Year: 1860

Is not a very violent inference for an En-
glishman TO draw that, if he stands at the
head Of English poets, certainly no American
poet can approach him in any particular.
With all due Difference to the English critics,
we think we can name several poets in
America who are superior TO Tennyson. As
in ofatory the simplest form of expression Is
ever the most powerful, so also is it in poetry.
The grandeur of Webster consisted in his
simplicity The strength and beauty of
Everett, the copious perspcuousness of Clay
and the oriental gorgeousness of Choate,
needed no mystical searching for hidden
meanings in order to be comprehended.-
They spoke to the soul of man and his under
standing. In the walks of poetry such was
Shakespeare and Milton and Byron and Pope.
And such are Bailey the author of "Festus,"
and Smith the author of "The Life Drama"
in the Old World, and Bryant, Longfenow,
Taylor, Willis, Whittier and Holmes, in the
New.


The chief virtue of these poets and orators
is that they can be comprehended They
give forth tangible ideas What they embody
in language stands out in bold relief like a
clean cut promontory against pure sky.


Emerson is the most mystical of any ofour
American poets. But he is chiefly admired
for those of his poetical productions which
are the easiest to be understood. And Emer-
sou has this yirtue, that where he is obscure
he is purposely SO, choosing to suggest
meaning rather than express it,-and where
he desires to be understood, fills not to be SO.


1t will be inferred from the foregoing that,
according to our conception, the true merit
of language, whether spoken or written, is its
ntelligibility. He who will dive down into
the ocean of thought and bring us up the
pearl in its purity has far better fulfilled the
duty of authorship than he who merely indi-
Gates 10 us that the pearl is there and makes
us dive for the treasure. Iu short, five have
to do the labor which is incumbent on the
author, it would be as cheap for us to write
the book or poem for ourselves.


Under this view of things it will be readily
seen that we cannot concede the justice of the
self-complacent decision, by the English
critics, that Tennyson stands on the topmost
round of the poetic ladder. lie is two attenu-
ated in the expression of his ideas eve
speak in the general, for there are exceptionaI
! instances of distinct and simple power in his
writings) His ine-spun thoughts are gossa
mer, and his spider-web fantasies are apt to
weary the uaspiler like explorer of their
intricate threads. There is constrained,
involved and affected manner that be uses
1t is in all respects artiicial-there is nothing
natural about it. You must learn to appre-
ciate it as you acquire the habit of chewing
tobacco or eating opium. After mastering
your first repugnance, your taste for Tenny-
ion will, perhaps, be strong, and, it may be,
irresistible. But after leaving off the use of
him for considerable period you will great
ly prefer Burns or Whittier or some such
wholesome stimulus.


But take it for granted that there are men
and women who naturally like Tennyson be-
cause his thoughts naturally assimilate with
theirs and because his manner of expressing
them is peculiarly intelligble to them, yet il
must be conceded that this class is eompara-
lively small. Longfellow will be read by
one hundred thousand persons where Tenny-
son will be read by ten thousand of no more
! than equal cultivation and capacity. He
who comes the nearest, like Shakespeare for
instance, to the universal heart and soul of
man-cultivated man-is the greatest with
his pen; and Tennyson is in that respect, be-
hind any poet of celebrity, unless it is Mrs
Browning, in the present age A poem is
not an enigma-it is the distinct expression OF
what men feel and think. AS the stars are
reflected in the deep, so do the thoughts Of
men behold themselves in the clear mirror OF
the poets song. lie who fails to reflect these
images, or reflects them in a distorted and
unrecognizable shape is no poet And hC
who speaks in enigmas is no poet. Who has
any difficulty in understanding Bryant
Thanasopsis2 And yet the solemn role of it:
syllable melody and the sweep of its majestic
thought viii live with the English language
! while many OF Iennysons ideal attenuatIons
will sink into their merited oblivion.


Our conclusion-and we have barely indi-
Gated the mere ground of our article on this
subjects that Tennyson is no such poet as
Byron, Moore, or Burns, and that he is in
ferior to Longfellow, Bryant or almost any o


our prominent American poets. Inferior 10y
the general judgment of the reading portion


of mankind now, and we believe that ne viii


be so held by the Judgment of posterity
hereafter.


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