The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-04-29
MAY Atlantic.l
English Boudoir-Poets.

In volume entitled Latter-Day Lyrics, pub
lished while ago By Chatto and Windus,
London, the reader, if he is interested in such
matters, may find some excellent examples of
a school of poetry which exists, but, fortunate
ly, cannot be said to flourish Just now in En-
gland-the Anglo-Gallic school. The disci-
pies of this composite school are young Britons
who have so thoroughly saturated themselves
with the spirit of medieval French poetry
that they have ceased to be Englishmen,
fact which perhaps no one would regret if
they had only succeeded in becoming French
men. But they have not accomplished this
desirable metamorphosis; they are neither the
one thing nor the other-poeIs without a coun-
try. To be sure, they call ballad ballade.
but the deception is as transparent as Snug
the joiner's. The modern English rhymster,
hiding behind mask of rough old Francois
Villon, has no more need than Sung had to as
sure the ladies that he is not very dangerous
lion. Indeed, the absence of ali leonine quail
ties in the English boudoir-poet is only too
plain. 1t is difficult to say just what his quail
tiles are, or precisely to describe the nature of
his rather gentle roar. His balladeS and Uiuan-
elles and t'iolets are triolets and villanelles
and ballades with the Gallo soul left out.
1t is to the inadequacy of these reproduc-
tions of an Anticipated manner, and not to the
fact OF reproduction that we demur MANY of
the obsolete forms of French verse are admira-
Bile, and there is no reason why some of them
should not take root in English soil and break
into flower. as the Italian sonnet has
done. That they can be trained to
do so Mr.. Austin Dobson has proved
by several of the delicate lyrics in
his Proverbs in Porcelain. Mr.. Dante Rosetti
with his Ballad of Dead Ladies paraphrased
from Nillon, and Mr.. Swinburne, in his holder
TRANSACTIONS from the same author, have shown
what sonorious and various music may be
blown through old pipes If none but such
skillful masters played upon them! But un-
luckily these measures are not difficult; with
few exceptions, they easily lend themselves to
the genius of our language. The facility with
which they can be constructed has won the
fancy OF great many clever young men who
should not touch verse at all. In England IL
will presently be distinction not to have
written ballade.
The ballade, however, and especially the
bdlidde a double refrain, is noble fashion of
rhyming, in spite of its affectation and artif-
ciality. Not so much can be said of the ron.
deau and the rondel: at best they are but
graceful cages for pretty thought. Lacking
the pretty thought, they are intolerable. Now,
Tor the most part, it is the cage and not the
bird which the latter-day troubadours give u.s.
the form and not the voice of poetry. Their
attitude, it seems to us, is wholly mistaken
There Is something not little comical in the
spectacle OF group OF young poets trying to
catch the ear of the dying Nineteenth Century
with quaintly-phrased lyrics about attenuated
saints, and citholes, and stained-glass windows,
and passionate Drowsabellas! The seriousness
with which all this imitation bricabrac is Of
fered to us has touch of pathos In it.