New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-08
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
POEMS BY LEWIS MORRIS.

KONCS CNSC\G. by LEWIS MORRIS, OF
l6Ino. PIP. viii, POS. Roberts Brothers.
The author of " The Epic of Hades " has not qu'0
Justified the enthusiasm with which his hrSt pooh
was hailed by many accomplished critics anu ="
is remarkable that the present volume 10 uo
an the exactness of rhythm aud musical now Oh
Language which were specially praiseu "' .n0
appended "opinions Of the press" snow Jul 'n0
earlier poems. If Mr.. Morris mis'ooA lousn
mass for strength, and deliberately cultivated
a.oon,r;citv and Incense of FORM this phenomenon
.ould be readily accounted for. But he loves
Nuent. harmonious and polished verse; he never
s,artles rs by breaking loose from the old rules;
and if he has failed. after ten or twelve years
practcc TO acquire really elegant ana easy
RHYTHM, a melodious and beautiful choice OF
words: if he is capable now of such line as the
second of the two following
The sense of common peril, common wrong,
knits us III indlssoluble unity,
or of the last couplet of this stanza-
The cold wind sweeps DER the desolate hill ~
The stream is bound fast and the wolds are chliI
And by the dead flats where the cold blasts ihoah'
A bent body YEARLY plods alone
or of such harsh ALTERATION as the loud Iandfan
lulls the children to sleep "-or of these lines
From the grave it bursts FORTH mid the graves 1t
II shall die as we die as it lives we shall i've 90
And this poor flower has stronger assurance "
Thai, volumes of learning, which blunder or lie
tfhe is capable of these things IN MS ma'uL"y' "
is plain that lac has not been endowed WIN 'n"I
fine sense of the charm and secret OF sweet Souiu
which is one of the poets gifts. Some true poets
are always deficient in this sense Just as SONIC soou
nainters are hard colorsts; and some composers
are Indifferent masters of the art of combining ana
choosing orchestral tones There is certain elusive
and delicate sense of effect also in which Mr.. MOTIFS
is sometimes at fault, sense which we can only
describe as literary tact, For instance, he con-
POUNDS pathology with poetry when he calls up Tue
image of the children of Nobe dying of sun-stroke
after ovcr.eXerting themselves on not day. III
the poem of "Odatis" when the Prince of Media
checked the "panting team" at the palace Of
Omartes,
To the lighted hall
lie passed alone afoOt, giving command
To linn who drove to await han at the gate
This TO be sure was eminenty proper; but Mr.
Morris would have done better to omit the I'M
necessary statement, because nobody can read IL
without thinking of Set the cabman wait"
Perhaps We shall cover the whole case II we say
that poet ought to have infallible instinct for
the ridiculous.
The things we have pointed out however are only
surface faults. There high qualities IN MT.
Morris's verse which the most captous critic must
ackno Wedge. lie is not poet of passion, hardly
even of impulse, and when he NEEDLES with the
deep founts of feeling, rs in "NioDe,' or
s(lVtRmnCStra
"Niobe is a literary exercise which never strikes
the note Of pathos and sometimes becomes proSaic.
sClvtplnneStraD is "a vivid and in many respects
an admirable narrative, which misses the psyche
logical horror il is meant to display But non OmH"
p. possumus Omno. There are two kinds OF poetry III
which Mr. Morris exccls, namely, the descriptive
and the reflective 1t was with an accute estimate
of his own powers that he placed at the head OF the
present collection score OF those little fTagmentay
l,i,.l has hpfh a IpI ~
and great gift. lie calls them PictureS,' aud
there are three groups of them among his songs
UnsnngD Each Picture consists of a single image,
presented in four-line stanLa. Zach is complete
and independent; and although similarity OF
sentiment gives them sort of vague and dubious
connection the purpose of each stanza seems 10
be confined to it's own close limits
A lnrid sunset red as blood.
Firing sOmbre, haunted wood ~
And from the shadows, dark and fell,
One hurIyng with the face OF He'll
This is fair specimen OF the scope Oh inc
aPictures," of the and telling strokes with
which they are drawn, and the tragic suggestion
with which most of them are burdened. If they
teach any general lesson it is of the awful mystery
of n sin-accursed world and a frowning heaven.
But in rare cases the artist sketches the clear face
of nature or the images of light and gentle fancy
and then his art is less exact and effective than
in the gloomy scenes:
A high cllh-meadow lush with spring;
Cav butterflies upon the wing;
Beneath, beyond unbOunded free,
The toam-hecked, blue, pervadlng sea-
That is a true landscape, and though it does not
belong to an exalted gare of art we cannot but be
sensible of the painters delicate and exact todch'
In the following Picture there IS equal nlcetN OF
finish, with an imaginative quality besides:
Around harpschord a blue-eyed throng
OF ong-dead children, rapt III sounds deVout'
Ir some old grange, while on that silent song
The sabbath twilight fades, ana stars come out
Sometimes Mr. Morris bOrrows the imaginative
and suggestive elements Of his Picture from other
artists The duel in the snow after the masquerade,
and the wild beasts of the desert proving among
majestic ruins are only translations INTO words OF
well-known paintings, and as they contain no
ORIGINAL idea they have hardly a reason for existing
poems.
The characteristics Of Mr.. Norris reflective poetry
are best seen in such pieces as The New Greed
and sSufrages" where he deals with the great
problems of human life and suffering, omnipotcnce,
and the divine justice and goodness in the calm
and contented mood of Christian philosopher.
The flow of his verse seems here TO borrow dignity
from the elevation and simplicity OF his thought ;
and if he often trenches upon the domain Of prose
discussion he reaches nevertheless higher level OF
poetical distinction than in most of his other
efforts. This Is because he writes upon such themes
from genuine feeling. Sincerity takes the place of
inspiration. "The Lesson of Time" Is a favorable
example of his religious spirit; but 1t Is an echo OF
Newman's Lead, kindly light
NOTES on PEhIODICALS.