later poems-第7节

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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　indescribable　Coleridge　quality。

Coleridge　reveals；　throughout　this　poem；　an　exaltation　of　the
senses；　which　is　the　most　poetical　thing　that　can　befall　a　simple
poet。　　It　is　necessary　only　to　refer；　for　sight；　to　the　stanza　on
〃the　moving　Moon〃　at　the　bottom　of　page　267；　for　hearing；　to　the
supernatural　stanzas　on　page　271；　and；　for　touch；　to　the　line　…

〃And　still　my　body　drank。〃


ROSE　AYLMER


Never　was　a　human　name　more　exquisitely　sung　than　in　these　perfect
stanzas。


THE　ISLES　OF　GREECE


One　really　fine　and　poetic　stanzaof　course；　the　third；　three
stanzas　that　are　good　eloquencethe　fourth；　fifth；　and　seventh；
and　one　that　is　a　fair　bit　of　argumentthe　tenthmay　together
perhaps　carry　the　rest。


HELLAS


The　profounder　spirit　of　Shelley's　poem　yet　leaves　it　a　careless
piece　of　work　in　comparison　with　Byron's。　　The　two　false　rhymes　at
the　outset　may　not　be　of　great　importance；　but　there　is　something
annoying　in　the　dissyllabic　rhymes　of　the　second　stanza。
Dissyllabic　rhymes　are　beautiful　and　enriching　when　they　fall　in
the　right　place；　that　is；　where　there　is　a　pause　for　the　second
little　syllable　to　stand。　　For　example；　they　could　not　be　better
placed　than　they　would　have　been　at　the　end　of　the　shorter　lines　of
this　same　stanza；　where　they　would　have　dropped　into　a　part　of　the
pause。　　Another　sin　of　sheer　heedlessnessthe　lapse　of　grammar　in
The　Skylark；　at　the　top　of　page　296　（With　thy　clear　keen　joyance）
will　remind　the　reader　of　the　special　habitual　error　of　Drummond　of
Hawthornden。


THE　WANING　MOON


In　these　few　lines　the　Shelley　spirit　seems　to　be　more　intense　than
in　any　other　passage　as　brief。


ODE　TO　THE　WEST　WIND


This　magnificent　poem　is　surely　the　greatest　of　a　great　poses
writings；　and　one　of　the　most　splendid　poems　on　nature　and　on
poetry　in　a　literature　resounding　with　odes　on　these　enormous
themes。


THE　INVITATION


No　need　to　point　to　a　poem　that　so　shines　as　does　this　lucent
verse。


LA　BELLE　DAME　SANS　MERCI


Keats　is　here　the　magical　poet；　as　he　is　the　intellectual　poet　in
the　great　sonnet　following；　and　it　is　his　possession　or　promise　of
both　imaginations　that　proves　him　greater　than　Coleridge。　　In　his
day　they　seem　to　have　found　Coleridge　to　be　a　thinker　in　his
poetry。　　To　me　he　seems　to　have　had　nothing　but　senses；　magic；　and
simplicity；　and　these　he　had　to　the　utmost　yet　known　to　man。　　Keats
was　to　have　been　a　great　intellectual　poet；　besides　all　that　in
fact　he　was。


ODE　TO　A　NIGHTINGALE


Of　the　five　odes　of　Keats；　the　Nightingale　is　perhaps　the　most
perfect；　and　certainly　the　most　imaginative。　　But　the　Grecian　Urn
is　the　finest；　even　though　it　has　fancy　rather　than　imagination；
for　never　was　fancy　more　exquisite。　　The　most　conspicuous　ideathe
emptying　of　the　town　because　its　folk　are　away　at　play　in　the　tale
of　the　antique　urnis　merely　a　fancy；　and　a　most　antic　fancya
prank；　it　is　an　irony　of　man；　a　rallying　of　art；　a　mockery　of　time；