The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-04-16
SIR JOHN SUCkLING.
some Notes On . Carol~an Poe
Prom fhs London TI1ss


SuekIInE was an amateur and Won see the
weakness Of the amateur in his ambitious
works " hen he tries to be most professional
But silll he was an amateur Of great spirit
no lived hard and died young and mlssra-
blv You might SUPPOSE from his poems
that he cared Tor nothing but love. or what
he was pleased To call love But he had
fought under Gusfavu- Adol phu- in the
Thirty Years War and his letters show that
he was more than a Drohigate or a triner
lli~ poems In fact are the diversions of -
clever man Gho had no settled business In
life. snd they are interesting not only for
the merits Of the best - them but also a.
examples Of the kind Of poetry that a brilli-
ant amateur wrote Ia the reign OF Charles
Sucsiing b alWGvs the man Of fashion
who protests that he does not take love
more seriously than anything else lie was
a resi- antl-romRnfic not. like Donns or
Bernard shaw. one who only rails against
romance that seems To him obsolete
Again and again he tells ~ that love j. all
= deltI~ion. that pursuit u everything and
rho enjoyment nothing: aud he - most
serious when he tells ~ this
Women enioyd Vhate'er before ia hsve heen,
Are IKE TomAnCr~ read. or sights once seeu
fuIluon's dun. and spoils the play much more
Than " one read Or sn~w The plot before.
-Tls expectation nakrs blessing dear.
HcaNrn Werr not heaven n We know what 70 we're
This i very neatly PM and u anticipates
the whole spirit Of the Restoration. that
spirit Which gradually made lvTical poetry
impossible and set the best poets writing
satire Sucking has found love out aud
he u the precursor Of those comedians who
had found life out and who seemed to cx-
hhust the Last energies of literature in say
inR so
No doubt TO ths society ~ the Ees'ora-
ton he seemed the first post who wrote
ike q man Ut the world and told the truth
about the passions They cared nothing
about the wit Of his master. Dome. for thar
was wit In earnest Sucking took Il and used
u for his proper purpose. whirh vas 10 pre-
pare the way for n little plain speaking la
the mo-t famous Of his songs. why 80
Pale and Wan Fond Lover he maks-- the
same use of m" Elizabethan manner. ~
comes IA "AglHuTa which - an attempt AZ
an Eliza bet han ira gedy aud one cannot bur
wish that he had given the play the sam.
, turn a. the lyric he might have done SOME
thing amusing " hs had chosen 20 max -
fun Of the EliIabethan drama But Ngla-
IRA - not amusing. and he famous sony
i the only occasion in Il y here Sucking
speaks like himself.
Quit. quit. for shame. this ~IiI no, move.
This cannot take her.
n of herself she viii not love.
Nothing ran make be-.
The doytl take her.
Vet Sucking must have had a great
uoNer Of eniOying himself. and lac writes
his hest when he forget- To be a vii and q
cynic and n man % the world and expresses
his enjoyment la language 81 an ALMOST
rti-tic simplicity Ia the rallad non a
Wedding he - the SHELTON Of his age max
ing poetry out Of dOggerel. turning away
from all On,worn literary aTiifce to write
verses n II they had never b~.n written
befOrs P~rhap~ in his heart ne was not
man 81 fashion AZ all bat child 0f nature
lie talks like one In the Ballad { BON a
Wedding and 40 rare j. this easy natural
way Of talking In verse that u has no felloN
in the language To quote from IL ~ to do IL
inIusttce. for one verse tumble- over an
other. - II the writer we're 50 eager hr
'ould scarcely draw breath between them.
and In a single verse ihis air Of eaRernez-
which - the charm Of the whole - Lost