New-York tribune., 1886-05-02
THREE ENGLISH WRITER'S.
A CRITICAL VOLUME ON TENNYSON, RUS
EIN AND BROWNING.


Mr. Cookc who is favorably known hy his critical
and expostory volumes on Emerson and George
Eliot has here applied the same method when ne
used in those two books TO a study oi lennS son.
Rpskln and Browning. lie declares that he haS
"not sought to play the critr," ana tha' i"' '"'
profession of criticism he has httle olhet ''''
feelings of contempt few pages iurthcr Oh "c
remarks that at present the greatest nee" VI
American literature is for true criticism ah" !"
the absence of Just conception oil poetic hit M"
purpose our younger writers are following '''S"
standards with most deplorable results IL VIII
be seen from this abstract OF some oi the s'h'' nus
of his preface that MIR. Cookies thonHh' IN "o'
oIwovs oxnressed with exactncss When lac says
that he has feeling of contempt or inc pr"icSS III
Of criticis,p he means that he has "A contempt for
excessive fault- finding When lie says mat cru
csm is the greatest need of our literature he seems
to mean that the power TO appreciate and admire
- lacking in our literary guides they are Nult-
urcs rem ling and dcvorring and seeking only to
satisfy their hunger by the task of their pens" No
body who has really studied the literary movement
of our time will admit this TO be true MOI only isa
great deal of excellent criticism written III theSe
d,vs hu the characteristic of it is just the opposite
of what Mr. Cooke supposes. Its tendency is to err
by excess of adulaton rather than by rendlns
and devouring: and nothing has done moro 10 Gu
courage the trivial practices ol tie younger prlc-a-
brac and landscape poets than the extreme good
nature OF the constituted ccnsors ihe gchiai
TEMPER of contemporary criticism of literature is
the more remarkable bccause il is III such strong
contrast with the current criticism upon the arts.
which so far as it examines the product OF oar
own country is generally unsympathetc' anu
often unjust, brutal and mischcvous.
If Mr. Cook had written This book, as he thinks
he did merely to enjoy the delightful luxury OF
praising" il would not have been worth the while.
Neither 1ennysou nor Ruskin, nor Browning Is III
need of a trumpcter But fortunately Mr.. Cookies
practice is better than his precept. In spite oi
himself he has written criticism. lie has even vent
ured upon fault-iinding No intelligent lover OF
these or any other great writers could explain their
pace in literature a1alyze tLcir habits OF thought,
define their theory of life. or describe their style,
without indicating their mistakes and limitations
as well as their exccllcnccs. Mr. Cooke begins
this necessary balancing of qnalit es IN the very
intro luciOn TO his study Of Tenny son. whom he re-
CARDS as the most perfect representative oil the
poetic spirit of the Victorian ella. This era, FOL
lowing the revolutionary epoch OF Burns, Words
worth. ana Shelley. has been deeply influenced by
the discovery of the continuity of.human develop
ment" the idea that each generation Is develop
mcnt from the preceding Ones and that there are
on slowly. and along appointed channels. Losing
the expectation of an immediate regeneration OF
the world the instant coming of universal change
and freedom the poets have learned to look back
over the whole course Of time for heroic and
romantic themes, and to find Il ncver-fliIing IN
piraton in mar, whose hopes and passions are the
same througl all the ages. Externally the chlei
characteristic of the Victorian poetry IS ITS growth
as an art " In other words the poets OF the present
time are moved with the one thought that poetry is
an art to he cultivated and deveOpcd. They do
not sing for the sake of giving fitting expression to
their inner life. but that they may fashion some
thing lovely TO the artistic perceptions. 1T ~
beauty of words rather than beauty of thought
which they scck. Poetry is 10 thcm an art rather
than an in piration." If Mr.. Cooke meanN to apply
this criticism TO the poets Of the second and lower
ranks It Is just but applied to Tennyson it Is
obviously oyer,trained. and It does not harmonize
Will what he says later. The cts biography is
skctcLed briefly: and then our author considers,
under distinct heads the qualities of his style, the
meaning and characteristics ol some OF MS larger
works the faiiingS of bis dramas, and ms clinical
and religious teachings. The writing is discurslNe
and often unsystcmatic but the admirers OF Jenny
son will be pleased by the quickness of the critics
aprreciation and the enthusiasm with which he
expresses il; and they viii find that he has Iaith-
fully studied the poet on all sides, although OF
course not all SIDES of this rare mind have been
coually we'll understood AS an example OF Mr..
Cookc's manner and fair test of his powers Of
discrimination, we present the following extract
perhaps nowhere more clearly than in the
IdylsD does TcnnysOn reveal himself as the artist
and one who has great love oi the Idylllc ana
| nicrure.oue side of life. The life oi rugged
strength which was that oi the time of the Arthur
| legends lac loes not find attractive. and VIII not
| accent as worthv of a place in his poem. In much
] ti,a he lpa
social problems of modern life. That III TIE ne OF
| today which looks grim and ugly, because oil the
| elements in il of blrh-struggle and OF srarch lor
! new paths for the souls march. he cannon appfc
cate at its full worth. There ~ hat IN tne Plst Oh
! feeling and of romance which as a poet he cannot
| hut delight in. his IL is IN the legends OF hlng
Arthur whIch causes them 10 lay hold OF his imagi
| nation. and which has led him 10 find IN them a
trne allernrv of the soul. Arthur is unreal per-
snn IN The - IdvIsV not A being of lie and blood ;
! and this element of unreaty pervades the whole
work The PDem does not conceive OF LIE IN ITS
| most earnest and inslstcnt phases OF eXpressl0n
| II is the wor, of artist. and not the work OF
one who has prODed tho secret OF lie TO It's utter
most.
The paper Oh Ruskin is fervent, but it is not sat-
| isfyng. The critical remarks are too general and
| those who do not know Ruskn already will hardly
gather from these admiIing pages an idea OF what
he has done or even a faint of the qualities
of his style. Ruskin is such remarkable master
of English prose and his rank hereafter will depend
SO largely upon his traits as a writer, indepen-
IDENTITY of his theories as critic. that any study
HIM must be fatally defective which does not lay
stress upon the analysis and illustration OF his style.
Mr. Cookies treatment of this part of his subj Is
vague and the paper as a whole lacks precision.
The essay on Browning is the best OF the three.
The chapter on Browning's relation to his wife Z"
is particularly well done. The exposition of tho
poets theory of art is careful and complete. and
the essential qualities OF his poetry have been clearly
appTehended and clearly expressed. The subject is
a difficult one; yet the paper shows more force and
concentration than either OF the others, and may be
taken rs specimen of that true criticism which
Mr. Cooke a while ago appeared to condemn and
desire at the same moment. The following is a
good sample page:
Three men whose names occupy conspicuous
| places IN recent English literature have repre-
ted tie Inter cffrcfs of German idea llsm lhcsc