden of the Morse song, ''The Death
song OF Lodbrock," is Hingg0nl Der med htolcy1l
1--WE hewed With our swordsn-on till the las
verse, before which the burden is, "Now let u
n cease our songs" which shows that the song o
in the king soon became a rote learnt poem will
both the theme singer and chorus.
Mr.. Johnston, the editor OF the Death-song
says that some learned Icelanders understood
with him, that the poem was OF the kind caeC
4 TwiSavuque (rwi-songs); and he thinks the pic
ture more interesting IL we conceive that Lod
brock armed his warriors, who, animated b,
their own share in his victories, strike up at In
tervals ''We hewed with our sWords.n The be
= luspa, with most of the other old sagas has
. chorus burden; and so, as l am told by friend
4 has the Finnlsh epic, "Ralewala," of which
4 version has been printed in German. And, a
Mr.. Johnston writes, 'in the triple chorus O
Tyrt@us, o warsong, Tor war use, the infrmitie
OF age we're forgotten by the Spartan veterans
while they sung to the youths-'We were one
brave youths.'n When, IN the British school @
song the bards had been bred to it by years
training, the crowd OF the ring would be hardl
amatc6 for them in the epic poem; and 1t is nc
easy to perceive whether, in the warriors triple
(triban mileur), the Oldest form OF bardic poetr
that has come down to us, there was a strain fo
q chorus, either trained or unframed.
In the old Druid song March wall Bedun tn
h.,l n ~ ornfr,