The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-07-27
LITERATURE.


MT.
Rossettl was great poet Nevertheless knowing
him as great painter did not require TO be told
that he possessed the divine afiatus In an eminent
| degree So Intimately associated with each other
are poetry and painting that the master OF the one
art almost certain to do well In the other he tries
But TO md master Of both arts combined In one
man is exceedingly rare. Such cnbinafl0n OF
genius seldom occurs. Who can say that Shak.
espeare or Milton Cornellle and Racine ana Goethe
would have made great paintersS And yet what
beautiful pictures In words have they not given 10
the world Mr. Rossetti, then, seems TO us more
highly favored by the gods than most men OF
genius. perusal Of his poems makes 1t dlncult TO
say whether his best pictures are In his poetry or
MS best poetry In his pictures. M
We have read no sweeter no more melodous no
more dramatic poems than these. Excepting very
few every poem is marvel OF ease OF grace and of
beauty. The measure Is always notably well adapted
10 the subject the language Is always fellctOus and
around the verse Is thrown fascination which
every reader the least capable OF approaching true
poetry at once yields to. In It's majesty its mystical
thought Its fervld passionate language Its dramatic
situations, there is nothing strained, nothing over
Gone. And in all the wonderful combination Of
genius which makes these the best lyrics that have
been published for years there Is nothing more con-
| spicuous than the ease and nueucy Of the author
cffogt-as If sponaneity OF thought was checked
| solely by the slow process OF writing.
To assert that none Of the poems In this book
laulty would, perhaps, be inaccurate We have, In
deed, noticed some three or four which are marred
by an obscurty arising perhaps from too great pro-
fundy OF thought. But that Is their only fault Their
language IS invariably pleasing; mere verses they
are undoubtedly fine. confused idea Is conveyed
by their language that some profound thought is
pressed In hem but the difficulty Is TO interpret the
allegory. After all, though, If obscurlty In q few
s0nnets were to damn an entire collection, people
would never read Tennyson, nor Browning, nor, In
deed, any OF that school Of poets represented by
them, which deems the mysti1catIon OF mankind the
highest aim OF the art of poetry. 1t was natural to
expect and to meet with poems Of doubtful merit
collection like this, but 1t was altogether agree
able surprise to US not TO be able to discover q
mediocre one and to be able to read many which
defy the censu OF the most exacling critic.
''The Blessed DamoZeln Is the first poem In the
volume. We read 1t when 1t was first published, and
second perusal has only tended to increase adj
mration. 1t Is O grand picture, wonderful con.
ceptlon. Love and longing and despair are depicted
In language the like OF which can hardly be sur
passed. In heaven and earth are placed the scenes
described At times Mr.. Rossetti seems to hover on
the borders OF the impious In the passionate Ian
guage OF 'the blessed damoZel,p the poet has just
| succeeded In avoiding what we might call bias
pheny But II IL the peculiar characteristic or Mr..
Rossets genius that however near to 1t he may 60,
his muse never carries him beyond the line OF pure
! and elevated thought To make this assertion may
seem TO eXaggerate the merits of the poet and some
! prudlsh critic may point to Loves NOcturnn as
being prurient Production. Indeed, we have seen
1t stated that this poem is hardly the thing for
wives and daughters to peruse, Such critics are fol-
lowers OF the Puritan school Of poetry which, thank
Heaven, Ia now on the decline. "Love's Nocturnn Is
wonderfully finished poem. II the subject is a
tribe too erotic the language Is by no means the
same. In fact, the only fault Of this really magnin
cent production Is Its occasional obscurity "Eden
Bower" and "Sister Helen" are much alike in form
and subject An old legend that Adam had o wife
named Lillth, before Eve made for him, IL made
| the subject Of poem OF marvellous power. "Sster
Helen" is q splendid picture It Ia, with but one
exception the most artistic poem In the entire COL.
lection. From the opening verse to the closing one
there complete preservation OF the unities OF the
| poets ideas. "Troy Town." also another poem Of
the same form tbalIadl is an admirable production.
| In the two first named the dramatic elements have
full play. The scene Is made grand, though sombre
and the subjects are worked up 10 the most passion
ate language TO denouements particularly I'm.
pressive.
For our own part though, we consider "Jennyr
by all means the best poem In the volume, and the
finest piece OF poetry on the subject that we have
read. Here, again. Puritan critics have put in an OBJ
lection because Mr. Rossetti has taken up subject
| which the Puritan school demands that we shall
| taboo. We object to any such restriction. II there
were anything prurlent or lcentious in Jenny" we
sh0 uld not hesitate to condemn It, But the work is
! grand piece OF art. 1t is the masterpiece OF the
author thus far published. Here Mr.. Rossett sings
| NJ ordin md vary riolt
delicacy about the manner in which he soioquizes
over fallen woman which is really exquisite.
| Not coarse or vulgar line mars the
beauty OF the verse; not an impure thought
| Is expressed. Though at times the poet
| comes near to the expression Of purely maternal
feelings he always succeeds, with admirable SKILL In
rounding on the dangerous edge with smooth and
| pure idea. 'Jennyn really teaches O great moral
| lesson. Among the merely brutal, whose immoral
ty Is so bestal as to be unredeemed by any nteec-
! tua remorsc, such reflections as are contained in
| this poem cannot be known; but most intelligent
men will recognize In this wonderful soliloquy the
| expression OF thoughts which they have had at
times. 1t took painter to conceive this poem, and
noue but poet Of genius could have written 1t,
Lack OF space will prevent our reviewing these
poems separately. There are several which we
should like to refer to speciay-such for instance
as "A Last Confession" o fine work, intensely
dramatic In subject; but where all are SO good we
shall content ourselves with merely praIsng them as
whole. Finer sonnes than those contained In "The
Home Of Life" we have not read WHILE 'The Song Of
the Bower' Is q really magnificent production. It's
full OF sweetness and harmony from beginning to
end. The entire collection, In fact is worthy Of Mr.
Rossett. We shall not indulge in as extravagant
praise OF his work as some OF his admirers have but
we do heartily agree with Mr. Morris In the opinion
n are tn ON hos luric
1t will be difficult to show any OF whatever time,
worthy Of the name. -,..
FREE RUSSIA. BY William Hepworth Dixon. New
York: Harper & Brothers.
1t Is to be regretted that so much evidence OF the
unreliabllty Of this book has been accumulated as
to preclude the possibility Of our recommending IT