The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-08-02
DR.. KINGSBURY'S CONCLUDING
PAPER ON THE POET BYRON
Poets Literary Judgment at Fault How the Bryonic
Craze Swept England and All Europe His
Early Death in Greece.

his taste for poetry as well-were greatly
at fault. He praised Pope above all Eng
lish poets, and today his rank is not
with the second order-he does not rank
with even Dryden, much less with Words
worth, Byron himself, Shelley, Keats or
his contemporaries as well as that of
other times. He was sceptic, ridculed
revealed religion, lived an immoral life,
debauched lite, drank excessively, and died
at thirty-six. He laughed at public opin-
len, scoffed at the reviews, condemned the
writers for the press, and still was
pervious all over, and allowed manikin
arrows, which were beneath his laughter.
to arouse his rage. (Gilfllan). He
writes strikingly, I'VE regard Byron Meth
ed as in any sense, a creator, nor wholly,
as a creature of his period; but rather as
a stranger entangled in the passing stream
of its crowd, imperfectly adjusted to Its
customs, indifferently reconcled to its
laws-among men but not of them-a man
OF the world, but not man of the age;
and who has rather fallen turiously
through it-spurning It's heights and seek
ing its depths-Tthan left on 1t any deep or
definite impression" This was written be-
fore 1850. MIR. Gilfilan writes OF the IN
fuence which Scotch scenery had upon
him, and how Lochnagar had seized upon
him. The description is fine on the part
of the critic, but | have not room for It's
reproduction. He says that he loves the
cloud and the thick darkness" He re
marks that mo poet since Homer and
+, Ida has thus everlastingly, shot his genius
into the heart of one great mountain,
identifying himself and his song with it, .
that other poets have their mountains.
but "Lochnagar is Byrons own-no poet
will ever venture to sing 1T again. He
was so greatly moved, impressed awed,
that he referred to it now and then, and
thence the severe Dante-hke monument
al, Dante-like, mountainous cast OF his
better poetry.
Byrons first venture IN publishing verse
was disastrous. He called it "Hours of
Idleness," composed of fugitive, boyish
verse. He was nineteen, and the little
volume was despised or neglected. 1t
gave no promise. He was severely critl-
cized by the Edinburgh Review. This
stirred the youthful rhymester, and he
printed after awhile his bitter, revilng
English Bards and Scotch Reviewers. F"
1t was very stormy and coarse and sweep
ing. 1t has genuine power IN parts no
doubt. 1t gave clear manifestation OF
the vigor, lucidity. intense passion that
distinguished so many, perhaps all, of his
subsequent and the most matured OF his
poetic writings.
Byron went to Europe, travelled for two
years, returned and published the first
two cantos of 'Childe Harold" They were
widely read and much praised 1t won
him the first place among contemporaries,
and vet it is now seen that the praise wac
excessive, although the effort gave high
promise, and was decidedly brilliant IN
parts. 1t is not too much to claim Tor 1t
that there are in it beauty pathos, eleva-
ton of sentiment, gwen sublimlty OF de-
scription. Then, IN rapid succession tol-
lowed ''The Giaour'' and The Bride Of
Abydos.'' 1.-THE Corsair" and Lara. "
They increased the enthusiasm in England,
and the Byron craze began. 1t swept Eng
land. crossed to the continent of Europe
and made captives of the authors and men
OF genius of many lands Prof. Shaw says
of him: Most of the narrative poems
were written in the irregular rhymed me
tres. which Scott had brought INTO lash
ion. They have rarely any prctentlons
to ingenuity of plot or connected develop
ment of incident; and are indeed, little
else than powerful embodiments OF terrible
Observation-Disclosures mstants-ln
Oriental existence. They are not, in short,
dramas, nor hardly scenes, OF the life oil
men; they are moments of intense and
dramatic passion" AS all writers upon
Byron have noted, the various characters
who figure are not so many men OF dll-
ferent mould and pecularltics and person
aites as they are really all one and the
same-the male in all being the same in
ALL and many say it was Byron himself
that he painted. Byron was indeed very
intense man, and his characters are filled
with the very intensity of passion He
published two poems called THE Siege OF
Corinth" and "Parisina," both irregular
in structure and short, but brilliant and
very spirited He then went abroad, and
some six months later had completed the
third canto of "Childe Harold" and THE
Prisoner of Chillon'' The former is ex
ceedngly fine He utilities his travels in
a mastery way in Greece, Italy, etc. The
first two cantos were extremely popular,
but are far below the third and fourth IN
ygenius and splendor They are tinged
with a deep sorrow, but are far more
virile and rich than the first and second
cantos Gifllan notes that the public
ceased to read and admire the greater
productions that were so permeated with
nre. and were SO rich in high poetic ar
dor and beauty He writes: "Thcse who
shouted applause when he ISSUED the first
tive elegant, but comparatively shallow
cantos of "Childe Harold" which were
the reflection of other minds, shrank from
HIM when he displayed the terrible riches
of his own" The Scotchman writes er
roneously two first, an impcsslblht.
There can never be two firsts L find
be does not think well of THE Bride oil
Abydos," saying of it that It rs tender
and somewhat maudin memory of Greece.
The number of Eastern, and particularly
Greek poems, he published, were generally
written in the metres of Scott as men
toned. They are strictly Oriental, anc