116 REMARKS ON THE POEMS OF WALTER SCOTT. Sir, Mr. Cosmopolite. MUCH has been said and written upon the highly popular productions of Mr. Scott; yet much may, with great propriety, still be said and written, as his Poems. are in every body's hands, and consequently every body has become interested in, or is enabled to form some opinion respecting them. I, therefore, trouble you with a few cursory remarks on their merits and demerits ; which I shall be happy (if they so far meet your approval) to see inserted in your respectable publication. At the period when Mr. Scott's first production "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" made its appearance, there was a lamentable dearth of Poets; and, with a few trifling exceptions, scarcely a spark of true or original poetic genius was to be found in the literary world; when, Mr. Scott, like the sun emerging from a dark cloud, suddenly burst upon us in all the effulgence of poetical glory, and with the penetrating ray of superior genius, enlightened us for a time. His Poem was read with avidity and with applause, by all ranks of people; and so general and so compleat was the delirium occasioned by the perusal of its manifold beauties, that whatever faults it possessed were overlooked. The man of taste hailed the return of the true poetic fire with delight, and, fondly anticipated a most luxurious banquet from the future productions of so extraordinary a genius. That Mr. Scott has not entirely fulfilled this expectation cannot be denied; most probably expectation was raised too high, and perfection is not possible. "Marmion" followed; it was universally read under high expectations; but, it was read with more attention, more coolness, than was "The Lay of the Last Minstrel ;" and, although possessed of numberless beauties, although the same spirit of poetic fire pervaded its numbers, which animated the pages of his first Poem; yet, it was perused with an interrupted pleasure. The story was confusedly told, and it was objected, and justly objected, that the introduction to the different Cantos were irrelavent to the work; It may be said, that Fielding has sanctioned Mr. Scott's plan, but the introductions which the former has attached to the books of his novels are, for the most part, illustrative of the tale, and prepare the mind for what is to follow. Not so with Marmion. The detached pieces of Poetry, which precede each Canto, are extremely beautiful; but, in the situation, into which the Author has unfortunately thrust them, they can only be considered as beautiful deformities, if the term be allowed. It will be observed with pleasure that Mr. Scott stands corrected, and has avoided this fault in "The Lady of the Lake." The Introduction to the Poem, consists of three Stanzas only. It is an apostrophe to his harp, and, is conceived in the true spirit of poetry. It is impossible not to read it but with the utmost delight; neither is the farewell T Address to the Harp, at the conclusion of the poem, less interesting or beautiful. Let us hope, that it may not be a final address; but that, after resting a while from its labours, its strings will again be roused to harmony by the same magical hand, which has already caused it to pour forth such delightful strains. The poem opens with a chase, which is beautifully and naturally described. Mr. Scott is peculiarly happy in description; he carries the reader so completely along with him; the fleetness of the stag, the cry of the hounds, the eagerness of the pursuit, and even the country which is traversed, are represented in the most vivid colours to the imagination. The description too of Loch Katrine, and its beau tiful scenery, is highly picturesque, and is so minutely and naturally represented to the imagination, that it seems present to the eye; but, in the following lines, the word "rolled" is, I humbly conceive, very improperly and unfortunately used, for as it stands in the verse, it must mean something rolled up like a sheet of paper, or it means nothing. Loch Katrine is here very properly and very poeti cally personified, and Mr. Scott représents her as like a sheet of burnished gold, which is certainly a very beautiful idea; but, if she is "One burnish'd sheet of living gold;" and if she "In all her length, far winding lay," how can she be said to be "rolled?" The word then cannot be allowed in that sense. If, on the other hand, the rolling of waves is implied, it is equally improper ; for how can a piece of water agitated by waves, be like a sheet fo burnished gold, to produce which, smoothness, expan sion, and reflection, are absolutely necessary? But this is not the only instance in which Mr. Scott has either misconceived or strained the true meaning of the verb "to roll;" for he has written in the same Canto : 1 "The western waves of ebbing day Is it not something strange that waves should roll and be level at one and the same time? If this really be the case in Scotland, there is no doubt but that several members of our learned societies will flock thither without delay to take a peep at this wonderful phenomenon! A little attention might have obviated the objection, which may very fairly be raised against the epithet flying" in the following line, where two hounds are represented as pursuing a stag, and at length they "Fast on his flying traces came." A trace is a mark or impression (as in this instance) of footsteps left behind on the earth; how then can that, which is left behind and fixed, be called flying? Mr. Scott is frequently obscure- "Not men to fortune more resigned "Than yonder oak might give the wind." Numberless little inaccuracies of this sort might be pointed out; but the many beauties of the poem certainly out-number them. The speech which is put into the mouth of Fitz-James, on viewing the beautiful scenery around him, has been universally admired; it strongly reminds the reader of the "Il Penseroso" of Milton: and the bold defiance of the Græme to Roderick Dhu is much in the spirit of that of Achilles to Agamemnon in Homer. But the greatest blemish in Mr. Scott is a carelessness of composition: he gives us some most beautiful thoughts, but they are not always expressed in that metrical harmony, which we naturally look for from so sweet a poet. Too great a fondness for antique phrases may likewise be laid to his charge; which of course tends to embarass the flow of his verses. His spirit and power, as a poet, must not however be disputed; and all we have to regret on this score is, that he does not employ his talents on a subject strong enough to carry down his name and his fame to posterity. G. I am, Yours, &c. MEDICUS. [My friend Medicus is rather too minute in his verbal criticisms: he does not seem disposed to allow to poets that licence, which has hitherto been so universally granted them; and which they will always take, whether the world allow it them or not.] |