New-York tribune., 1885-01-14
Mr.. GOSSE IN NEW-YORK.
A PARLoR LECTURE TO AN APPREcIATIvE AUDI
EScE-THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF POETRY.

A PARLoR LECTURE TO AN APPRECIATIvE AUDI
ESCE-THE CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF POETRY.
The first Of the series Of afternoon lectures
which Edmund Gosse has consented to give at vaons
private houses In this city during the next few weeks
was delivered yesterday OF the house OF Henry Hon. III
East Ffyfourthst In order to keep this engagement
Mr. Gosse had to travel nearly four hundred miles, as he
ectured in Baltimore on Monday night and is due there
again to-day However. he stood between the two
large parlors filed with audience chiefly composed
OF ladies' no exhibited sigma VI fatigue, and his cear
musical aided by the neat but forcfble delivery was
heard In every Of the From the first WORD
to the last Mr.. Gosse listened to with breathess
attention. in silence broken only by the ripple OF ap
pause as his words uttered and the manuscript
closed.
The lecturer dealt chiefly with the classical school OF
poetry which succeeded the romantic Ezabethan poets
and draInatists and In behalf Of the cassicists MT
Gosse appeal clever in its logic and Interesting
In its Illustrations. He began by dehndinS what Is
meant by the classical school, from Waller TO Dryden and
Pope whose leaders claimed to write In Eng
lish as Horace and Ovid in Latin Their prestige
was attacked In middle Of the eighteenth century by
Gray and Collins and at the end OF that century the
blows the followers Of the natnrastc school had de-
stroyed It altogether. He quoted Keats's wellknown
phppc against the classcsts and set against IL as an
excellent example Of the school attacked by the former
poet lines Dryden directed against poetasters be-
ginning:
''Al mundane things are subject TO decay
When nonarchs summon subjects must obey
He pointed principle OF the romantic schoo Wnht
Austin DoDson proposes call " the one How or run
ming the from one line To anOthef Who ao
cording classical rules each coupet Is complete Ia IL
self. .
Mr Gosse said that the present time was
the earliest perhaps In which a dispassiOuate.
view OF the merits demers of The age lie was CON
sidcrng could be taken, traveller mas IL easy 10
the features OF a country partly level ana parity
hlly from distance while when he Is III the Hust "a
difference ia level Is difficult 10 appreciate Now "o
,.,. nl.1a vii ptlu
was too Keats to regard wltlout iiyudlclous
Ore-nOrteniug. Al first glance 10 was marvellous lhh
nation wealth OF rhyhulc form shoull smut
themselves in walls OF pedantc raes aud aoandon the
rcs green neds for the tOTtaOus patue oi pOA
wood abyriHth. The lecturer gave some amusing lu
uf the eYcesses IN the way ot GcheItits h
place OF direct statement into which some OF c clasSo
poets ran though they remember that AL poets TO
some extent hated u call spade sdde Inc roiuhh;lC
poet. must have liberty if II led to license, Dlt inc
people the seventeenth century we're weary oI OeIS,
heaven 10y the clustering EhlaOothan poets. NAen
leaders wrote D0une wrote 10 was inevitable thdt
others should write as Waller and Dryden.
Mr. Go,se referred 20 tIe universal change then tax
Ing place in the literature OF the whole o. Europe and
he would cndcayVT to prove that tho return 10
cidssicism really an advance. Ia lo1i, "Lci
Waller wrote his carrier poems there Was Di' niue Ih'
the state Uf poetic Literature TO be derived EOm
The records oi the statOHcrs Company llr poets puO-
,hed little but Their verses 10 clrcle-a set-Ot
their fellow poets The lecturer claimed that though
among the NOhGiDOus works OF the rumtulciSts many
striking and noble passages were 10 be found their
WORKS OF extremely une lud iorCe, Oueh ucgrnef-
iu- INTO bOmbist. lie instdLccd Piiuca, Flo,ch".s
Purple Island "a a striking example, saying lct ns
rnc Purple IslluL" Tuus Mr.. G1sst claimed. re-
action inevitable aud the Suh-cq cnt reaction from
that again u the newer rOmautici,m hai up 10 the
time prevented fr NlCW OK tle classical poets
h.iU IN.