MY DEAR MR. FIELDS,--I return the three poems you sent me, having read
them with much gratification. Each of them has its peculiar merits and
defects, as it seems to me, but all show poetical feeling and artistic
skill.
"Sleep On!" is the freshest and most individual in its character. You
will see my pencil comment at the end of it. "Inkerman" is
comparatively slipshod and careless, though not without lyric fire and
vivid force of description.
"Raphael Sanzio" would deserve higher praise if it were not so closely
imitative.
In truth, all these poems have a genuine sound; they are full of
poetical thought, and breathed out in softly modulated words. The
music of "Sleep On!" is very sweet, and I have never seen heroic verse
in which the rhyme was less obtrusive or the rhythm more diffluent.
Still it would not be fair to speak in these terms of praise without
pointing out the transparent imitativeness which is common to all
these poems.
"Inkerman" is a poetical Macaulay stewed. The whole flow of its verse
and resonant passion of its narrative are borrowed from the "Lays of
Ancient Rome." There are many crashing lines in it, and the story is
rather dashingly told; but it is very inferior in polish, and even
correctness, to both the other poems. I have marked some of its
errata.
"Raphael," good as it is, is nothing more than Browning browned over.
Every turn of expression, and the whole animus, so to speak, is taken
from those poetical monologues of his. _Call it_ an imitation,
and it is excellent.
The best of the three poems, then, is "Sleep On!" I see Keats in it,
and one or both of the Brownings; but though the form is borrowed, the
passion is genuine--the fire has passed along there, and the verse has
followed before the ashes were quite cool.
Talent, certainly; taste very fine for the melodies of language; deep,
quiet sentiment. Genius? If beardless, yea; if in sable silvered,--and
I think this cannot be a very young hand,--why, then ... we will
suspend our opinion.
Faithfully yours, O. W. HOLMES.
I find several amusing personal letters of this period which are
characteristic enough to be preserved. Among them is the following: