New-York tribune., 1870-09-09
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
THE BOOK OF ORM.

DS 80 lhuCu uncertainty as III II HoW anu du ho eii'
has il been so prolific. The dranatists of Shake
speares day wrote largely, and much like each
other, both as regards their cast of thought and
manner Of expression, as to form school II would
not be far from the truth to say hesame of the threeo
four leading poets Of the present century, for thongh
the spirit of Scott in his chivaric romances is not
quite the spirit of Byron in his Eastern romances anu
the spirit of ColeTidge in his Ancient Mariner Is
not quite the spirit of Wordsworth in his EAe"i-
sion the poetry of these poets has this IN common
that it is ALWAYS direct in its purpose and ee' y, ie
meaning, while it's language differs but h'"o - -
the language of prose. Ii is finer, OF course S
is finer than prose the dash of Scott ana 'no .
Quence of Byron surprising all the nara.I'o
of the peri,~l as Wordsworths Ode ON tpe Ah'iin"
tions of Immortality smpasses all ITS phliosophc
writing; but in the main the dictlon OF he Poe's anu
rroso writer's yyas the same being akesnnple, manly
;rnassoned and best of ALL inteihgide 1t is so no
loror. for while the language OF English prose has
undergone no important change, the language OF En-
lish noetrv is as difficult 10 decpheT as the hlerauc
inscriptions of the sneent Egyptians OF the cunel-
form characters OF the ancient Persians. 1t is no
longer En- csh which the poets speak, but sort OF
peetca dialect peculiar to themselves, each OF whom
has little provincial pGtos Ofhis own. Never be-
fore was Engsli poetry so hammered in Its express
sion and never before uncertain in its aims 1t Is
Nltncut III many cases 10 utlFtl ttt
poets for beildored themselves they bewider their
readers to the last degree. How much of this intel
lectual muddlement is owing TO an IN
capacity for thinking. and how much to haste
in writing It is not easy TO determines but haste, we
are persuaded has much 10 do with il. Most of the
living pcets-in fact, all the younger poets-Wnte
too fast and too much. II is not over SIX or seven
years since Mr. Swinburne appeared, and he has
published four volumes of verse and has fifth in
the press; it is about the same time since Mr.
Buchanan appeared, and he has published as many
voluInes-the present, indeed, being his fifth one
and threatens as many more. 1t is not pleasant to
contemplate what IL as III store for us.
Mr.. Buchanau's fint Volume "Undertones," was
more than promise, for while it occasionally re-
fcctod the manner of Tennyson and Browning it
had a manner of Mr.. Buchanan's own. Its chief
defect was that many of its themes beyond the
range of human sympathies-classic and romantic
distractions from which the life has long since fled.
He corrected this defect in his London Poems
end his "Idyls and Legends of nyerburn" for
through both there ran a strong human interest.
Swinbune sneered at the former in his Reply to his
Reviewers 1--WE think il was, and very unhandsomely
referred to Buchanan as the poet of trulls and
costermoncers" but his sneer went for nothing with
those who believe las who does not p that there is
much in the low life of great city which is worthy
of the serious consideration of thinkers and poets.
What Dickens in the slums of London we know,
ana we know what Hood saw in
zone more unfortunate
Gone TO her death"
OF the London Poems it is enough to say that
some Of them are good enough to read after "The
Bridge of Sighs'-blOtted and fearful pages from
the same sad chapter of Life. In his "Idys and Le-
gends' Mr. Buchanans foot is on his native heath,
which he bestrides with much pride as affection
His walk is a narrow one lying mostly among simple
country folk, "the huts where poor men lie" but
within that walk he is master. For unstudied pa
thos and humcr think these "Idyls' of his su-
perior toennysons to which they are of course, in
ferior as literary compositions.
Mr. Buchanan has not progressed since the publ
cation of the volumes we have mentioned, unless
such an advance backward" as marked the recent
battles Of the French may be considered progress
"The Book Of Om" is the worst thing that he has
written, or let us say, printed, for have grave
apprehensons of the yet imprinted epic to which il
is prelude IT must be long production the pre-
Iude 10 which fills two hundred and sixty-two pages
and long productions in verse are out Of date or il
not entirely out of date, but seldom written now
and less seldom read. 1t required all the power OF
Browning TO make readers for "The Ring and the
Book, if il has made readers. which we question
BE this, however, it may, Mr.. Buchanan has nc
sncb power. He is incapable of q sustained flight
and is devoid of the constructive faculty
What is Art in TennysOn and Browning
in him is artlessness, a delightful quality at any
TINA and never more delightful than in this period
of artihciaty but the quality above all others
which units poet 10 be writer of epics. "The
Bo0i. If Olmr is book Of iaults. It is faulty be-
cause rs purpose is not apparent, and it is faulty
because it is morbid. Morbdness is a new element
in Mr. Buclanans party and il is one which will
he plastic in his handsplastc, that is it is
4. Z i r IL
hands a. Byron Whether it is assumed by him on
the pres occasion for poetic effect or whether il
is Denial condition into which he has wandered
is not oie but we judge the latter circumstance to
be the fact He seems perplexed and weary, and
w0rn-sck in body, aud sick in sOul-cut loose from
all his mCFrings. and drifting hither and thither
a sea Of proftlcss thought. What troubles him
mos for Isany things trouble him is the great fact
and the gTal ter mystery, of Life and Death Per
haps it was not possible for him TO have Stunned
then in his DeculatiOns but it possible for him
to has e keptLis speculations to himself and from
the public. UH til they had settled into something
like convicti1 il is, they unsatisfactory
A. they are pailful. We admire the Pantheism
of Emerson, as poetry; we admire the Atheism
of Swin3uTne, poetry ;.we admire the Chris
hanity 81 TenpNsOn, as poetry but the something
in Mr. BJ cbanan which Us neither Christianity nor
Atheism, ,l1Or PAR heism, we caunOt admire 1t is
too pitiful 20 be pItiable
THE Book of OTm is divided into ten sections,
the connect on hetVeen v1lieR is shadowy enough.
These sections in va!uonf measures, some of
which are uBchymed and iYmiId of similar at
tempts by IA. Mathew Aluold to which, as mere
verse, they not Otin'ror. Othecs rhyme at irregu-
lar intervals, while Others arejn bank verse pOr-
fon Of the last E'eing written in slanzas of three
lines each, after the fashion set by TennysOn in
The Princess" A good tpecim eD Offir Buchanans
n,