POETRY.

EPIC AND HEROIC POEMS.

Madoc. By Robert Southey. 4to. pp. 557. THERE are certain croakers who perpetually exclaim that poetical genius, if not wholly extinct, is, at least, rapidly declining. With all due submission to these sapient gentlemen, we must beg leave to dissent from their melancholy dogmas. We acknowledge, indeed, that more bad verse is now written than was ever written at any one period before, but they will gain nothing by this concession, for we conceive the abundance of trash to arise solely from there being now so great a number of persons who attempt to shine in verse. The counterfeit coinage has increased, but the quantity of sterling money has not been diminished. We do not stand alone in this opinion. It was successfully maintained by an elegant writer (Dr. Drake) at a time even when the weight of evidence was not quite so preponderant in the scale of modern poetry as it now is. The "Madoc" of Mr. Southey affords a new proof that the genuine race of bards still exists. Our confined limits will not allow us to say much upon this noble poem. Were we to assert that "Madoc" has

no imperfections, we should, of course, expose ourselves to ridicule; but we will boldly declare, that we are unable to point out any modern poem, of equal length, which has more to praise and less to blame. Mr. Southey possesses the creative mind of a real poet, with the power to embody his lofty conceptions in appropriate language, and in verse which has a freedom and harmony not often rivalled by his contemporary writers. We hope soon to see "Madoc" printed in a form which will give to it a circulation more extensive than a splendid quarto can possibly attain.

The Lay of the Last Minstrel, a Poem; by Walter Scott, Esq. 2d Edition, Svo. pp. 334.

"THE Lay of the Last Minstrel" furnishes another brilliant and decisive evidence to substantiate the doctrine which we maintained in our brief notice of "Madoc." It is a romance which irresistibly seizes upon and holds captive the reader's attention. The scene of action is on the borders of Scotland. Every page of the poem bears ample testimony to Mr. Scott's powers of fancy, description, and language. His metre has great force and variety, so much variety, indeed, that it has afforded a subject of cavil to some persons who seem to think that there is no other criterion of verse than what is afforded to them by the ends of their fingers. We have also heard an objection made to the names of Mr. Scott's characters; and the same objection has been urged against some of the heroes in "Madoc." What other names thamsuch as are Welch and Scotch should be given to the natives of Wales and Scotland? Is it proposed to substitute in their place the pretty pastoral appellations of Damon and Delia, Strephon and Chloe ?

Fables: Vol. II. containing Cambuscan, an Heroic Poem, in Six Books: founded upon and comprizing a free Imitation of Chaucer's Fragment on that Subject. By Richard Wharton, Esq. 8vo. pp. 199.

IN our volume for 1804 we noticed the first volume of Mr. Wharton's fables, and expressed a wish that he might be tempted to proceed with what he had so well begun. That wish is now gratified. Mr. Wharton has chosen the arduous task of completing "the story of Cambuscan bold." We congratulate him on his success; and to have succeeded in such an attempt is no small praise. Mr. Wharton displays in his poem, a brilliant imagination, a great command of poetical language and imagery, and a bold and harmonious versification.

MISCELLANEOUS POETRY.

The Wanderer of Switzerland, and other Poems, by James Montgomery. Small 8vo. pp. 175.

IF" thoughts that breathe, and words that burn," and a style of versification at once musical and vigorous, will authorize a writer to assume the high title of a poet, that title Mr. Montgomery may justly assume. He is indeed no minor bard; but strikes the lyre with a master hand. There is a boldness in his ideas, and an energy in his expression of them, which cannot be too much admired. He never, like some persons, wiredraws a thought till it loses all its strength. His style has a masculine yet elegant simplicity. Originality also is one of his most striking merits. He trusts to

the stores of his own imagination, and is little, if at all, indebted to any preceding author. Those who have read, in the Poctical Register, a few of his poems, under the signature of Alcæus, will not, we are convinced, dissent from our opinion.

The Spirit of Discovery; or the Conquest of Ocean. A Poem, in Five Books, with Notes, Historical, and Illustrative. By the Rev. W. L. Bowles, Small

Svo. pp. 254.

THE name of Bowles will lead the reader to expect à poem of merit, and this expectation will be gratified by "The Spirit of Discovery," which, though unequal, does great honour to the genius of its author. Of one thing, however, we must complain. Much too large a portion of the volume (nearly ninety pages) is taken up by notes from books; and from books to which a reference would have been sufficient. Some writers would receive our thanks were they to give twice as many notes as Mr. Bowles has given, but from Mr. Bowles we had rather be favoured with original composition.

The Crisis or the Progress of Revolutionary Principles, a Poem, by William Peebles, D. D. 8vo. pp. 192. THERE are certain poems, and the family is a numerous one, which take no hold of the memory. When the reader has, with much perseverance, read one of these to the end, he is unable to recollect a single line of it. Dr. Peebles' composition is of this unfortunate kind. It has no warmth, no animation. Mr. Maurice, a few years since, published a poem, which had the same title as the book now reviewed, but which was highly poctical.