The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-12-21
POETRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
The Following Essay was Read Before a
Recent Meeting Of the Robert r. Lee
Chapter Of the Daughters Of the
Confederacy, by Mrs J. II.
Sullivan.
Sullivan.

failed to strike responsive chord in
the heart "f the great reading public
aud his verse is rarely read nova
days Ihope 20 see revival of in-
terest aud appreciation taken iu his
work.
Better known than Timrod, but
still comparatively stranger 10 the
literary world, is Paul Il. Hayne.
Though more forum tely situated
than Timrod from pecuniary stand
point, nevertheless Haync suffered
keenly and his lines were net laid in
pleasant places. Had be been born
in Boston, or near some center of cul
ture, he would have received that
sympathy aud appreciation which are
a veritable elixir of life to the man Of
genius. But while he wrote his linn
pid verse, South Carolina was being
racked aud tortured by the abolition
of slavery, and later on the din Of war
filled the land with horrid clamor, aud
we had little time to delve into litera-.
ture Or liouize the makers thereof.
Hayne, however, has written some
poetry that will compare favorably
with what Matthew Arnold Germs
"the best things that have been
thought and said in the world" His
ode to Sleep, especially those lines
where he says,
ssCome WOO me here amid these fowery
charms;
Breathe on my eyelids; press thy odor-
GUS lips
Close to mine own; enwreathe me in
thine arms,
And cloud my spirit with thy sweet
eclipse.'
Haynes so1nets have also won the
deserved praise of the critics, and his
poem on "The Pestilence. = written
during the prevalence of yellow fever
in Charleston in 1858, has received
the warmest commentator at the
hands Of scholars and men Of letters.
But like Timrod, few take the trouble
to study his york nowadays and
volume of his verre is not often seen
in the average library.
Outside Of these two poets, how
ever, South Carolina has no other
name whom she can boast Of with
pride. It is said that the secret am
bition Of William Gilmore Simms was
to win recognition as writer of verse,
but he is best known as the author Of
"The Partisan, The Spy and other
Interesting novels, with the revolt
tionary war as background.
1t may be wellto ask, at this juno
ture, what has the future in store for
"Poetry in South Cardinal Is there
a golden age ahead of us? Can we
confidently look forward to revival
OF imaginative composition and watch
hopefully for the dawn Of a second
Elizabethan era? We must confess
that the outlook is not very encourag
ing when we contemplate the ques-
tions of some of our modern versifers.
I trust that / shall not be accused Of
taking pessimistic view of Poetry iu
South Carolina. There is really very
little Of it which we have reason TO
feel thankful and nothing is gained by
exalting what is manifestly devoid Of
merit. The poetry of Timrod and
Hayne can be read with profit and
pleasure, and thei- work deserves
more attention than is now paid il.
We must cling to these two, for they
offer consolation for past failures and
kindle hope for future that is big
with possibilities. Without making
any glowing predictions, or indulgiug
in commonplace auguries, we may
fervently trust wi6h Pope, that "God
will yet bestow on us proper muse,
whose strong pinion Heaven. can not
bound