The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-06-22

out all these poems. In melody the,
are dull, and in grace of movement
sadly lacking. The influence o
Goldmith and Burns is nowhere NOR,
plainly noticeable than in tires,
Sketches.
The publication of the "Lyrica
Ballads proved Wordsworth to b,
the least popular poet in England
When the first edition had laboret
through slow sale, he prefixed t.
the second an argumentativc prefac,
in which he explains that "The,
were written chiefly with a view L
ascertain how far the language o
conversation in the middle and low
er classes of society is adapted to th,
purposes ofpoetie pleasure. 1t wa.
indeed an experiment and one thai
cost him dearly. The critics were
merciless but he was self-confident
Said he, "My ears are stone dead t.
this idle buzz, and my flesh as in
sensible as iron to these petty
stings." No amount of adverse crit
icism had the slightest effect upon
him. He was interested in mankind
more than in men.
Many objections have been urged
against these Ballads, but probably
their greatest defect lies in the fact
that many passages are inharmon
ious and appear as mere exerescenees
on the poems in which they are
found. In none of his works is he
more lacking in unity.
Although severely criticised and
but little read even to this day, none
of his poems furnish more genuine
feeling, beauty of thought, or sweet
ness of rythm. 1t is in these that
He murmurs near the running brooks,
music sweeter than their own
The "Wagoner" and the Idiot
Boy" are unworthy the genius OF
Wordsworth, both in conception and
execution.
His ode on the Power of Sound
is one of the most exquisite, imagin.
alive and thoughtfulin the language.
"Laodamin," "Dion," and the
"Ode TO Lycoris" are the purest and
most richly classic of all his poems.
His Sonnets are polished, thoughtful
and symmetrical
Among his "Sonnets dedicated to
Liberty" to the "River Duddon" and
those of miscellaneous character
may be found passages containing
poetic vividness, strength, beauty
and a perfection scarcely equaled in
literature
But Wordsworth had his faults.
He lacked the power TO discrimi
nate and condense. In style he is
redundant, and in description too
minute. His fondness for particu-
lars often leads him into tcdiousness.
He appears to be utterly incapable Of
bumor; his false wit mars some of
his most beautiful thoughts. Says
Holmes, ale wrote too much to write
we'll, for it is not great Xcrxes ar
my of words but compact Greek
ten thousand that march safely
down to posterity."
Nature was the goddess of his
alteration. N the world of sight and
sound nothing escaped him. from
the planetary motions in the heav-
ems down to the restless shadow of
the smallest flower, Scattered in the
greatest profusion throughout his
verse are images of mountain and
cloud, of the misty lake, the voices
of winds and waters, the wailing
blast, and the CLEAN of sunshine
breaking upon his earaptured vision.
He loved to look upon the face of
Nature when she sends to us "Gleams
like the flashing Of shield" and
would gaze for hours on the gorgeous
phenomena of the heavens.
His descriptions of cloud scenery
are grand and sublime. What is
more expressive than his description
of an assemblage of clouds which
present "The beauteous semblance of
a flock at rest" He has vivified and
fixed in imperishable form the faint
est conceptions ofthe mind. He re-
fers to cataract seen from station
two miles away as sfrozen by dis
lance"
He loved solitude; it was to him
"a bower chamber, library,
temple 1t was his desire to make
men wiser, happier and better. He
lived in an atmosphere above the pet
ty affairs of ordinary life and "wan-
dered lonely as cloud that floats
on high over hills and dales." He
climbed to the mountain summit, he
followed the course of the winding
stream, the wild flowers, and the
birds knew him-these were his COM
panions and his friends. According
to DeQuincy Scarcely has there
been poet with what could be call
ed a learned eye,or an eye extensive
sively learned, before Wordsworth"
Poets before his time had sought
to portray the universal elements of
beauty, dignity and truth in kings,
courts, philosophers, magnificent
pageants-in the romantic. He
sought to disclose the true source of
wisdom, poesy, and religion, of tTag-
edy and of happiness in the ordinary
condition of man, in the novels of
the poor, in nature as we find her
in the real.
In the realms of imagination, the
emotions and the affections, he has
never been surpassed. Led on by his
far seeing imagination he passed be-
yond the elemental forces of the uni
verse, beyond the finite, to the inf
mite, and yet he was not creator of
images. Even where his genius is
yelled in mist and shadow and
cloud, the light ofimagination strug-
giles through, flashing forth its ra-
diant beams and Illuminating the
pathway our of existence and our
daily thought with a dazzling ra-
dance that seems like a veritable
revelation. II was his divine imag
ination that conducted his great soul
to those lofty heights which "yield
far stretching views into eternity"
His emotional manifestations are
equally great. He bears us far be-
You'd the boundaries OF actual life.
into the regions of the ideal, and
leads us by "pellucid streams"
through an "ampler ether" ''divin-
err air." and fields invested with
"purpureal CLEANS"
He gave form and utterance to our
innermost thoughts and imprisoned