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Article POETS' CORNER. ← Page 4 of 4
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Poets' Corner.
his power . The fire and impetuosity of his patriotic songs are well contrasted with the tender pathos of that exquisite lyric « The Exile of Erin , ' which has been called the queen of songs , and the plaintive verses "Poor Dog Tray . " But
perhaps there is not one of his poems so well known to youthful readers as " The Battle of Hohenlinden . " What a fine piece that is for recitation . The poet witnessed the sanguinary battle he describes :
" On Linden when the sun was low , All bloodless lay the untrodden snow , And dark as winter was the flow Of Iser rolling rapidly . " But Linden showed another sight , which he goes on to describe in the succeeding
verses . Not far from the grave of Campbell we came to a bust of Matthew Prior , which was clone by order of the King of France , who had a great respect for his talents . His poems are not much read in these
days , but they are lively and elegant compositions . A bust of William Mason , a poet who is now but little regarded , is the next object of interest ; but our attention is at once diverted from it to a group of monuments which stand near . The most
important of these is that of John Muton , the famous author of the greatest epic poem in existence . Of course you will know that we allude to the sublime work entitled " Paradise lost . ' ' Now , we do not suppose that many of our young friends have read this great poemnor do we
, think that you could perceive or appreciate its beauties even if you had , so we must ask you to believe that it is the greatest of all epic poems upon the authority of others until you are old and learned enough to form an opinion of its
merits for yourselves . But there is one circumstance in connection with John Milton ' s great poem , which we may particularl y remark for the benefit of our young friends , and especially for those amongst them who are so apt to be
dianeartened at every little difficulty they encounter . The manner in which this astonishing work was produced presents a very remarkable illustration of the power ° ' a determined will to overcome all
difficulties . The poet had lost his sight , and was the object of some persecution on account of his political princip les . But for many years he had determined to compose a great poem , aud though blind , and compelled to hide himself from his enemies
in Bartholomew Close , he never for a moment faltered in his determination . It was under these trying circumstances that his wonderful work was begun and comp leted . Some say that his daughters wrote for him ; but Dr . Johnson says his
daughters did not know how to write , and that the blind poet was obliged to request any friend who visited him to write down from his dictation such lines as he had composed and kept in his memory . In this manner the work was carried on for
many years and finally completed , and surely there cannot be any more glorious example of the struggles and the triumph of genius and resolution . Milton wrote many other poems and many prose work 3 . He wasindeedone of the greatest
, , scholars that England has ever produced , but the extent of his learning and the eloquence of his prose writings are apt to be overlooked in our admiration for the
grandeur of his poetic genius . Under Milton is an elegant monument to Thomas Gray . Our young friends will look with pleasure upon this pretty memorial of the author of a poem that is universally known and admired . He did
not write much , but if he had not written anything beside the tender " Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard , " his name would not pass away . You know the verses :
'' The curfew tolls the knell of parting day , The lowing herd wind slowly o ' er the lea ; The ploughman homeward plods his weary way , And leaves the world to darkness and to me .
It is in this poem so full of beauties that the often-quoted lines occur : " Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfatkomed caves of oceau bear ; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness on the desert air . " ( To be continued . )
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Poets' Corner.
his power . The fire and impetuosity of his patriotic songs are well contrasted with the tender pathos of that exquisite lyric « The Exile of Erin , ' which has been called the queen of songs , and the plaintive verses "Poor Dog Tray . " But
perhaps there is not one of his poems so well known to youthful readers as " The Battle of Hohenlinden . " What a fine piece that is for recitation . The poet witnessed the sanguinary battle he describes :
" On Linden when the sun was low , All bloodless lay the untrodden snow , And dark as winter was the flow Of Iser rolling rapidly . " But Linden showed another sight , which he goes on to describe in the succeeding
verses . Not far from the grave of Campbell we came to a bust of Matthew Prior , which was clone by order of the King of France , who had a great respect for his talents . His poems are not much read in these
days , but they are lively and elegant compositions . A bust of William Mason , a poet who is now but little regarded , is the next object of interest ; but our attention is at once diverted from it to a group of monuments which stand near . The most
important of these is that of John Muton , the famous author of the greatest epic poem in existence . Of course you will know that we allude to the sublime work entitled " Paradise lost . ' ' Now , we do not suppose that many of our young friends have read this great poemnor do we
, think that you could perceive or appreciate its beauties even if you had , so we must ask you to believe that it is the greatest of all epic poems upon the authority of others until you are old and learned enough to form an opinion of its
merits for yourselves . But there is one circumstance in connection with John Milton ' s great poem , which we may particularl y remark for the benefit of our young friends , and especially for those amongst them who are so apt to be
dianeartened at every little difficulty they encounter . The manner in which this astonishing work was produced presents a very remarkable illustration of the power ° ' a determined will to overcome all
difficulties . The poet had lost his sight , and was the object of some persecution on account of his political princip les . But for many years he had determined to compose a great poem , aud though blind , and compelled to hide himself from his enemies
in Bartholomew Close , he never for a moment faltered in his determination . It was under these trying circumstances that his wonderful work was begun and comp leted . Some say that his daughters wrote for him ; but Dr . Johnson says his
daughters did not know how to write , and that the blind poet was obliged to request any friend who visited him to write down from his dictation such lines as he had composed and kept in his memory . In this manner the work was carried on for
many years and finally completed , and surely there cannot be any more glorious example of the struggles and the triumph of genius and resolution . Milton wrote many other poems and many prose work 3 . He wasindeedone of the greatest
, , scholars that England has ever produced , but the extent of his learning and the eloquence of his prose writings are apt to be overlooked in our admiration for the
grandeur of his poetic genius . Under Milton is an elegant monument to Thomas Gray . Our young friends will look with pleasure upon this pretty memorial of the author of a poem that is universally known and admired . He did
not write much , but if he had not written anything beside the tender " Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard , " his name would not pass away . You know the verses :
'' The curfew tolls the knell of parting day , The lowing herd wind slowly o ' er the lea ; The ploughman homeward plods his weary way , And leaves the world to darkness and to me .
It is in this poem so full of beauties that the often-quoted lines occur : " Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark unfatkomed caves of oceau bear ; Full many a flower is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness on the desert air . " ( To be continued . )