New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-05
POETR \.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE RAINBOW

THE r ,Ea beieacc IA and n' Fra.e 4 Their Ar
Edted By Ernest Rev Nss.yol %e Hacm, M ' co..
POETS OK POETS Eined hy Mrs hGhs,a
slrachsy i.m9; Pp oe, Ky Co. Nea,York charles
scribner's Sons. ,,,
"Anche 10 sono Poeia' II Is thls in''s' W."
best justHes critic Of poetry az DOT" '"'.' ,
umes ur0ve They are supplementary one :" Wv
o,her and combined they are - ''mpe'ey Mus
,r,,,,. - one line Of thought that they would nave
h.en ,,eleome In one binding what 10 P''"S -"
paruass,s alone IL It worth white 70 ask me i''s'
lion Tor there alone does authority "n'''
F,sa me- -, s'sa"y Mgsf Ell iS Il met. ''
,y, I'D, mi. Invocation shnps, realized lhn fl'fa
u.. ttr iua,.es-hliis ~ ihe oracle, s' mas ''''f
n.,t Who s,.f Nufe fhe hays u"'h'll'ht'li "Nl "
l,itsh,fo IL, s,e how ih'f many 'h''Mh N''''
a., ,ne,,y unite in ona iafi' ''n' nisl'N l'' f''f
,,. u,,v sat 10 ihai o. T. poetic, go "'H''
.tu,n n IL ~, ini,nin1 io uln' Win 'h'
,,ad,, ,oi rlnniy ~ state % poetic i''' N''"
,at, ,,s 4, ,ho 900, ~ Che matter when' sr"'H'NH
nf another lndennablo 'ne'n'o, n" 'nl"'
i,eau,y "a truth ,tnh beauty ,h ,n nr r "'
N,v.r,heloss. tho worshlpp't ~ beauty VII 'o"lnn'
=. ,,,o,,,,uo his goddess aud the dcvo'e"s at inc
,h,l,o nf pooiry are none the less lnlnlHln'' W.
cause they are devoted Indeed. ~ these DOORS ~
mind u.s. the poets themselves nave "'n "'n""s WV
mos, assiduous and penetrating H''H''' "'. ."
t,ia Of their fhlnDpW III wv '"'''
.,. ia hosos? whence come lis celestial hn's no"
l., g., r,,,cd above the long levels of hard prose" ana
why are It's constituents more proof against "'n'
than tho statoest monument hN'n "p"" wv
c,r,h, ON tho whole the elect themselves are pow
erlcss before these queries
And ,netg garland bound,
The lords OF thought draw near
vet the mystery Il stiil unsolved. Al the pes, W.
&c, hints suggestions. fragments OF inspra"on'
s,mewhat as an astronomer Identifies star ana
nFnN al N.
Such stars. II tine figure may be permitted nave
| been clustered by Mr. Rhys and Mrs. Sirachey. No
ono Of them is conclusive In the illumnatve power
Of It's rays but merged they shed one IlSn'' the
rainbow light to which allusion has Just been maze
In so FAR as IL has been concentrated by Mr.. Hhys
IL comes chiefly from the prose OF the poets Ills
| little volume assemblies Sidncy's Apologize irag-
| ments from Dryden, Jonson, Milton and Gray. the
preface written by Wordsworth for the second
| edition OF Lyrical Ballads, "A chapter from 'he
photographic Ii,eraria" OF Colcrige. shelleys SUI
nerh Defence OF Poetry, and excerpts from few
| other men OF genius. Some OF his extracts ar"
! ,ne,rical as the passages from Chauccr and
| spenser but the book whole IS representative
| OF the poets in their moments OF prose cri'icis"'
There is criticism In Mrs Strachey 5 Anthology put
II Is criticism that comes TO the surface ll'o'""
,arilv and I'm the course OF stanzas al rule purely
euloeistic The title of the work is well chosen 1t
.rours the illusions OF Poets on Poets, carrying
| ,ho Chronological line from Chaucer to TcnnySon
and ro,roducing the addresses nterchangei these
| hundreds Of years on "England's Helicon.'
| c,dnov following Aristotle. held that poetry was
an "arte Of imitation" and all through the critical
| ..a..os ~ the poets there runs the admission.
,r,nloa or cxplic that poetry takes It's ini'latlV"
| from nature; yet sidney himself knew That the
| noe, '.llfrod up with the vlgor u his owhe nven-
| lion" raises nature to a higher power. In other
| words poetry gets It's splr from nature and human
| No. human passion. but 1t gives to everything 1t
| touches
.Tho conservation and the poets dream.
I, ,s fascinating To follow the poets in their efforts
to trace that conservation to It's source so fascnat
| ing that one wishes sidney, Shelley Wordsworth.
colerldge and the had all expanded their essays
into volumes given in each some such
svstcmatIc and comprehensive survey we have In
Mr. Stcdman's mastery book. wide review OF
poetry written on the basis Of Wordsworth's great
"prefacc" would be little short OF a revelation
though Wordsworth like all his peers, can only
show by examples just what he means Take, IN
illustration that reference TO Gray which he makes
In discussing poetic dction. He shows clearly
enough that the simplest passages In the fragment
| he ouoies are poetic where the artificial not
| but even Wordsworth could not tell the secret OF
that simplicity. At the same time. In his feeling
that simplicity Is truth, and that truth r. organic
he gets az close II IL possible 10 get intellectually
to the heart Of his subject The keystone 81 noetr'
"a creation and the normal power OF the creative
faculty In 10 make a work not only beautiful. hui
right Thus the elevation OF the dramatic form a.
the highest In poetry amounts TO the elevation Of
"A constructive ideal the highest. Il amounts t'
the recognition Of organic truth the ultimate
aim Of poetic frenzy. In the dramatic form
poetic genius IN most synthetic and. therefore
nearer TO our conception OF an inspired maker Ye
In pointing out the prc-emIrence Of the dramatic
form II only desired TO Indicate the clcares ex
ponent available OF that essential apprshended b,
] Wordsworth. the essential Of perfect symmetry