St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-03-09
..SOme American Poets"

'sSOEHe AMERICAN fOetSs
Rev. DR.. Stephenson pleased his au-
dience with his impressions of Ameri-
can poets on Thursday evening. He
explained that the lecture was not
written for the purpose of instructing
Americans about their own poets, con-
corning whom they would be supposed
to know more than he but that it was
written to be delivered to an English
audience, giving an Englishman's i'm
Those of whom he spoke were his
favOrites. He was sorry that the list
did not embrace a woman, but he took
occasion to speak briefly in high terms
of the poetic writings of Mrs. Sigour-
ney. His poets were Bryant, Whittier,
Emerson, Poe, LOngfellOw, Holmes and
Lowell. Bryant has often been com
pared to Wordsworth, he said, but the
comparison is unjust to both. Both
are lovers of nature. While he thought
Wordsworth the greater poet, in Bry-
ants poetry there is strong resem-
blance to that of the English bard. He
sketched Whittier in his plain, Quaker
like garb, and said that in all his writ
ings Whittier has been true to his
creed. The humanitarian element in
his poetry is large, and he early iden-
titled himself with the anti-s slavery
conflict. Emerson was more of prose
writer, though he had written some
very good poetry. He spoke of Emer-
son as one who was in advance of the
age when he commenced to proclaim
his views, which were scOffed at at first
but were subsequently accepted and
universally acknowledged. He spoke of
POe's poetry as being full of music and
melody. AS examples of this he ecit-
ed "Annabel Lee" and the ''Bells." He
spoke of POe's dissolute habits, but he
believed that Poe was not as bad as he
had been painted. He said that he had
lived long enough to learn this-that a
bad man is not as bad, and good man
not as good, as he is said to be. In
reference to a man being as black as he
is painted, Burdette philosOphically
observes that he does not believe the
devil is as black as he is painted, for, if
he were, there would be no need of
painting him. LOngfellow he charac-
terized as the poet of the people. His
is the poetry of the home, and no other
poet holds such warm place in the
hearts of the American people. Holmes
leads as prose writer, but he is also
good poet, and an important element
of his poetry is its humor. He spoke
of Lowell as a religious poet. Lowell
has excelled in his humorous work, es-
pecially in his Yankee dialect produc-
tiOns. He thought there is no question
that Lowell has demonstrated that
American literature has an individual
ity of its own.
American literature, he thought, is in
its infancy. English literature goes
/ pdCh VIC lhouSdHu years, anu Nhcn
American literature has existed for
half that time, it will be possessed of
an individuality and a genius distinc-
lively its own. DR.. Stephenson did not
attempt critical analysis of the writ
ings of the authors he considered, but
treated of few of the more prominent
characteristics of them and their work.
What made the lecture more valuable
than it would otherwise have been, the
audience were enabled to view these
poets from an English standpoint, or,
as Burns puts it, "tO see ourselves as
others see u.s." He illustrated his
sketches with readings from the au-
thOrs, which were invested with an in
terest and charm by his fine powers
of elOcutiOn. The general sentiment
seemed to be that the lecture was one
af the host thinpS of tho courSa