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structive or inspiring. Number 178,
" Gorina’s Going a Maying," is his most
" Noble Notes," his re-
are exceedingly weak
Donne, and are far in
beautiful poem,
ligious poems,
compared with
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GIBSONVILLE. N. C.
Dr. G. E. Jordan, M. D.
" Poets that lasting marble seek,
Must carve in Latin or in Greek." I
He was under the influence of the meta
physical poets in the use of conceits.
Example from "The Last Verses in the
Book":
" The soul’s dark cottage, battered and
decayed.
Lets in new light through chinks that time
! has made."
Waller’s skill in the heroic rimed
to
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First Impressions of Seventeenth
Century Poets as Seen in
Their Poems, From
Donne to Dryden.
(Gontinued frow last week.)
" The Emblems" impress me as a m'n-
iature Paradise Lost, with the scene in
hell omitted. Qjiarles was a poet of far
inferior imagination to Milton, and less
gifted in the use of proper names in po
etic composition. But, like Milton, yet
If Herrick surpassed in anything, it
was m the art of song-writing. I regard
him an artist here, without a rival, so far,
in the list of seventeenth century poets,
and even in the English language so far
as 1 am informed. Moore s " Irish Mel
odies " were almost, it not quite as popu-, couplet is something new; and, next
lar at one time as Herrick’s songs, but a sweet lyric mood, his rarest gift, if, in-
when the two are put side by side one deed, real poetic gifts he had, is the
sees why, or rather feels why, Herrick is source of a delightful charm,
superior to Moore. Jlndrew Marvel
Looelace and Suckling. [ an, meeting so many poets whom 1
Lovelace and Suekling belong to the' had not kn°wn that ‘hese papers
same class of lyricists as Garew and Her- are properly styled
rick. All believed a sanctum aliquid re- 1"
sided in the female breast. This wor-, before one passes and ano her
shipful something ,n the femlnme heart - looUg ^
was their inspiration; the haunts of their
muse was the happy fields of sensuous
passion. No nobler strain was ever
struck from their harps.
Had Lovelace and Suckling not been
burnt out by the fires of youthful dissipa
tion, and had they not come so early to
want and dissipation, but had lived longer
as did Donne, there might have been a
higher poetic note in their warblings.
They were the children of a sensuous
say, " and what do you think of me ?
Now, here is one Andrew Marvel by
name asking that same question, and he
ought to be " marvel" by interpretation,
for 1 got one impression when looking at
him through his lyrics, but quite a differ
ent impreision when seeing him through
his satires. In the former he is a sweet
singer, often lofty in tone. In the poems
on Gromwell the heroic rimed couplets
are managed with such skill and the praise
on the other fellow, but would feel like
fleeing as from the nozzle of a modern
fire-engine hose at high pressure, if turned
on us. It is the most masterful piece of
satire I have ever seen.
John Dryden.
First of all, Dryden is easy to read and
not by any means uninteresting. His
verse is greatly influenced by Gowley.
There are, also, unmistakable influences
from Donne and the other metaphysical
poets. The fifth of the "Stanzas on
Oliver Gromwell" might have been writ
ten by a typical metaphysical poet.
Much of Dryden’s poetry was written
for special occasions and is, therefore,
termed occasional poetry. For this rea
son it loses in its appeal to one in our
day. If Dryden was sincere in his praise
of Gromwell, it is not easy to understand
how his extreme laudation of Gharles II.
was also sincere, yet one feels the pul
sation of genuine sincerety in both poems.
The long historical poem, " Annus
Mirabilis," failed to interest me. His
prose narratives are far better.
in far less extent, he draws on mythology, i 1 hey were tne cniiaren oi a sensuous. protector is so nearly in keeping
and often to good purpose, too. For ihe ^ dissipated with my opinion of him, that the impres-
most part h
rhyme.
I feel that the
verse is heroic in alternating
tone or pitch struck in
" The Invocation" is not quite sustained
throughout the poem.
As to Qyarles’ art, I think it ranks with
hiji genius, that is, as a second rate poet.
He is often happy in phraseology as
in I. " the blue-spangled flame." in II.
" The white-mouthed water now userps
the shore." His figures are mainly those
of similitude and contrast, and he is prone
to the use of the proverb. The marks
of learning and culture are evident, and
his mind Is inclined to morality and re
ligion.
‘Poems of Richard Crashaw
Of all the seventeenth century poets
Grashaw has given me most delight. I
was at once taken with his smooth, mu
sical style. He was fond of epigram, as
was the fashion of the day.
The collections of poems entitled " The
Delights of the Muses" are themselves
delightful. But hi; greatest poem is
"Sospetto d’ Herode." Approaching it
through the "Steps of the Temple" was
like walking through a flowing, fragrant,
musical landscape on a June morning.
But upon coming into the poem itself, the
org .n of sublime poetic melody thrilled
my soul. "It is so Miltonic that Paradise
Lost, In large measure, must have been
built up from it. Even the invocations In
the two poems are almost the same.
T^oherl Herrick-
Herrick belongs in a minor group of
seventeenth century poets, if classed ac
cording to genius. He has but little
originality. Ben Jonson, Ghaucer, and
Greek and Latin poets, all enter into his
compositions, and many of his poems are
either translations or parallels of works
written by Martial, Horace, or Virgil.
In " Hesperldes," Herrick is an easy
going gentleman of high society, and is
rather delightful, gay and joyous than in-
, splendor and polished singing, they were
blasted and swept away by the Puritan
; storm that broke over England ere they
had reached their prime.
Suckling's " Session of the P oets"
shows ability in satire. I do not care for
his dramas, " Aglaura" and " Brennaralt."
His squibs are of most interest to me. In
them he is an artful singer.
Lovelace, like Suckling, is at his best
in the song or other short lyric. His
longer poems. "The Falcon," "Amaran-
tha," and "The Toad and the Spider"
are not well sustained and 1 had no in
clination to stay for a second reading.
jibraham Cowley.
Upon meeting Gowley in his poetry, I
felt like one reaching the borders of a
new country ; the landscape, sky, and all
was changed. For so long I had been
keeping company with harrowmg pictures
of blood In the subjects of the atonement,
and then with passionate, sensuous love
scenes, that it was rather a pleasant sen
sation to arrive on this eminence, Gowley,
that gives one both a retrospeclve and
prospective view.
Gowley is delightful skillful, musical.
In such poems as " The Resurrection"
and " The Extasie " he coins verses like a
nimble, tripping fairy dancing through the
air, or like the unseen hand moulds
crystal figures that come dancing down
In white.
I feel that Gowley belongs more to
the Restoration period than to the class
of Garoline poets with whom he is
put. His odes are certainly a new de
parture In verse.
sion is gratifying and happy.
But in the satires I get an Impression of
a very different " marvel," one keenly sar
castic, resembling the spirit in Donne, not
powerful, yet more polished,
fuller’s Hudibras.
If Hudibras was a son of Don C^lxole
there is no proof here that genius is her
editary. Hudibras strikes me as being
unique, The skilled rider, Butler, has
his steed, the octosyllabic rimed couplet,
cutting all sorts of antics. Now with
high head and stately tread, and anon
cantering and bucking like a Texas pony,
he keeps up infinite delight in the ob-
Dryden 's Satires.
Donne and Dryden guard the entrance
to seventeenth century literature as the
two lights on the Virginia capes ; Donne,
the Gape Gharles light, ever revolving
and flashing out various colors, and Dry
den, with the steady glow of the Gape
Henry light, stand as signals pointing the
way to a harbor filled with countless
lesser lights. Donne was a flashing
genius. Dryden was not a a genius, but
he was a masterful artist. His superiority
to Donne, in this respect, is more easily
I felt than expressed. But when I place
I the satires of the two poets side by side
Donne, to me. Is superior to^ Dryden.
Dryden is more of a rhetorician than a
poet. He has more intellect than soul.
He is, therefore, entertaining rather than
inspiring. alter P. Lawrence.
Nothing increases envy more than an
unnecessary and ambitious engrossing of
business.—Bacon.
Shop
I thought should be a bird s- efe’view, |fs Gooil Wofk Tliat Counts
Then with deliberate aim to find
The meaning couched In every line.
But here 1 dropped the tread of my
doggerel In astonishment at the skill of
Butler in weaving so much learning and
such a wide knowledge of contemporary
life into such an inlmlcable fabric.
Throughout it is highly colored with
caricature, wit, and humor, and we in
stinctively laugh so long as we see the
fog fly from the stream of satire turned
I
See it the
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GIBSONVILLE, - N. G.
Edmund Waller.
Waller Is a poet for light entertain
ment. He makes small draft upon the
understanding.
If Waller polished his verse like marble.
It was because he believed in the classics.
In the little poem on " English Verse" he
thus expresses that belief:
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