97 



the whole range of English poetry there is only one superior to him, 

 and that one — Shakspeare. 



Let us now turn to the examination of this wonderful work, the 

 " Paradise Lost." A complete and exhausting critique I do not 

 pretend to give. Such an undertaking would lead me far beyond 

 the limits, to which I am bound in this place. I shall, therefore, 

 but cursorily touch upon the subject matter of the poem, the plan 

 and the mode of execution, and lastl3% I shall enter more fully into 

 the style and diction. 



With reference to the subject matter of " Paradise Lost," I find, that 

 the general opinion of critics commends it as the best, that could have 

 been found. Mr. HaUam, (Literat. of Europe, IV., 24,) whom I select 

 as their representative, says, "The subject of 'Paradise Lost' is the 

 finest, that has ever been chosen for heroic poetry." He goes on to say, 

 " that the 'Iliad' wants completeness, that the subject of the 'Odyssey' 

 is hardly extensive enough for a legitimate epic, that the ' Aeueid ' is 

 spread over too long a space ; that Tasso is superior both in choice and 

 management of his subject to most of these." "Yet," he concludes, " the 

 FaU of Man has a more general interest than the Crusade."* 



It is foreign to my plan to criticise Mr. Hallam's rash judgment of 

 the "Iliad" and "Odyssey;" nor will I impugn the truth of his con- 

 cluding sentence, " that the Fall of Man has a more general interest 

 than the Crusades," or, (to generalize his isolated dictum into a theory,) 

 than any event of local or merely partial historical consequences : — I 

 allow this to be perfectly correct ; but I deny, that a subject is adaj^ted 

 for an epic poem in proportion to the general interest it excites. It is 

 true, that a subject, if generally interesting, secures for the work an 

 attentive hearing, and carf^ . -*dly fail to make it popular, but the fitness 

 for an epic poem mainly depends upon other conditions and circum- 

 stances than either its religious, or national, or historical interest. The 

 poet must not trade upon a popular idea, but he must be able to create 

 interest, where none existed, and maintain it through the variations of 

 political, social, and religious revolutions. The interest must be 

 poetical. This constitutes its title to superiority ; all other interest 

 serves merely as a recommendation. The highest questions, which 

 agitate the human mind, the inquiries into the attributes of the Deity, 

 the nature of our soul, and our future state, must for ever possess for 

 us the most thrilling interest; but are they therefore fit subjects for 



• Johnson's Life of Milton, page 105 : — " It is justly remarked by Addison, tlmt this poem 

 has, by the nature of its subject, the advantage above all others, tliat it is universally and 

 perpetually interesting. All manhind will, through all age.s, boar the same relation to 

 Adam and to Eve, and must partake of that good and evil which e.\teiid to themselves." 



