The New York herald., 1870-03-13
LITERATURE.
n, ..,.~ .,a t,rt,Iclsms Of Now Booas.


THE r.pru,y PARADISE. Poem. BY William
lorris Part III Boston: Roberts Brothers
Tnere IS no other living poet who can charm US to
the realms OF romance with such subtle sweetness
a. aows from the pen OF MIR. NorriA Those who
have read ..The Life and Death OF Jasou," and the
arst parts Of Tho Eartaiy Paradise" VIII welcome
this book with all the warmth mat remembrance Of
The others inspires. Its contents fully mainiain
the cnvtablc reputation which his previous works
won for Mr.. Norris In some respects this third
part OF "The Earthly Paradise' is superior to
the first and second. There Is the same
simplicity OF language luxuriance OF description.
path0s and pasn0a wrought into, verse. which reads
as nowing and musical as the ripple OF o mountain
rnl. To these Mr.. Morris has added greater depth
OF thought which, while detractng nothing from the
clearness and inelllyiblhty OF his poem, gives 10
1t more force and dignity. In accordance with
the plan Of his work the tales are arranged under
the different months OF the year. ann those we have
autumnal season. The hrst, which VIII strike tne a.
tention OF the reader by ITS beauty and iorce de-
scribes the death Of Paris. Opening WIN an &C.
ccount OF the wounding OF Paris by the poisoned
arrow launched by Fhil0cletes. ana the CARVING OF
who is believed TO alone possess the wisdom
to neal his wound, we are given description
OF their meeting full OF pathos and I'VE poetry.
There something touching III the language
VIII ch Mr.. Morris makes Enone address PARIS. the
u;none depic.ed here Is not the same character
Ida,n her deseltion by her lover for the Greek
queen. IL Is true the occasion IS different but the
subject Is the same The poet laureate's Enone Is
too cold In spite OF her lamentations There Is far
too much philosophy In her language, ana TOO much
OF au effort to analyze the motives ol Paris. Here
she Is all love- passion Jealousy, wretchednesS We
shall not spoil the beauty OF the scene between her
and Paris Dy mutilatin2 It, ana shall therefore give
no extracts All OF human love, all OF human woe
and all or human despair Is depicted in the Ian.
guage which Mr.. Morris makes her use. In CON-
tes ssi him the the story story Of len Years Of msesy
Paris IS also drawn with considerable skill and
beauty; T., seeking M the woman ne mas discarded 70
words OF love which he does not feel Enones Tears
and Wild rhapsody OF words awakens pity, but no
desire for life, for Heien's sake proves stronger
his aversion 70 acting lie II Is with 'selfIoatbing
and strange hate" tearing hls breast, that he
promises 10 90 her VIII and expresses the possibility
or loving her as Of Old. After she tells him that she
cannot save him ne s LEI, alone his attendants
falling heart" His thoughts, as expressed in the
The next story Il entitled 'rhe Land East OF the
sun and West of tho Moon" and following =
Of them are ane, but we cannot DO more
than mention them. "He Who Never Laughs
Asa,n" A. s n nogeys n our opinion superior
The poem snrongnoat EXHIBITS the work
IN description Of scenery and succeeds rtyeting the
attention OF the reader to one OF the most intensely
btOTteS tHub VIC nave udu tue ROOu IOrLul0
70 read. Melancholy as Is ITS Hdle It Is beautiful
from beginning to end. The lndescrlbable ease and
grace OF the verse; the rapidly changing pictures
each repleJe with lovelness even in It's most sOmpre
parts-the stirring incidents and the elegance OF
dctlon, invest the poem with remarkably fasclna-
ting power
.srne Story Of Rhodope'' comes next, and IL ad.
mraby told. The great poem In the book is, however
"Tne Lovers OF Gudrun" No space that we can spare
for much larger article than this would be sufficient
TO review 1t as II deserves We shall not, therefore,
even attempt to give the plot. 1t Is tale OF love-
jealousy, hate and revenge, founded on an Iceandic
legend. Mr.. Morris mad full opportunity for display
It, All the passions which can sway the human neart
arp described with vividness that impresses the
mind with series OF pen paintings which WILL long
remain undlmmed. And yet Mr. Morris seems inca
pabie OF describing totally depraved man. BOdiiss
CRIME Is half forgiven In his agony, aud even for the
As for Gudrun herself Mr. Morris has 80 drawn ner
that we forget the madness OF the jealousy that
prompts her to urge ner husband TO the killing OF
the man she loves better than all else earth. We
have only sympathy for her sufrerlngs.
with feeling OF regret that fsam0st childish N It's
intensity. 1t is impossible in few lines to describe
the grace, the sweetness, the pathOs ana the
imagery which make the muse OF Mr.. Morris
far more entertaining tnan that OF his contem-
sens who could with pleasure read through,
at sitting, either the "Idyis OF the King', or
'.Tne Ring and the Book - whereas the poem before
us IS invested with SO exquisite charm that the
reader never tires OF reading. We DO not claim
infaliDiity OF judgment. but we do not hesitate TO
will remain delight and charm to humanity long
after all the poetry OF our present living poets IS
either forgotten or read only by few students Of
literature.