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— Hail, ye mighty masters of the lay,
Nature's true sons, the friends of man and truth!
Whose song, sublimely sweet, serenely gay,
Amused my childhood, and inform'd my youth.
O let your spirit still my bosom sooth,
Inspire my dreams, and my wild wanderings guide!
Your voice each rugged path of life can smooth;
For well I know, where-ever ye reside,
There harmony, and peace, and innocence, abide.
BEATTIE.
IT is the remark of an author of exquisite taste that "the moderns have perhaps practised no species of poetry with so little success, and with such indisputable inferiority to the ancients, as the Ode." * Greatly as I respect the abilities and critical acumen of Dr. Warton, I am tempted in this instance to form a very different judgment, and shall endeavour to rescue the poets of this island at least, from an imputation they probably have not merited. This ingenious writer conceives their want of success to be owing to the harshness and intractability of the language they have had the misfortune to compose in; now, though it may be readily conceded that the English in sweetness and smoothness [378] must, in general, yield to the Greek, and sometimes even to the Latin, yet have we, especially among our later poets, many specimens of versification, and of selection of language, peculiarly musical and harmonious, and fully adequate to prove that all its asperities may be worn down by the judicious application of the file, and rendered sufficiently terse and polished for the more delicate effusions of the lyre. Could it be indeed for a moment supposed that mere smoothness of diction constituted the sole, or even the principal merit of lyric poetry, it might justly be deemed the most worthless of all the branches of literature, and entirely dependent on mere melifluence of cadence; on the contrary, however, it will probably be admitted that those combinations of phrase, those felicities of diction, those expressions of a lyric hue, the words that breathe and burn, so essential to this department, are the creations of the poet, and through the medium of genius may be drawn from the bosom of any language. Conceiving, therefore that excellence in lyric composition is attached to no peculiar tongue, but the product of ability working even on the most rugged materials, and by condensation and selection, subduing them to its purpose, an oppressive idea, impeding all effort to excel, is removed, and we may cheerfully proceed to compare, and to rank the productions of the modern lyric bard with the more applauded ones of the ancient.
Under the classes of the Sublime, the Pathetic, the Descriptive, and the Amatory, may be arranged most of the productions of the lyric muse. To the first belong vivid enthusiasm, richness of imagery and metaphor, abruptness of transition, and a peculiar [379] warmth and impetuosity of diction. To excel in this species of Ode demands a felicity and strength of genius that has seldom been attained; all the higher beauties of poetry, vastness of conception, brilliancy of colouring, grandeur of sentiment, the terrible and the appalling must combine, and with mysterious energy alarm and elevate the imagination. A lighting of phrase should pervade the more empassioned parts, and an aweful and even dreadful obscurity, from prophetic, or superhuman agency, diffuse its influence over the whole. Of the lyric poetry of the Greeks a small portion only has descended to posterity, and of the productions of PINDAR, all whose remaining odes fall under the present class, most probably the noblest part has been buried in the gulph of time. What we have, however, is dear to the man of poetic taste, though, perhaps, not fully equal to the ideas formed of it from the praises of his contemporaries, and their relation of its effects upon the minds of his countrymen; a circumstance that leads to the supposition that the pieces lost were of superior merit to those we possess. Had his Dithyrambics been preserved our opinion of this celebrated poet had, in all probability, corresponded with that of the ancients, as a more enthusiastic, a more independent and vigorous tone were, it is said, their characteristic. As it is, no piece can now be selected from his works that can justly come into competition with the Bard of GRAY; over this inimitable ode a tinge so wildly aweful, so gloomily terrific is thrown, as without any exception to place it at the head of lyric poetry. If any effusions of the Grecian muse approach it in these respects, the choruses of ÆSCHYLUS may be adduced; these certainly possess much of that [380] tremendous painting, that mysterious solemnity, so vital in this lofty sphere of imagination, for to Æschylus perhaps adheres a peculiar character, a kind of savage and gigantic sublimity which stands alone amid the literary records of Greece, and has only been rivalled by the war songs of the northern Scalds. The Gothic and Celtic superstitions indeed, possess imagery peculiarly appropriate to the higher efforts of lyric composition, and several of our poets have, with admirable effect, availed themselves of these sources of the sublime. What can exceed the thrilling horror of Gray's celebrated odes from the Norse, which first opened to English poetry a mine of the most wild yet terrific mythology! Since their appearance the fictions of the Edda have been seized upon with more freedom and avidity, and in the epic, dramatic and lyric productions Of HOLE and SAYERS appear with renovated lustre. The features of the Celtic are certainly not of so striking a form, yet the dreadful rites of Druidism, and the noble imagery of Ossian, afford valuable materials for the lyric bard; the chorus of MASON, the songs of RICHARDS, and some of the sketches of Sayers are masterly specimens of what they can effect. more common superstitions too of modern Europe, the agency of ghosts and fairies and beings of another world, have thrown a solemn and a singularly impressive hue over many of our best pieces. Mr. Hole's Ode to Terror, and Miss WILLIAMS's fine fragment, "Rise Winds of Night" with COLLINS'S Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands, evince their powerful operation on the mind, and their successful employment in this province of the art. Now, as the ancients had confessedly no superstition or mythology [381] The which in wild sublimity or sportive fancy, can be compared with that of the Goths and Celts, the moderns have in the higher walks of poetry, and especially in the ode, which demands so much enthusiasm, a manifest and decided superiority, so far as a more poetic and exalted superstition can be supposed to confer it. But even laying aside those compositions which are dependent on these more appropriate systems of fabling, it will still, I think, be granted, that from neither Pindar nor HORACE can be selected an ode, in beauty of colouring or strength of conception more estimable than Gray's on the Progress of Poetry, or Collins's to The Passions. * In the ode of Gray indeed there are several imitations of Pindar, and one entire stanza almost literally translated from him, and the whole piece may in fact be considered as an admirable copy of, or attempt to rival his manner and style, yet such a one as Pindar would have been proud to own. As to Horace, I know not that from his large collection one ode truly sublime can be produced; many may be found that possess true grandeur of diction, and much elevation of idea, as when he spiritedly bursts forth
Quem virum, aut heroa, lyrâ vel acri.
[382] or when describing the genius of Pindar
Pindarum quisquis studet æmulari.
but the finger of criticism cannot be placed upon one that fully dilates and astonishes the mind by the boldness and magnitude of the conception, or on one that with an unremitting blaze of splendor pours forth thoughts that "scatter wild dismay." Felicity of diction and versification, artful insinuation of moral, exquisite allusion to and description of the joys of love and wine, and an accurate perception of character, are the prominent features of this poet in his lyric capacity, who is, and ever will be, the favourite of cultivated taste. Not that he is devoid of enthusiasm, for several of his odes, and especially the fourth of the third book, powerfully convince every reader of the contrary; all we can affirm is this, that it is not of the highest tone, nor can he rank with a Pindar, a Gray, or a Collins. On the celebrated Ode of DRYDEN great and merited applause has been bestowed; much of it is certainly written with a glow and vigour of fancy nearly unparalleled; it has the freedom and animation attributed to the ancient dithyrambic, and the imagery almost starts into existence, but I am far from conceiving it a perfect production, or agreed in allowing it to take the lead in modern lyrics: its language in many parts is defective and inharmonic, it preserves not the dignity so essential to the ode of this species, and even sometimes descends to the familiarity of a common drinking song. The phrases and lines alluded to it is unnecessary here to point out, as they are quoted and commented upon in a very ingenious paper in the Winter-Evenings of Dr. Knox, with whom in his estimate of the general merit of the poem I perfectly concur. Two or three of the [383] odes of AKENSIDE may be also mentioned as exhibiting some nervous and well selected description; his odes to Lord Huntingdon and on Lyric Poetry claim alike from Liberty and the Muse, the meed of immortality; the general cast however of his style in this department is of a kind far inferior to the two productions just mentioned, and by no means of the genuine lyric hue.
After taking this short view, and I trust with impartiality, shall we still confess our inferiority to the ancients? Shall we not rather be tempted to place Gray and Collins at the head of lyric poetry in Europe ancient or modern? - Pindar, Æschylus and Horace have already been noticed, and modern Italy, and France can bring no competitors; Petrarca, Metastasio, Fulvio Testi, Rousseau or Gresset having few or no pretensions to the loftier tones of the lyre. Among the Germans indeed some powerful candidates have lately started, and Klopstock is renowned for the spirit and sublimity of his lyric effusions, but they are not yet sufficiently familiar in this country to admit of comparison.
Were we to gather our lyric pieces and dispose them into their different classes, a collection might be made that would, I think, bid defiance to competition. In pursuit of this idea, therefore, I shall throw together under each division of the sublime, the pathetic, the descriptive and amatory, the first lines and authors' names of those odes which have particularly struck me for their excellence.
[Die Anmerkungen stehen als Fußnoten auf den in eckigen Klammern bezeichneten Seiten]
[377] * Essay on the Genius and Writings of Pope, vol. i. p. 64.
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[381] * From the following passage in a letter of this exquisite poet, written
to Dr. Hayes, Professor of Music in the University of Oxford, it would appear
that he had composed another Ode for Music under the title of The Music of the
Grecian Theatre, He thus speaks of this production after noticing the honour
which had been conferred upon him at Oxford in selecting his former poem on
The Passions: "I could send you one written on a nobler subject, and which,
though I have been persuaded to bring it forth in London, I think more calculated
for an audience in the University. The subject is the Music of the Grecian Theatre,
in which I have, I hope naturally introduced the various characters with which
the chorus was concerned, as Œdipus, Medea, Electra, Orestes, &c. &c. The
composition too is probably more correct, as I have chosen the ancient
Tragedies for my models, and only copied the most affecting passages in
them."
Seward's Anecdotes of Distinguished Persons.
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Erstdruck und Druckvorlage
Nathan Drake: Literary Hours Or Sketches Critical and Narrative.
London: T. Cadell, junior, and W. Davies, Strand 1798, S. 377-404.
Unser Auszug: S. 377-383.
Die Textwiedergabe erfolgt nach dem ersten Druck
(Editionsrichtlinien).
URL: https://books.google.fr/books?id=1f1WAAAAcAAJ
Literatur
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Edition
Lyriktheorie » R. Brandmeyer