later poems-第6部分

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sign　of　the　visit　of　that　unlooked…for　muse。　　With　all　spirit　and
subtlety　does　Marvell　pretend　to　offer　the　little　girl　T。　C。　（the
future　〃virtuous　enemy　of　man〃）　the　prophetic　homage　of　the
habitual　poets。　　The　poem　closes　with　an　impassioned　tenderness　not
to　be　found　elsewhere　in　Marvell。


THE　DEFINITION　OF　LOVE


The　noble　phrase　of　the　Horatian　Ode　is　not　recovered　again；　high
or　low；　throughout　Marvell's　book；　it　we　except　one　single　splendid
and　surpassing　passage　from　The　Definition　of　Love　…

〃Magnanimous　despair　alone
Could　show　me　so　divine　a　thing。〃


CHILDHOOD


One　of　our　true　poets；　and　the　first　who　looked　at　nature　with　the
full　spiritual　intellect；　Henry　Vaughan　was　known　to　few　but
students　until　Mr。　E。　K。　Chambers　gave　us　his　excellent　edition。
The　tender　wit　and　grave　play　of　Herbert；　Crashaw's　lovely　rapture；
are　all　unlike　this　meditation　of　a　soul　condemned　and　banished
into　life。　　Vaughan's　imagination　suddenly　opens　a　new　window
towards　the　east。　　The　age　seems　to　change　with　him；　and　it　is　one
of　the　most　incredible　of　all　facts　that　there　should　be　more　than
a　centuryand　such　a　century！from　him　to　Wordsworth。　　The
passing　of　time　between　them　is　strange　enough；　but　the　passing　of
Pope；　Prior；　and　Grayof　the　world；　the　world；　whether　reasonable
or　flippant　or　rhetoricalis　more　strange。　　Vaughan's　phrase　and
diction　seem　to　carry　the　light。　　Il　vous　semble　que　cette　femme
degage　de　la　lumiere　en　marchant？　　Vous　l'aimez！　says　Marius　in　Les
Miserables　（I　quote　from　memory）；　and　it　seems　to　be　by　a　sense　of
light　that　we　know　the　muse　we　are　to　love。


SCOTTISH　BALLADS


It　was　no　easy　matter　to　choose　a　group　of　representative　ballads
from　among　so　many　almost　equally　fine　and　equally　damaged　with
thin　places。　　Finally；　it　seemed　best　to　take；　from　among　the
finest；　those　that　had　passages　of　geniusa　line　here　and　there　of
surpassing　imagination　and　poetryrare　in　even　the　best　folk…
songs。　　Such　passages　do　not　occur　but　in　ballads　that　are
throughout　on　the　level　of　the　highest　of　their　kind。　　〃None　but　my
foe　to　be　my　guide〃　so　distinguishes　Helen　of　Kirconnell；　the
exquisite　stanza　about　the　hats　of　birk；　The　Wife　of　Usher's　Well；
its　varied　refrain；　The　Dowie　Dens　of　Yarrow；　the　stanza　spoken　by
Margaret　asking　for　room　in　the　grave；　Sweet　William　and　Margaret；
and　a　number　of　passages；　Sir　Patrick　Spens；　such　as　that
beginning；　〃I　saw　the　new　moon　late　yestreen；〃　the　stanza　beginning
〃O　laith；　laith　were　our　gude　Scots　lords；〃　and　almost　all　the
stanzas　following。　　A　Lyke　Wake　Dirge　is　of　surpassing　quality
throughout。　　I　am　sorry　to　have　no　room　for　Jamieson's　version　of
Fair　Annie；　for　Edom　o'　Gordon；　for　The　Daemon　Lover；　for　Edward；
Edward；　and　for　the　Scottish　edition　of　The　Battle　of　Otterbourne。


MRS。　ANNE　KILLIGREW


This　most　majestic　odeone　of　the　few　greatest　of　its　kindis　a
model　of　noble　rhythm　and　especially　of　cadence。　　To　print　it　whole
would　be　impossible；　and　one　of　the　very　few　excisions　in　this　book
is　made　in　the　midst　of　it。　　Dryden；　so　adult　and　so　far　from
simplicity；　bears　himself　like　a　child　who；　having　said　something
fine；　caps　it　with　something　foolish。　　The　suppressed　part　of　the
ode　is　silly　with　a　silliness　which　Dryden's　age　chose　to　dodder　in
when　it　would。　　The　deplorable　〃rattling　bones〃　of　the　closing
section　has　a　touch　of　it。


SONG；　FROM　ABDELAZAR


It　is　a　futile　thingand　the　cause　of　a　train　of　futilitiesto
hail　〃style〃　as　though　it　were　a　separable　quality　in　literature；
and　it　is　not　in　that　illusion　that　the　style　of　the　opening　of
Aphra　Behn's　resounding　song　is　to　be　praised。　　But　it　IS　the
styleimplying　the　reckless　and　majestic　heartthat　first　takes
the　reader　of　these　great　verses。


HYMN　（The　spacious　firmament　on　high）


Whether　Addison　wrote　the　whole　of　this　or　not；and　it　seems　that
the　inspired　passages　are　none　of　hisit　is　to　me　a　poem　of
genius；　magical　in　spite　of　the　limited　diction。


ELEGY　TO　THE　MEMORY　OF　AN　UNFORTUNATE　LADY


Also　in　spite　of　limited　dictionthe　sign　of　thought　closing　in；
as　it　did　fast　close　in　during　those　yearsare　Pope's　tenderness
and　passion　communicated　in　this　beautiful　elegy。　　It　would　not　be
too　much　to　say　that　all　his　passion；　all　his　tenderness；　and
certainly　all　his　mystery；　are　in　the　few　lines　at　the　opening　and
close。　　The　Epistle　of　Eloisa　is　（artistically　speaking）　but　a
counterfeit。　　Yet　Pope's　Elegy　begins　by　stealing　and　translating
into　the　false　elegance　of　altered　taste　that　lovely　and　poetic
opening　of　Ben　Jonson's　…

〃What　beckoning　ghost；　besprent　with　April　dew；
Hails　me　so　solemnly　to　yonder　yew？〃

All　the　gravity；　all　the　sweetness；　one　might　fear；　must　be　lost　in
such　a　change　as　Pope　makes　…

〃What　beckoning　ghost　along　the　moonlight　shade
Invites　my　steps；　and　points　to　yonder　glade？〃

Yet　they　are　not　lost。　　Pope's　awe　and　ardour　are　authentic；　and
they　prevail；　the　succeeding　coupletinimitably　modulated；　and　of
tragic　dignityproves；　without　delay；　the　quality　of　the　poem。
The　poverty　and　coldness　of　the　passage　（towards　the　end）；　in　which
the　roses　and　the　angels　are　somewhat　trivially　sung；　cannot　mar　so
veritable　an　utterance。　　The　four　final　couplets　are　the　very　glory
of　the　English　couplet。


LINE　ON　RECEIVING　HIS　MOTHER'S　PICTURE


Cowper；　again；　by　the　very　directness　of　human　feeling　makes　his
narrowing　English　a　means　of　absolutely　direct　communication。　　Of
all　his　works　（and　this　is　my　own　mere　and　unshared　opinion）　this
single　one　deserves　immortality。


LIFE


This　fragment　（the　only　fragment；　properly　so　called；　in　the
present　collection）　so　pleased　Wordsworth　that　he　wished　he　had
written　the　lines。　　They　are　very　gently　touched。


THE　LAND　OF　DREAMS


When　Blake　writes　of　sleep　and　dreams　he　writes　under　the　very
influence　of　the　hours　of　sleepwith　a　waking　consciousness　of　the
wilder　emotion　of　the　dream。　　Corot　painted　so；　when　at　summer　dawn
he　went　out　and　saw　landscape　in　the　hours　of　sleep。


SURPRISED　BY　JOY


It　is　not　necessary　to　write　notes　on　Wordsworth's　sonnetsthe
greatest　sonnets　in　our　literature；　but　it　would　be　well　to　warn
editors　how　they　print　this　one　sonnet；　〃I　wished　to　share　the
transport〃　is　by　no　means　an　uncommon　reading。　　Into　the　history　of
the　variant　I　have　not　looked。　　It　is　enough　that　all　the
suddenness；　all　the　clash　and　recoil　of　these　impassioned　lines　are
lost　by　that　〃wished〃　in　the　place　of　〃turned。〃　　The　loss　would　be
the　less　tolerable　in　as　much　as　perhaps　only　here　and　in　that
heart…moving　poem；　'Tis　said　that　some　have　died　for　love；　is
Wordsworth　to　be　confessed　as　an　impassioned　poet。


STEPPING　WESTWARD


This　and　the　preceding　two　exquisite　poems　of　sympathy　are　far　more
justified；　more　recollected　and　sincere　than　is　that　more
monumental　composition；　the　famous　poem　of　sympathy；　Hartleap　Well。
The　most　beautiful　stanzas　of　this　poem　last…named　are　so　rebuked
by　the　truths　of　nature　that　they　must　ever　stand　as　obstacles　to
the　straightforward　view　of　sensitive　eyes　upon　the　natural　world。
Wordsworth　shows　us　the　ruins　of　an　aspen…wood；　a　blighted　hollow；
a　dreary　place　forlorn　because　an　innocent　creature；　hunted；　had
there　broken　its　heart　in　a　leap　from　the　rocks　above；　grass　would
not　grow；　nor　shade　linger　there　…

〃This　beast　not　unobserved　by　Nature　fell；
His　death　was　mourned　by　sympathy　divine。〃

And　the　signs　of　that　sympathy　are　cruelly　asserted　to　be　these
arid　woodland　ruinscruelly；　because　the　common　sight　of　the　day
blossoming　over　the　agonies　of　animals　and　birds　is　made　less
tolerable　by　such　fictions。　　We　have　to　shut　our　ears　to　the　benign
beauty　of　this　stanza　especially　…

〃The　Being　that　is　in　the　clouds　and　air；
That　is　in　the　green　leaves　among　the　groves；
Maintains　a　deep　and　reverential　care
For　the　unoffending　creature　whom　He　loves。〃

We　must　shut　our　ears　because　the　poet　offers　us；　as　a　proof　of
that　〃reverential　care；〃　the　visible　alteration　of　nature　at　the
scene　of　sufferingan　alteration　we　are　obliged　to　dispense　with
every　day　we　pass　in　the　woods。　　We　are　tempted　to　ask　whether
Wordsworth　himself　believed　in　a　sympathy　he　asks　usupon　such
grounds！to　believe　in？　　Did　he　think　his　faith　to　be　worthy　of　no
more　than　a　fictitious　sign　or　a　false　proof？

To　choose　from　Wordsworth　is　to　draw　close　a　net　with　very　large
meshesso　that　the　lovely　things　that　escape　must　doubtless　cause
the　reader　to　protest；　but　the　poems　gathered　here　are　not　only
supremely　beautiful　but　exceedingly　Wordsworthian。


YOUTH　AND　AGE


Close　to　the　marvellous　Kubla　Khana　poem　that　wrests　the　secret
of　dreams　and　brings　it　to　the　light　of　verseI　place　Youth　and
Age　as　the　best　specimen　of　Coleridge's　poetry　that　is　quite
undeliriousto　my　mind　the　only　fine　specimen。　　I　do　not　rate　his
undelirious　poems　highly；　and　even　this；　charming　and　nimble　as　it
is；　seems　to　me　rather　lean　in　thought　and　image。　　The　tenderness
of　some　of　the　images　comes　to　a　rather　lamentable　close；　the
likeness　to　〃some　poor　nigh…related　guest〃　with　the　three　lines
that　follow　is　too　squalid　for　poetry；　or　prose；　or　thought。


THE　RIME　OF　THE　ANCIENT　MARINER


This　poem　is　surely　more　full　of　a　certain　quality　of　extreme
poetrythe　simplest　〃flower　of　the　mind；〃　the　most　single　magic
than　any　other　in　our　language。　　But　the　reader　must　be　permitted
to　call　the　story　silly。

Page　265　（Are　those　her　ribs　through　which　the　Sun）

Coleridge　used　the　sun；　moon；　and　stars　as　a　great　dream　uses　them
when　the　sleeping　imagination　is　obscurely　threatened　with　illness。
All　through　The　Ancient　Mariner　we　see　them　like　apparitions。　　It
is　a　pity　that　he　followed　the　pranks　also　of　a　dream　when　he
impossibly　placed　a　star　WITHIN　the　tip　of　the　crescent。

Page　266　（I　feer　thee；　ancient　Mariner！）

The　likeness　of　〃the　ribbed　sea　sand〃　is　said　to　be　the　one　passage
actually　composed　by　Wordsworth；who　according　to　the　first　plan
should　have　written　The　Ancient　Mariner　with　Coleridge〃and
perhaps　the　most　beautiful　passage　in　the　poem；〃　adds　one　critic
after　another。　　It　is　no　more　than　a　good　likeness；　and　has　nothing
whatever　of　the