The San Francisco call., 1904-02-07
RNEvv LITERATURE OF TIE ITaYE2 \ : Y AdkZ

upon Hardy But he would give this
impressive visualized epic out to a less
imaginative world and therein he
makes a mistake.
The task is too great for the pen of
the author. He cannot be a Homer or
a Milton. He has not the power to
grasp the enormous thought in its en-
tirety. The theme at the back of ii
all which holds together all of the
multitudinous cantos and makes the
one great unit may be in his mind but
not ia his work. The result is that the
epic drama which he hoped to create
is naught but fearsome ola pedrida
OF disjointed visions.
To be fair TO Mr.. Hardy. he seemed
10 realize his inability. for in a lengthy
foreword he admits that in devising
this chronicle piece no attempt has
been made to create that completely
organic structure of action and closely
webbed development OF character and
motive which are demanded in
drama strictly self-contained." On the
contrary, he leaves il to the reader to
fill UP the gaps and the waste places
from the fonts OF his own magma
ton, thus giving the drama itself the
capacity of a handy Baedeker, as it
were, to Napoleonic epic verse. But
q not very ineligible handbook The
Dynasts" proves to be.
Not the least OF the stumbling
blocks I'm the path of the willing
reader are the Phantom Intelli-
gences" which wing their astral flight
from cover to cover. The Ancient
fr-ff Cf do Of
the Earth" Spirit of Pities" and
countless companion disembodied con-
ceptions of philosophy are made to di-
rect the figures on the blood red stage
below like marionettes at a puppe
show. They debate, philosophize and
wrangle even. Their part in the piece
is very much like. those of First
Spirit and Second Spirit" in Cole
ridges Ancient Mariner
For these creatures Hardy must
needs make some vindication. In his
preface he says: Their doctrines are
but tentative. and are advanced with
little eye to a systematized philosophy
warranted to lift the burthen Of the
mystery Of this unintelligible world.
The chief thing hoped for them is
that they and their utterances may
have dramatic plausibility enough to
procure for them, in the words of
COleridge, that willing suspension of
disbelief for the moment which con-
sututes poetic faith
II is not manifest that Hardy en-
deavors to throw any new historical
light upon the Napoleonic wars,
though in his foreword he declares
that England's part in that great
struggle has been heretofore sighted
by European writer's. His insistent
reiteration Of the fact that all the
actors in the great warfare were but
puppets in the hands of .the Imma-
nent VIII" cannot be thought to be
any addition to the historical record
by those who believe that we are, all
of us, in the hollow of Gods hand.
The Almighty was known to have
shielded Israel from their enemies
while Napoleon was still the soul of
an Egyptian cat. may be.
From the viewpoint of style, Mr..
Hardy's work may be said TO be good
rhetoric, but very poor verse. The
blank verse, If chopped into separate
sentences. would be found TO be
dramatically correct, but for blank
verse II is hardly to be accepted as
worthy Of the name. There are many
weary wastes of dialogue to be ira
Versed and few water springs of true
poesy rejoice the weary traveller. In
spiration seems 10 be lacking in the
verse even though it supplied the
theme.
Mr. Hardy has made mis- name at
hcuon. He has written some little
verses which are good. But it is
sincerely TO be hoped that he will not
De encouraged into the completion of
parts two and three OF this nineteen
act phantasmagoria.
CThe Macmillan Company. New
York;