The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-06-27

ts awful GRANDEUR To the lover Of
the grand and s1blime-this Is poetry I
1.-The silvery quiet Of the moonlight
night. when We wander amid the jessa-
mines and roses. with our darling,
whispering words Of love. and dream.
ing Of the future-this is poetryl
.'The midnight hour in the attic.
when. through the crrvices Of the roof
and windows. We catch glimpses of the
flashing lightning, and listen, slumber
and dream to the music OF the patter-
ing rain drops on the root-this is
poetry .E|.|. t
The roaring cataract, the silvery
rivulet. the towering mountain. the
dark ravine, the opening rosebud, the
cherub child the waving grain. the
modest violet-all breathe the music of
,sihe beautiful face, the gentle. thrill
ing pressure Of the hand, the kettle
sinxing for tea, the joyous meeting of
the husband and wife on the return
from labor at .be twilight hour, the
smile, the kiss-all this is poetryl
1T flashes in the skys il blossoms on
the earth, il brea.hes music in the air,
deiighting the eye. charming the ear,
and filing the soul with ineifa5le hap
piness-sll this is poetryl
ITO appreciate. 70 comprehend, aud
to interpret this golden. sunny halo Of
beauty, is the gift of the poet"
III these are correct definitiOns-and
who will doubt it7-what must be the
state OF that mind which really hates
poetry. and has no poetry written with
In it7 a NV
Says DR.. Holland: "AlI that is grand
and good, all that is heroic aud uusel-
fish. all that is pure and true, all at Is
hrm aud strong. all that is beautiful
and harmonious. is essentially poeti-
cal fHI7fI.
Poetry" says Coleridge. has been
10 me its own exceeding great reward:
IL has given me the habit Of wishing to
discover The good and beautiful in all
that meets and surrounds me-"
Again | ask-what must be the con-
dition Of that mind which hates poetry.
and has noadmiration for. or sympathy
with. the good. the pure the true. the
bcsuiifnl and sublimeI OF such a one,
might We not say with Shakespeare:
The man thu. birth no irausicfn himself.
Nor is not rnoysc with concord OF sxeet-
sounds.
l. a. FOR tre8sons. strstageus aud spoils.
The motions OF his spirit are dull A. night,
And his ate ctions dark IS Ere5us-
-~N LIZ a-N- - - NC - A-,slls
Sir William Temple wisely observes,
OF those who despise poetry and music.
which are twin sisters: Whoever find
themselves wholly insensible to these
charms, would. think. do well to keep
their own counsel, for fear Of reproach-
ing their own temper. and bringing the
goodness Of their natures, If not of
their understandings, into question. IL
may be thought at least an iILsign, II
not an Ill constitution; since some of
the fathers went so far as to esteem the
love of music sign OF predestination;
as thing divine, and reserved for the
OF heaven itself"
Thus Il appears that poetry, so far
from being the trivial toy that some
people suppose soothing pastime for
children. or for love-sick boys and girls
lis something of superior import, and
rs worthy the attention OF the wise and
serious, as Of the gay and thought
less among mankind. Indeed, IL Is one
Of those things which only the wise can
understand. and, as have al
ready stated, the reason why many
people dislike poetry, is simply because
they do not understand IL.
Poesy Is that sentiment of the soul,
Dr. faculty of the mind, which enables |
Is possessor TO appreciate and realize |
he heights and depths Of human ex-
1t Is the power to feel pleas
IRE or suffer pain. in all its exquisite |
ness and intensity. Aldo not possess
{ in the same degree. nor can anyone |
Who IS not totally depraved be utterly |
ievoid OF II. Nearly all men and women |
ire poetical. 10 some extent. but very |
ev Of them can be called poets There !
Ire great poets and small poets. and |
here are men an women who make !
rerses. But al are not poets. nor even |
rood versifers- Poetasters are plenti- |
oil, BIT real poets are very rare. !
Education can not make \ poet; al |
hough it may polish and develop one |
rhe poet Is = child OF Nature, and, as /
he old proyerb says, is burn, not |
made" The greater the poet, the |
greater Is his capacity 70 suffer and en- |
oy. This is why poets and other men |
md women OF genius are often such |
Tiolent extremists, with their lives and /
characters full Of contrasts and appar-
mt contradictions. All heights and |
lepths OF feeling are theirs; vast Is their /
cope and marvellous their versatility.
They are either soaring like eagles IN /
triumph among the clouds, or grovel-
ng in despair in the depths Of the abyss.
The poetic sentiment or faculty, I
lave said. is the power TO feel intensely, I
ither pleasure or pain. 1t does not al
rays End expression in words. There
re joys that are mute; there are sor-
ovs that never sigh or weep; bat are
loquent in their Stiffness, and ali the
more powerful for their imprisonment.
dany poets have never written. They
nay have fels the divine FIRE burning |
rithin them. every nerve and fbre
4 their sensitive natures thri led
nth JOY or shaken with agony.
nd yet were powerless 20 pour out
pom the palpitsting air the burden Of |
be song that resounded through all
be secret esverns of the soul. The
most eloquent poets. whose words
Tere sparks OF immortality" have felt
he painful insiequsoy OF language to
Illustrate their thoughts. Even Byron |.
ries out amid the overpowering
randeur of the Alps. whose towering
ops, glistening in their caps of snow
ilyered by the moonbezms or froEninx
arkly amid the lurid CLEANS aud mot
prings Of The storm-swept with
titanic fingers he harp-strings OF his
oul: