The Portland daily press., 1878-12-14
Recent Publications.
Bayard Taylor,s Prince DeuknIIen.

Bayard Taylor's Prince DeukaiIen.
Prince Deckalion: A Lyrical Drama, By
bayard Taylor Boston: Houghton s. Osgood;
Portland: Loring, Short & Harnou). Tho
appearance of this noble work Of Que Of the
drst and best of living poets is . notable event
in the literature of our age; and is doably i'm
portabt: first, as the rich fruitage Of the faith
aud experience of q life whose action makes no
discount upon Its aim and expression; and
secondly, as the singuarly complete and high
representation Of the mt st illuminated thought,
hope and belief of the age. Ii 10 to be hoped
that contem porary criticsm-and that Of our
own country in especal-will be so clear ia lie
perceptions aud vigorous aud solid in express
sion OF them as at once to set and uphold this
great work Of Mr.. Taylor at the high
place 1t will not fail sooner or later to
take OF its divine right. For large free
thought, reverent Of God and man; its
great scope made alive and Luminous
By the poets faith in . world formed and
guided by the hands Of supreme love; for high
sympathy with human need and work; and
lyric beauty that runs through manifold
changes OF voice and measure-Prinos Dsu-
kaion is unsurpassed BY any poem which,
from relation of subject, designer treatment,
may properly be set beside 1t In comparison.
10 what great song, sung Of the way OF the
world, shall we look for such trumphant
assertion of the truth that all days, all deeds
even all sins aud woes. passed over-Are for fall
| filling Of the saving Of the whole earth? In
| what ancient poem shall sc search to fnd
| more delight in beauty, more fne aud intimate
love of land and sea; in what holy canticls
that ever man wrote shall We fnd more unfAil-
ing the continual voics of Faith? This KEY
note, which hsrmonzss all apparent discords.
which blends the pagan hsmns sung 10 bhnd
forces, aud the songs OF the uynphs, and tue
cries OF weary ghosts 10 the wan world Of
shades. with the triamphal march of the tius
| to be-is struck with such emphasis, even In
| the poes's Argument, that it holds the ssr
throughout The Argument, 10 earnest phrass
and somew hat quantity set in words-revssls,
with some artistic reserves, the plan OF the
poem, or rather, the large, cure gro~th Of the
singers spirit, full-blossomed fo~er OF the
foresight Of Faith. The Dram itself 10 . great
temple, filled with the song aud SAVIOR Of praise
TO which Hr. Taylot's earlier poem, The
Mssque Of the Code, was . fAir.builded porch,
struck By the first clear rays OF the sun, low In
the east. The drama is divided into four acts.
Defying in its scope the dramatic unities Of
time, the action takes place In the year, A. D.
| 300, 1900, 49,, and A. D.? The indications
| for the setting of the scenes are admirsbly
strong and picturesque. SO wide is the spirit
of the poem that each mao in reading must
take hold Of so much as he may. II Is IS im-
| possible to define as the seas or tina skier. Bat
| the poet having given TO II the name Il Lyrical
Drama, 1t is suitable OF first to regard IL from .
musical standpoint. Mr.. TAylor's musical
| spec ch Is nearly allied to that Of Beethoven
| with the added fresher Lfs Of the post whose
breath and voice are those Of this y1unx land.
| He is neither Bach-s king Of the past. whose
wise laws live after him; nor Is he Wagner, .
fantastic mirage cast by musical fo'ms that are
coming from far of-Mr. Taylor is singer Of
his day, solving its manifold troubled questions
by the light that shines for the eyes Of the seer
out Of the clouds that hold the pass and the
future. At rare intervals mag be noted In
Mr.. Taylor's verse doub.fal chord or forbid
den progression, bat the foe sweep of his mu-
sic is little delayed by an occasional fault Of
technique. The lyric quality OF Prince Dsu-
kalion is great and Is unsurpassed in any ex-
tsndedIpoem Of our language. It will be uss-
! full TO compare briefly Its musical traits with
the AtalaEta in CAlydon Of Mr.. Swinburne and
the Love is Enough Of Mr. William Morris
two widely differing works, each in its way .
| pre-emirent model of the counterpoint and
| orchestration .of verse. The AtalantA has .
phenomenal briliance and compass; set In
| nuralu Graak rnaiaa IL unifaa t, fba.a
appropriate resource of modern music. In its
ctorUses is heard the very breath of blown
flutes, and the superb ringing responses Of the
6nal passage may almost be read at. sight -
scored for full orchestra beat Of the drums,
the golden-mouthed cry of trumpets, and the
tetse song of the strings ara there to the musi-
clans sight and imagining ear. Mr.. Morris's
poem has the limited range Of the "well-tsm-
pered claviohord;' its counterpoint and canon,
its precision Of accents, its NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ALTERATION, assonau ce, rhyme take the place Of
motif and musical interval-,epay the closest
study and minutest test of detail Of this won
de,ful revival Of oldsn thought and manner.
Mr.. Tsylor's musical method is lees defined
and formulated than these, bat 10 mot less
notable Of its kind. Varied, subtle and rich,
4
| there soma striking trait Of melody, or Zoe
adaptation to the spirit Of the moment, calls
for pause and appreciation.
Tne drama opens with speech Of the shep-
herd-who represents the simple ma1hood Of
bis time, neither worse nor better than bis day
who, awaking to the sight Of bis temples IN
rooted and ruined, Looks about him In wonder.
and is recalled from his surprise By the sad
voices Of the discrowped nymphs. The metre
| Of their chorus is finely choaen--dellcate, bus
weighted as with unseen chains (Bat little
| criticism occurs here a. to the rhyme Of
WHISTLE and ''dism,sssp' which hardly snits
the song Of graceful nymphs). The fortunate
quality of the blank verse is here, - indeed,
almost uuf,ingly through the poem-so be
noted for lis smooth and hsrnonioas tone, aud
its large, fresh and satisfying beanty. A
solemn strophs of voice from underground 10
| the chant of buried martyrs. To this succeeds
an exquisitelg tuneful chorus Of the nynphs,
| "Oar service hath ceased" and the free music
| Of ,his song is as though the presence OF . man
who had been Of their worshippers made the
nymphs less afraid for the storm that, cleansiuT
earth and air, broke the praise of them IS slen-
| der stems of flowers. The grave strophes Of
the martyrs are in srikiog contrast with the
song of the nymphs. A superb and original
design of metre-and one unsurpassed for mu-
seal effect in the poem-is the ensemble Of the
two choruses, which is as II melody Of Mo-
Fart were set sgainst the tremendous chords Of
Luther's Judgment Hymn. With many sishs
and delicste piteous sioging-ihs nymphs de-
par, looking their last on sweet Argos. A
speech Of the shepherd closes the scene. The
second scene begins with the voics of Gas, the
Titan goddess, mother of mankind-and her
mighty musings are the large uttersnce Of the
close relation of Earth and Mao; Of her love
for him, as mother; Of his strength rene we'd
BY the very touch Of her. Tue exquisite har-
mony of the lines
l g. Shall he turn from breath
| Distilled Of bliss and bountiful bright hours"
is marred by fault of ftechnique-precisely the
parallel 10 poetry to the mi contra ia Of .hs
musical theorist-in the next line:
| $40 taste the incense rank Ia ceRsers burned"
Toe meditation Of G@a is interrupted by Eros,