New-York tribune., 1886-02-21
sWINBURNE ON VICTOR HUGO.

SWINBURNE on VICTOR HUGO
VICTOR HUGO. By ALGERSov CHARLES swINBURSE
12mo., PIP. 200. Worthngton Co.
This is not critical work. nor in any true sense
study 1t is panegyric of the most eXtravagant
character. According to Mr.. Swinburne Victor
Hugo was "the spiritual sovereign of the nine
teenth century the greatest Frenchman of all
time y the greatest among poets.' He is even
sacrament. for Mr. Swinburne speaks of " the bread
of his deathless word and the wine of his immortal
song He was, moreover, "the most mutlform
and many sided genius that ever wrought in prose
verse" Not only was he the greatest poet ne
was also the greatest prose-writer of his genera
.ion" These expressions family indicate the horid
and famboyant eulOgy which is carried in
broken stream through the two hundred pages of
the book. Everything that Hugo wrote is
described by Mr. Swinburne in superlatives.
Apparently he could not write anything that was
less than marvellous IT Is indeed impossible not 10
admire the fulneSs of Mr. Swnburnc's vocabulary
even when we must regret his obvious preference
for words over sense.
That he should be n Hugo wOrshipper was
inevitable, fol- the virtues of Hugo are his virtues
and the vices of lingo are his vices. Mr. Swlnbarne
is master of rhythm; that ls his special poetic
gift. He has ear for melody and a capacity for
ternal, sensuous way. His poetry possesses great
beauty of form, but little spiritual value. 1t is
always the exoterc aspects of nature that he exem
plifes and interprets In this he resembles
Theophile t;autier even more closely than ho does
Hugo Like Gautier, he is inspired and intoxicated
by light and color and sweet sounds and beauty OF
form. The most direct and palpabe manliesta-
tions of objective existence have the strongest
influence upon him. 1t may be said that he repre-
sents the superficial consciousness of Greek class
clsm more than any modern stream Of tendency. In
his raptuIous praises OF Victor lIugos poems what
always strikes him most is the masters command of
rhythm, his sOnorous periods and what more sober
critics would call the imitation of his style. To
students of Victor Hugo less BIASED by sympathy
of temperament than is Mr. Swnburne it has
always seemed that the defects of the poet were not
less conspicuous than his exceences Thus it
would hardly be denied outside of Mr. Swinburncs
circle that Hugo lacked restraint, discretion and
the strength which appears most clearly in mOder
alton. Both in his prose and his poetry lie always
seems to be straining for effect He is too full OF
epithets and adJectives. All the passions all the
expressions of natural forces with which he deals,
are titanic" "immense" "colOssal," "huge,"
gigantic All the actions characterized Dy him
are raised to the highest emphasis In the two
books wherein he has uttered his vengeful cry
so overlaid and disguised by prodgal employ
ment of vituperation and expetve that the effect
Of On intrinsicag powerful impeachment is
fritered away, and the impression finally produced
is the wcariness which follows upon the hearing of
O long TRADE Of abuse.
Victor Hugo showed in these volumes and in
many of the cbatiments less power of satire than
capacity for scolding. Mr.-Swinburne has the same
defects. He lacks the critical faculty wholly.
With him there is but one step from eXtravagant
praise to equally extravagant censure. Where he
likes he gives himself utterly. Where he diskes he
refuses even Justice His eulOgy on Hugo nat
uraly recalls his recent bitter philippe upon
Byron Both these judgments are defective in
precisely the same way. Byron is "a far greater
poet than Swinhurne will allow. and Victor Hugo
is one far beneath his estimate. But Mr.. Swim
burne is always ruled by impulse, and there is
certain Oriental gorgeousness of cooring about all
his work which is interesting il we can divest onr
minds of the irritation which his untempered
extravaganza naturally causes. To himself. no
doubt all his perfervid homage appears simply the
expression of profound truth. The Gascon does
not exaggerato deliberately. 1t is the Southern
temperament that finds expression in his tropical
and luxuriant phrases. So Mr.. Swinburno, in
writing of Victor Hugo as surely mere man was
ever written of before, is merely demonstrating
the dominance OF his nature by the Gasc0n element.
He IS in fact very Tartarn de Tarascon among
critics We have compared him to Gautier in
respects, but Gautier possessed tact delicacy,
a sense of the fitness of things, which preserved him
from falling into tho extremes and extravagances
which The English poet seems SO unable to escape.
1t is inevitable that this intemperance of lauda-
ton should revolt the sober-minded. Even those
best disposed to accord to Victor Hugo all the
honor and reverence which are his due must be
stirred almost to impatence by the expression of
a Judgment so discriminating that it claims
supremacy not alone for masterpieces but for every
line OF the voluminous productions of the author.
Nothing less than the doctrine of verbal inspiration
will satisfy Mr. Swinburne, and the world is not
prepared ID cOncede so much. Victor Hugo was
great writer but he wrote much ordinary prose and
poetry, and not little which only deserves the
name of trash. In his prose more than in his poetry
perhaps the latter is TO be found lie was dfuse
and prolly. often beyond endurance. He was fond
of curious displays of the sort of erudon to be got
from the encyclopedias, parading this knowledge
in a naively concGted way, and frequently mixing
with il an ignorance not less profound than per-
verge. Instances of this can be found in II ROnime
oaa Rit aud Les Tardilieays de Ia Ke. In his most
serious work there was also meodramntic ten
dency q seeking after theatrical effect, which
assuredly does not belong to the highest art In
H.. tI. A1..l.v tlN At