Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1882-04-19
POE AVID rHE ENGLISH roETs

1t Is particularly irritating to the
Americans to be told that, after SO many
generations of accomplished aud vigor-
GUS writer's, the poetry Of Edgar Poe
still remains the most individual poetic
product to which the United States
have given birth. This is annoying,
and they escape.it by direct negation--
Mr.. Henry James, the typical literary
American, even venturing to speak o.
Poe's livery valueless verses" such
men &c NJ. James ask ns II we ere s,n-
cere in preferring these light tones OF
music to the intellectual force and
severity of Bryant, to the humanity Of
Longiellow, to the wit Of Holmes and
Lowell. To this there seems an answer
which will hardly satisfy any but those
who have made poetry their principal
study. These viii have perceived that
in the history of the world what has
really preserved the memories Of writers
Of verse has not been intellectual force,
or the clear expression of love and pity,
or even wit, but q certain indefnable
felicity of style; a power Of saying things
as they never were said before, and so
that they can never be forgotten. 1t is
very remarkable thing that Edgar Poe,
who was not man of much weight of
character, or even originality of intellect,
yet happened to possess, to very high
-. ....s -. .--..s..-..-. i.v.. 2..s % mdcn
as approached him, and it is probable
that this win preserve his verse, like
rose petal in drop OF glyeerine, bound
to decay because of its ephemeral and
disconnected condition, yet never act
ually decaying.
Here in England, whore every IN
prejudiced thinker must admit that
poetry has fourished since the begin
ming of the century far more than in
America, Edgar Poe has taken his place
as one of the fsshioners of style. Wheth-
er his influence has been altogether
beneficial may perhaps be n matter of
reasonable doubt. But his influence i,
not TO be doubted. Long ago Mr.. Ten
nyson came under the sway of his music;
MIR. Matthew Arnold, in the "New
Sirens" and Mr.. Rosetti, in more than
one piece Of structural melody, have
felt it; Mr.. Swinburne, though he has
so thoroughly conquered the sotes and
made them his own, would scarceiy have
begun as he did without Ulaluna"
and the "Conqueror Worm" But tn.
English writer who has most closely re-
sembled Edgar Poe in his mournful and
mortuary temper, though he wore his
rue with difference, was the late Mr..
Arthur o 'Shaughnessy, whose Fountain
OF Tears, and " Barcarolle threw more
light on the structure and value Of Poe's
verses than pages of the clevcrest criti-
cism. In France, where the cadence
and the verbal felicity we're lost. the in
fiuence Of Poe, which was so strong for
q little time, seems TO have faded away.
We do not hear now OF the gentleman
who was spending years and years on q
translation of "The Raven" and whose
version was expected by his friends tc
be greater masterpiece than the origi
nal Baudelaire's beautiful paraphrase,
and commentaries, in which he man
aged, while retaining the essential char
acteristics of Poe's work, to infuse I
strong quality OF his own, will always
be of interest to students OF literature. :
Pail Mall Gazette.