New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-07
STUDIES IN SONG.
NINETEENTH CENTURY POETS.
POPLAR STUDIES OF NINETEENTH CENT X
POETS BY J. Marshall Mather. 12mO, PIP. lof'
Nm & %

p0ETS Bv j. Marshall Mather. l-lHO' PIP A~f'
| frederick Wnrne Co.
The studies here given are in number INC
poe,s chosen for illustration are characterized as io
lows word ,worth, the Naturalist: Shelley the ldeas'
/ Colerdse the Metaphysican; Byron, the PesslhS''
Hood the Humorist; Tennyson. the Moodist; Bowl
inc the Optmist. II is hazardous method LOT
critic Tins 10 label his subject and it would not De
drrcu 10 make II appear that several OF these char
acterizations not merely inadequate, but msiead
Ing Especially should object TO denominatihs
Kyron Pessimist, Tennyson a Moodist. and BROWNING
! Am Oprimst. Precisely what a Moodist may be, we
do not pretend to comprehend In one sense every
noet and every writer Of fiction is moodlst MI
Notber appears TO the denoting poet VINO
describes moods particularly; but this cannot
be accepted as a good sufficient definition OF inc
Iaureate'5 verse. No doubt he has described huha
moods and done II admirably but what else mas he
| NOT handled. and equally with the masters tonchf
II We compare him with Wordsworth indeed we
might make rough and broad distinction between the
two ard call the Poet OF Nature ana the other inc
| Poet Of Man. But such distinctions are little better
th,n fanchl and the worst Of making them Is that'
once made, they continually tempt the crluc 10 Try
and demonstrate their justice by putting iorceu COZ"
structions upon the work under examination lake
the case of Byron. Really he Is anything but pes''
mist. one might call him cync. were his sincerity
los estOnablc. II desire example OF gen
ulnc pessmist poet we must turn to another ana Il
sin more modern nineteenth century poet namely
James Thomson. A comparison between the autHor oil
Manfred and the author Of The CITY OF Dreadiui
Night" will at once show the difference between the
artificial and the real. byron great poet ouo
/ he WAS a poseur." Thomsons are Inspired
by Il probably constitutional melancholy. Like Leo
pardl he saw life through darkened glasses ana no
flashes Of natural light came to him.
But Byron's pes,lmism was, 10 say, maze 10
order and 1t was not part and parcel OF MS mipu'
Every man who thinks at all about life must occa
sonally have hours Of pesslmism; hours when the
question. Is life worth livngi presses Itself, when
the usual consultations fall when the heavens seem
and the earth Of iron. But the fact that snch
moods occur does not necessarily imply that the
sufferer from them Is pcsimst. In fact genuine
pcssmlst IA than n black swan. We DOUBT even
whether schopenhauer was faithful 10 his own creed
lie lived too long for that and enjoyed life too much
Leopard and Thomson plainly 10 abnormal CON
dItions Tho former suffered from hopeless disease !;
the latter fell into meanchoa and took his own life
Byron. the other hand. has written admirable
poetry as healthy full Of love of nature. any
so-callcd optimistic poet has produced. Mr. Mathcr
calls Browning opums.. but we think II would be
possible gather from Browning's works Sufficient
number gloomy poems support argument for the
opposite conclusion Such experiment would, OF
course, be unfair and inconclnsive but It would be
quite defensive Mr.. Mathers talk about Byron's
pcssinism.
Hood has always been termed humorlst but In
81 labelling him ut least half Of bis genius has been
put out Of sight. and that the better laf. Ills
finest f. everything but humorous Doubtless
kllmanscgg" Is brilliant tour de force. but
II - not Ia be named In the came day With The Plea
Of the Midsummer Fairies which IS ono OF the most
exquisite graceful tender Imaginative and altogether
delightful pieces " fancy modern English verse has
been enriched withal. II Is scarcely necessary 10
name those pathetic and powerful lyrics which 50
stirred the popular heart when they appeared and
which continue 10 br H. seeing that the conditions
which evolved them have for tbo most part remained
unchanged. Tho Bridge Of slghs' and the song Of
the shirt" are as applicable to-day NJ when they
were written moro than half n century ago. Hood
VIA, never charged with coarseness In his humsous
verse or prose; indeed when compared with much
other Humorous verse mot including hat OF Pracd,
Locker. Dob-on. and few others. his humorous
poems gun an access OF refinement But compare
him with himself and by contrast with his sad and
sober poetry, the other appears almost vulgar and
crude.
Mr. Mathcr does very well with poets Ike Words
worth. Shelley and Coleridge. The paper on shelley
Is indeed particularly good. beng sympathetic. dis
cernng and discriminating. Shelley was all thnt
he is here represented lie more, but he was
this NJ Ieast A, 10 the study OF Coleridge. which
dw.Ils naturally greatest length upon The Ancient
Mariner" we suspect the critic OF reading into tho
poems somcwhst more than the author of It ever
his readers 10 follow his example, perhaps theirs Is
no harm done. At all events IT Is a method which
affords opportunity for adding at will 10 the signin-
cnnce OF any poem, and II the critic possesses vivid
ina Hnation the general result may be an Increase
Of the reader enjoyment. provided he Dee capable
OF distinguishing between legitimate inference and
somewhat lawlcss fancy. The lecture
TcnnysOn. the Moodst. Is one OF the least
satisfactory not because II falls In apprecat0n,
but because II Is based too
lines. Mr. Mather has virtually confined his In
quest 10 " In McmOnam." "Thc Palace Of Art and
" Maud" Now, II l. evident that adequate judg
ment Of fennysons work and tendencies can DO
formed upon those three poems alone mainly.
something Ike this might be also objected Ia tho
study Of Byron, but the author does not pretend TO
anything Ike completeness. Tennyson, however Is 90
many sided that. whore only two facets
presented. the impression produced Is certain " DC
mi-lcadlng
Mr.. Mathcr deserves the credit OF all honest and
judgment ia tho main. and considering that his
primo purpose is 10 encourage tue study OF these
poets by those who have hitherto neglected them, Il
may be said that he has done his work with u good
deal Of tact and taste There arc In fact, plenty OF
people, considered educated, who might derive both
pleasure and Information from these lectures.