The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-28
THE POET AND THE HUMORIST.


 Lecture by Professor Lewis in Yale Att School in Connection With the Lit
 erary Course of the University-Large
 and Appreciattve Audience.
 Professor Lewis, of the English de-
 partment of Yale, delivered lecture In
 Yale art school. in connection with the
 winter literary course, last evening, to
 large and appreciative audience. The
 hall was filled to overflowing. The lec-
 turer chose for his subject "The Poet
 and the Humorist," and pointed out
 that those two represent opposing ten-
 dencies in character as well as in lit- erature. One stimulates our serious side and the other the lighter side of l our nature.
 After dwelling on the seeming con- f1ict between them he demonstrated that many of our greatest humorists have also 8 strain Of poetry in their natures, and that some, at least, of our great poets are also genuine humorists.
 In citing examples of the poets art, where he delineates the pleasure of be- ing serious the lecturer quoted from Wordsworth "The Idylls of the King" and 'Enoch Arden"
 The professor did seem little icono- elastic in stating that he wished to tear in pieces the rainbow to get at its com ponent parts, But his metaphor, if rough, was kindly and humorous. He maintained that we are both poets and humorists in ourselves, and possess the power to make or mar our sense of and appreciation of both poetry and humor. If we attempt to define humor we arc faced with insurmountable difficulties. It is as difficult to define humor as to define poetry We must differentiate between true and the false humor Ev- cry ones sense of humor is different in different peoples, The Americans sell dom laugh at the jokes in Punch and the English very often fail to see the point of our brightest sallies. Therefore, the attempt to legislate on the escense of poetry and humor is utterly impossi- ble.
 It is essential to have the capacity to enjoy as we'll as to impart humor. After good deal of racy criticism of Milton, Chaucer and Wordsworth the lecturer proceeded to point out that many of our great poets are also great humorists. In many of our great poets works the eye of the poet seems to have been fixed too much on the depths of | heaven and hell to see the finer points of true humor. The smallest of small | things of life is seen by the humorist; | the poet has bequeathed to us his im- mortal rhapsodies because he was a Many a soul who possesses he divine aff1atus cannot pour out his ceilings in poetry because he is also a and lives and dies a Milton, perhaps, but mute and inglorious. For he poet to see the trivial things of life. 'nly in the light of the eternal verlties 8 just as much opposed to the true unctions of poetry as for the humorist o make buffoonery of serious things is opposed to true humor.
 The lecturer was inclined to agree with Matthew Arnold in his criticism of 1naucer. He held that Chaucer was nore humorist than poet His hu- nor was hard to beat even by our best, ut his higher flights failed to reach he heights of Milton. Dante or Shakes care. And yet his broadness compen- ated for what might be lacking in his eight.
 Professor Lewis concluded a most interesting lecture by referring to hakespeare's unique position as the ' reatest of poets and the greatest of umorists. He cited such divers char cters as Lady Macbeth, Falstaff, and hamlet in apt illustration of his master lind in poetry and humor