The herald., 1897-06-20
Observation-Disclosures
| The DIVINE TRAGEDY |
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This Is the title of poem written by
Henry w. Longfellow when he was in
the full maturity of his powers and
at a time when all English speaking
people in America would have voted
him the poets crown. The literary cir
cles of the nation had looked forward to
the coming of this poem with a thrill Of
joyous expectancy, hoping that 1t would
place the tragic muse of America at
least on level with that of England
The theme was the grandest ever
presented to the human mind. All
Christendom had read the sorrowful de-
tails Of the divine tragedy, and had
been melted by the pathos of its stern
reality, yet no modern poet had essayed
to weave into verse the story which
made Calvary the highest mount Of
earth and the cross the most potent en-
blem in the history of the worlds re-
demption. Moses and the older prophets,
| with telescopic vision, saw through the
darkness Of more than fifteen hundred
years, alike the Star Of Bethlehem and
the Crown Of Thorns. Isaiah saw this
! tragedy down the ages, and with in
spired fingers drew from the harp of Is
rael the prophetic announcement of the
divine life and the divine tragedy, but
the mists of seven hundred years shroud-
ed the scene and thus his imagination
could not call to his aid all the imagery
and drapery necessary for the highest
ornamentation.
/ David assayed to paint this scene, but
monarch-minstrel as he was, his harp
alternated between mourning for the
death of the Divine One and rejoicing in
his victory over the grave and his enc
mics.
| Dante, looking back through more than
a dozen centuries, saw the interest which
all Christendom felt in the life and death
Of Christ, but he dared not invoke his
muse to sing Of it's trials and triumphs
but rather chose to sing the divine COM
edy, knowing that in it his imagination
might be as airy andsexcursive and his
fancy as subtle and ethereal as he could
desire. Milton, whose harp seemed only
to breath out it's loftiest notes when the
hand Of inspiration swept across it's
strings, chose rather to lay the scene
of his Paradise Lost" in the primival
morn of the world antedating all his
tory, knowing that he. could call to his
aid all the myths and legends Of the
prehistoric age, and that he could at
the wave Of his wand call from forest or
glen, from mountain or desert. from sea
or air, dryads, naiads, elfs and sprites,
or any Of the vast catalogue Of fabulous
deities to enrich and embellish his
song. He did not dare to weave into
poem the history of the divine tragedy.
The theme itself would have stricken
him blind and stilled his harp forever.
Mr.. Longfellow, in his divine tragedy,
chose a theme too sacred and too Sc
verely literal to allow any scope to the
Imagination or any play to his fancy.
The history Of Jesus Christ is like no
other history in the world. His inspired
biographers have never attempted to
gild his character with glittering rhet-
oric or harmonious numbers. His life,
though the most heroic in the annals of
history, is told in few chapters. It's
severe truth and unadorned simplicity
make it the admiration of all Christen-
dom. To attmpt to embellish it with tile
drapery of poetry would be like trying
to give permanent beauty to the Par
Ithenon by twinipg few fading flowers
around it's graceful columns.
! It is this literal truthfulress of detail
| in the life of the Savior which takes it
out of the range of poetical subjects.
There must be something unknown and
unknowable to tempt the wings Of the
past. Had the exact history of Fingal
been known the halls of Selma would,
| perhaps, never have resounded with the
voice Of Coma. Had not the myths and
| legends of Greece thrown false glamour
around Achilles he would not have
stalked like a hero in the pages of Homer.
In the beautiful poem Of "Evangeline"
Mr.. Longfellow gave full play to his i'm
| agination, and gathered from the realms
| of rich fancy images, quaint and weird,
| and wOve them into mellifuous verse.
In "Miles Standish" he did not confine
his muse to literal history of that al
| most mythical character, but gave 1t un-
| bridled license to roam at will, not con-
fining 1t to the range of poetic possibil-
tiles. In 'The Divine Tragedy" Mr. Long
fellow has failed to evolve poem and
he has failed because no one can take
poetic liberties with the life of Christ.
The Divine Tragedy" is only closely
connected history of Jesus Christ, and
should have been issued under the aus
pices of the American Bible society. 1t
is we'll arranged drama Of his life, and
in it's presentation Mr. Longfellow has
used the phraseology Of the Evangelists
in its verbal exactness. This of itself
clipped the wings of his imagination. In
few passages Mr.. Longfellow has
drawn on his Imagination; that is, to
paint the lily or throw warm perfume
over the violet, but in every instance he