The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-12
IN s. POETRY or POE.
s4,T,yo HIS Sheer Is.s ssc'. I'erhnE,n,
@@$S but nevertheless Immortal.

m q
Poe is TO q american Ii.%:ta cure what
Keats, intaniniaitci.;- Higher sense and
,1!c.l:;li"cs is to o1lrs--;tn artist for :. rtss
sake to ssho.n little appealed but the
beautiful. and whose poetry, ut It's
best is the expression OF exclusive
homage to it. lie WIS the first = nler-
lean poet to siisassociatc poetry from
nature and life, from the world OF men,
and to transport it i!ito 4 world OF In
agiuation and fantasy. IN artist more
cCusuululate never existed. anu, al
though the f:sciuation %na "ichery
of much of his poetry Lad their origin
from mystic sources OF genuine lnSI'l-
ration and cannot be. rcsoiT".l into til
unlDhs, into miracles OF co::Sc;oHs art,
vet. as we know from hi1i&@!f. he rev
e.ed in the display of mere ::1cc!anical
craftsmanship.
This lac did in ''The Bells and The
Raven" obviously and almost as obvi-
oIsly in .'Tlalune," and in this consists
the nSinccrity Of his poetry. the two
ffths sheer fudge" of Lowclfs well
known sarcasm. or no poet may 1t be
said with more truth that he vas the
slave Of music: hence some of his poems,
like "Israfel' and the poem just mon
toned, '.Ulalume," resolve Themselves
into mere music. but it is music which
had never before been heard on Garth.
1t is in such poems as I'LL" Hann:cd
Palace 1.-The Conqueror Worm The
CITY In the Sea" "I.ryore.' Dream
land" that in his fantastic vcin he is
at his best because his magical power
as an artist and musician is employed
legitimately to body forth the genuine
conceptions OF Inagina ton. weird and
in various degrees touched with in
SnDity rs that ilnaginatio Is.
But the poems which come mosthofne
to us are the love lyrics and tIlrcnolics.
whether represented by such classic
gem as Helen. Thy Beauty, or by
.Annabel Lee with it's pathos in
ouintessence and hunting harmony. or
the magic of "Eulalic" ana The
Sleeper or the utterly un"nalyZable
fl scina1ion of the verses For ANNIE
The poetry of Poe was 4 new crea-
ton 1t owed something to Colerld@c,
something TO Shelley and something to
Tcn1lyso but nothing like it MS 4
whole had appeared before. r The
Raven and Tho Bells are little bet
tel. than tours de force. they are ahso-
lutely original. If "Ulalumc" and Us
rafer' are tuncful nonsense. no such
t,1neful nonsense had as yet been heard.
Every note which he struck he struck
for the first time, and every note which
he struck has since vibrated in the lyric
poetry Of America and England. 1t
would be idle to institute any COMPARE
son between him and the other lyric
poets Of the English speaking race
whose immortality he will share, for
he stands absolutely alone.
Every generation will delight In his
poetry but it will never come home TO
men like the poetry of his brethren.
They will be fascinated with the weird
witchery of its music and with the
mystic beauty of its strange. wild fan
cies They will wander with mingled
emotions through Its wonderful dream
land now radiant with the light OF
heaven. now lurd with q light Which Is
the light in delirium's eyes. They Will
be touched with it's pathos so simple.
vet 50 intense. They will marvel at It's
miracles Of technical triumph. But they
will draw no inspiration from It, 1t
has nothing of the Influential virtue or
vital poetry: it carries no balm for the
hearts wounds, no Solnce for lfeS
ca res-Churton Collins in North Amer
lean Review.