New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-29
POETRY.
CANON Anglers EDITION OF THOMAS
HOOD.

SIS; xii. h5. The The Macmillan Company.
THE GoMPbEGB W0Rkso e 9P pp
Xvi s97. Houghton. Miffin d Co.
ENGLISH LYRIC POETRY; iSocl ascsr wlth o S"
Introduction by. Frederic Ives CarPeHS, eps w
tayo pp XIV 276. Charles Scribners Sohs'
W MAS SEEN Z WNiiTHiN AID WITHouT by BY
ADDISON p MGLs T.nd Ruc Trbner CO. Limited
Hood in any shape is "a precious possessioi'
Hood printed in two handsome volumes with
memoir and some helpful notes by Canon Am
ger is still more precious. This Eversley edi'oh
NJ the poet leaves nothing to be desired lie is
only IN he printed In some such worthy lorih'
for he "a one of the lovable figures OF his time
ono Of the poets whose work may rail- Deheath
anv number OF standards without ever aileha'-
ing the reader who has once grasped the secret
OF his art 1t was essentially an art that Hooo
practised his poems having tha' oel' anu
finished character which proclaiIns the man Vi
ooro ond taste. vet It would be hard 10 find
yersa NJ his which savors OF artihciality pure
and simple The nature of the poet was 100
strong and too genuine for any such limitation
TO be apparent in his writings. what ne ala
out Of an impulse Of pure nonsense may easii!
be separated from what he did because, as
noet he could not help himself; but In both
cases Hood was spontaneous and IN earnest III
no wrots nonsense 1t was because he loved 1t;
II he was pathetic. 1t was because the heart OF
the man was touched. and for a minor poet. for
ono whose name is comparatively seldom on the
Iinc or modern readers, he has an astonishing
vitality which the present volumes fittingly en-
shrine. Canon Anger, lingering affectonately
On his poets merrier aspects, Is fam to protest
that after all the world is mistaken in con-
demning the punster as intrlnsically worth
less varlet-when the punster Is HOOD. Ihls IS
his conclusion. to which every impartial reader
is bound to subscribe:
To disparage the rare and original vein of
fancy that prompted SUCH thirgs Jas hooo
verbal pranks) merely because they SAVIOR or
the pun" is TO run the risk of seriously limit
ing ones range Of literary sympathy and en-.
joymcnt. Indeed. the peculiar genius or HOOD
may oblige us to reconsider more than one
of our favorte literary canons, and among
them the relation of Wit and poetry HOODS
wit Is constantly poetical. and his poetry Is SO
frequently witty as to make the division OF ms
verse for editorial purposes. into serious and
humorous" a matter Of real difficulty We are
all agreed that wit is heightened by an element
OF poetic fancy. The question remains. Is po-
etry, when in intention serious. helped or hin-
dered, strengthened or weakened. by admxture
with wit? Who shall decide, on the mo-
ment whether Walters couplet.
The souls dark cottage. battered and decayed.
Let's in new light through chinks which time
has made,
Is to be pronounced witty or poetical? The
truth Is that IL Is both. and that the two are
fused, beyond possibility of separation. by the
intensity and sincerity Of the truth enforced.
That Hoods peculiar faculty justified the
use Of the word genius cannot think. be gain
said. AS poet he cannot. indeed. be placed In
the first rank. or even in the second; but genius
Is no question Of place In q class list. Hood
has a real individuality. which gives him the
primary claim 10 the title. and he has charm
and sincerity to boot. Through these things he
lives and will live when those manifold echoes
Of other poets which abound In every genera
ton are died away and forgotten.
The Cambridge edition OF Burns resembles the
Eversley edition Of Hood in that It gives not
only perfect text. with ample notes. both
printed in handsome FORM but comes with an
Introductory essay from a peculiarly competent
hand. The publishers Of this volume are the
American publishers Of Henley & Henderson's
admirable centenary edition Of Burns. and they
have been able to borrow from the latter Mr.
Henley's long essay the life. genius and
achievement OF the poet The book thus gives
in condensed form what the subscribers to the
centenary edition possess in four volumes Mr.
Henley and his colleagues have earned n good
deal of praise for their sane. straightforward
treatment Of their hero. Burns to them is not.