797 
POE 
traced Tome characters boldly and clearly, and has a 
power of working his dialogue with mod pathetic effeCt : 
but his incidents are often trivial or mean ; his hillorical 
fketches are fometimes glaringly falfe, and he occafion- 
ally introduces aCtions, which fliould only be heard of, 
not feen. 
Though different in their nature, high praife is due to 
the labours of Wieland, efpecially as regards that famous 
work the Oberon. Many poets of great fame belong to 
Germany; but our limits forbid further prolongation of 
our article, and we are obliged to conclude without 
notice of this excellent fchool, or of the new and fplendid 
dramatic writers of France and Italy,- and haften to the 
confederation of our own poets. 
There are many pictures valuelefs in the eye of the 
public, and perhaps of the connoiffeur, which are never- 
thelefs highly ufeful to the painter, who finds in them 
fomething inftruCtive to himfelf, however faulty in their 
general effects ; fome new or original kind of art, which, 
divefted of its concurrent errors, may help him on in his 
journey to fame. Like to thefe pictures are many of our 
modern poets; efpecially, as we think, Worclfworth and 
Southey. The former has a train of affociations per¬ 
fectly original. A clofe and attentive obferver of nature, 
he has a continual propenfity to inveft her mod: trifling 
phenomena with fpiritual feelings and poetic creations. 
His pure and beautiful foul is always contemplating the 
Deity, always railing us to the ultimate end of all poefy, 
and all knowledge. In the fecond place, Wordfworth 
icorns all artificial grandeur, and does not difdain to 
portray the truly great, though they may be debafed in 
the opinion of fociety. We grant him this high praife ; 
but we cannot think that he will ever be a general fa¬ 
vourite, or that his verfe will live for pofterity. The 
highefl: excellence will fall where there is no variety. 
Serious fubjeCts will efpecially fall, if not enlivened by 
dramatic aCtion or elegant defcription. This poet is 
always ferious, contemplative, and metaphyfical; or, even 
if he throw off his fombre hue for a moment, it is only to 
become fillily jocofe. Another fault is that, beautiful 
and fublime as are the conceptions that float in his brain, 
they feldom acquire the clearnefs and diftinCtnefs they 
fhoulci have before they are committed to paper. By 
way of illuftration, we flial'l give an example often 
quoted, in which one of the molt beautiful and original 
thoughts that ever was conceived is introduced by intel¬ 
ligible expreflions, and terminated by fuch as are obfcure ; 
Within the foul a faculty abides 
That, with interpofitions that would hide 
And darken, fo can deal, that they become 
Contingencies of pomp, and ferve to exalt 
Her native brightnefs. As the ample moon 
In the deep llillnefs of a fummer’s eve, 
Rifing behind a thick and lofty grove, 
Burns like an unconfuming fire of light 
In the green trees; and, kindling on all Tides 
Their leafy umbrage, turns the dufky veil 
Into a fubflance glorious as her own ; 
Yea, with her own incorporated, by power 
Capacious and ferene. Like power abides 
In man’s celeftial fpirit. Virtue thus 
Sets forth and magnifies itfelf; thus feeds 
A calm, a beautiful, and filent, fire, 
From the incumbrances of mortal life, 
From error, difappointment, nay from guilt; 
And fometimes, fo relenting juftice wills, 
From palpable oppreflions of defpair. 
The words “ interpofitions!’ and “ pomp” in the above 
lines fpoil the whole ; nor is the notion of fire very good, 
as applied to the moon. The beft pafiage we have feen 
in his works is the following : 
A curious child, applying to his ear 
The convolutions of a fmooth-lipp’d fliell, 
To which, in filence hufli’d, his very foul 
Liften’d intenfely, and his countenance loon 
Vol. XX. No. 1410. 
TRY. 
Brightened with joy; for murmurings from within 
Were heard; fonorous cadences ! whereby, 
To his belief, the monitor exprefs’d 
Myfterious union with its native Tea. 
Even fuch a fliell the univerfe itfelf 
Is to the ear of faith ; and doth impart 
Authentic tidings of invifible things : 
Of ebb and flow, and ever-during power, 
And central peace fubfifting at the heart 
Of endlefs agitation. 
The affeCtion for fimplicity, which Wordfworth pof- 
feffes, is fo extreme, that he has actually written the molt 
puerile poetry that is extant. 
Southey, with far more energy and variety than Wordf¬ 
worth, is equally obfcure and prolix, and by no means 
fo peculiar and original in his ideas. Molt of Southey’s 
tales and thoughts have a foreign origin. This poet is 
full of his “ affectations.” He affects a degree of fub- 
limity, which commonly has no boundary from the boni- 
baltical. He is ambitious of re-modelling the whole 
frame of Englifli verfe, and of introducing the Latin 
meafure; and in this attempt has rendered the “ hexameter 
of Southey” the ridicule of the world. There is never- 
thelefs a wild ftrength of thought in fome of this author’s 
poems, which, if matured by reflection and taffe, might 
have made a good poet. “ The Curie of Kehama” (hows 
this feature very particularly. His “ Madoc,” and “ Ro¬ 
derick the laft of the Goths,” were perhaps the molt 
fatiguing. 
In his “Joan of Arc,” he attempted the epic; and, 
with a peculiar vanity, took care to inform tile world 
that he had bellowed no pains on it, having compofed it 
in fix weeks, and re-modelled it even while it was in the 
hands of the printer. The TubjeCl of this poem wa^ 
rather unfortunate, inafmuch as the virtue of LaPucelle 
had been fo ironically treated by Voltaire : otiierwife its 
execution was better than that of molt of his other pro¬ 
ductions. 
Mr. Southey firlt appeared as a poet by a publication of 
fome fliort poems in company with a Mr. Lovell. The 
affeCtation of an extraordinary fenfibility, and a habit of 
writing very mean profaic lines among others fenfrble, 
and even beautiful, appeared as clearly in thele pro¬ 
ductions as in his more mature works. 
Coleridge was firft known to the public by fome lines 
inferted in Mr. Southey’s poem of Joan of Arc; and in 
1796 he publilbed a collection of poems, which imme¬ 
diately rendered him famous. Some of thefe confided of 
fliort longs that evinced much talte and feeling, though 
rather aukwardly exprefled. There w : as alio a long 
piece entitled “Religious Mufings,” in the fame work, 
which announced original powers of thought in the fub¬ 
lime, and, though obfcure and very harfh, were certainly 
new. The fame originality, and better verfe, marked 
the “Ode on the Departing Year,” In his “ Tears in 
Solitude,” 1798, the author turned his power to a lofty 
and energetic fatire of a new cad. It was occupied 
with the cenfure and reprobation of war, and the vanity 
of glory ; and was animated by fo earned and jud a 
fpirit, and fuch high-toned language, and intenfe bene¬ 
volence, that it became very nearly a good produ&ion. 
Even the obfcurity of the author vanished, and vivid and 
clear ideas flione forth. The manner he embodied 
atheifm ftiows a truly original turn of thought, though 
there is in this very bad expreflions. But the quedion 
at the end is admirable : 
----—-The very name of God 
Sounds like a juggler’s charm ; while, bold with joy, 
Forth from his dark and lonely hiding-place 
(Portentous fight !) the owlet AtheiJ'm, 
Sailing on wings obfcure—-athwart the moon, 
Drops his blue fringed lids, and holds them clofe; 
And, hooting at the glorious fun in Heaven, 
Cries out “ Where is it ?” 
After making fome tranflations of German plays, Mr. 
9 R Coleridge 
