tion--and: who »never,: in-any! one *in- 
stance,/exéept sin his.“ Baglish Bards 
and Scotch! Reviewers?” made ithe bard 
of Twickenham the model by: which he 
wronghit + thaty he; who, in) fact -be- 
longed tomo schooloatvalloand least of 
all-to! that ‘of:Pope; should havefumed 
and -kindledto ‘such:a degree, when the 
supremacy of: Pope <wasi questioned, is 
not@dittleextraordinary > for if Pope’s 
be,admitted to be: the:best and highest- 
ordersof poetry, mostvassuredly it will 
result; as:jaic conelusion, that Lord 
Byron’s:is not». Nor is it less extraor- 
dinary to find; as the:champion of more 
daring: enérgies—of the high and tow- 
ering sublimities: of ‘a “Milton, of the 
daring, and -vigorous irregularities of a 
Shakspéare, of the imaginative luxu- 
Flangy ‘of “a <Spenser,;—to: find’ as the 
champion:of these, and: the maintainer 
of thes dogma, that where ‘these quali- 
ties, aiid: the:selection of:'subjects, and 
the habits of thought and illustration 
to whieh they-naturally impel, are not, 
there'the claims of the highest and first 
order of poesy cannot be admitted,— 
to. find; as. championing all this, the 
smooth: and gentle sonnetteer, Mr. 
Bowles !—that identical Mr. Bowles, 
who,.-in’ all: his: ministrations to the 
muses, has shewn his invariable propen-) 
sity to sweetew cream and water with’ 
sugar-candy, and: call it the stream of 
Helicon. ddiie: 
~ But whatever may be thought of 
these» discrepancies — or how lowly 
soever wé may tate the poetry of Mr. 
Bowles; J, cannot but agree with you, 
in acknowledging ‘him: triumphant in 
the» controversy - which he so stoutly 
maintained against such apparent odds, 
Not that: -he has settled beyond all fur- 
ther! dispute:the question at issue, 
about the rank tolewhich Pope is enti- 
tled. dns poetic cestimation.—That is a. 
pointyupon!!which'there will still con- 
tine different -opinions : for it isa mat-" 
tery.aay-I- have already insisted, not .so- 
much: of: critical» demonstration, as of 
presentiment? arid susceptibility : and 
not-only «must the poet write, but the. 
critee) judge,iaccording ‘to his constitu-: 
tiieaiciis scoF deidv 
aeclass Tice igidte etocdic e 
Pa mt : 
‘ielass’’ may be: placed in the generic 
onder, (Pope:is the very first, no critic 
sineg the) days of ‘dunce Dennis, I ~be- 
liéwe; bas:!questioned.> And to:«those: 
whose perceptions: -are more ‘alive to. 
the graces of polished terseness' than 
to. thelexpressive:varicties of ‘diseursive 
= fiGs? 
Rank of Pope asa Poet. 
13 
harmony, his versification will appear 
the very model of ‘perfection. .Nor is 
it less natural, that to those whose 
eeptibilities are more alive to. the k: 
ness of polished wit, and the semblance! 
of ethical. dignity and intellectuality, 
than to the vividness of creative image 
nation, and the towering sublimities 
ofinvention and emotion, his poetry alto-~ 
gether should appear to be of the very 
highest order: for it is of the highest: 
order which theyean comprehend. But 
by such I must be permitted to won- 
der, how Shakspeare and Milton, or 
Shakspeare and Spenser should be 
joined with their idol poet in one tri- 
umvyirate. It would appear to me, that 
their admiration of these other mighty 
names must beeither affected, or, at best, 
traditionary : for I cannot readily. com. 
prehend how those critics, who can: 
enter completely into the beauties and 
sublimities of Milton,—in particular, the’ 
impassioned:energies of Shakspeare, and: 
the imaginative creativeness of Spenser, 
ean place the bard of Twiekenham near- 
the chair of either. > feat, 
Fo those, on the contrary, with 
whom. wit-is not poetry, ethics are not’ 
the inspirations. of genius, nor the cor 
ruscations of fancy the sunshine of! 
imagination—to. those, whose suscep- 
tibilities. erave and: admire the more. 
magnificent ‘impressions of the creative 
and the sublime,—who look. in poetry’ 
for that daring grasp of thought whi 
bodies forth. original conceptions, gives, 
them apparent’ versimilitude, and com~ 
bines them in one comprehensive action}: 
which. harmonizes diversity into con=:. 
sistence, and makes fiction itself an ‘effi-! 
cient reality ;—to such as are suscepe. 
tible of the poetry which comprehends. 
all this, and the mastery of which must; 
of. necessity, depend not so much on, 
the elaboration of features. and the 
‘polishing of patts, as on the grand: 
effects. of one mighty and consistent: 
whole—a created world, not a finely-: 
finished landscape !—to such Pope-will: 
always appear-as a master-poet only of 
the second: order; and some of those’ 
very particulars, which command the* 
admiration. of’ his. alorers, may, per? 
haps, ‘be regarded even among the bles’ 
mishes which preclude his admission: 
into the more exalted class. f 
Not that Pope can justly. be cons, 
sidered as absolutely defrcient in all the, 
higher requisites above-enumerated, His». 
Rape of the: Lock. evinces an.-imaginas; 
tion at enec brilliant and — 
ig 
