The design was, to trace the progress of a Poetical Genius, born in a
rude age, from the first dawning of fancy and reason, till that period
at which he may be supposed capable of appearing in the world as a
MINSTREL, that is, as an itinerant Poet and Musician;--a character,
which, according to the notions of our fore-fathers, was not only
respectable, but sacred.
I have endeavoured to imitate SPENSER in the measure of his verse, and
in the harmony, simplicity, and variety, of his composition. Antique
expressions I have avoided; admitting, however, some old words, where
they seemed to suit the subject; but I hope none will be found that
are now obsolete, or in any degree unintelligible to a reader of
English poetry.
To those, who may be disposed to ask, what could induce me to write in
so difficult a measure, I can only answer, that it pleases my ear, and
seems, from its Gothic structure and original, to bear some relation
to the subject and spirit of the Poem. It admits both of simplicity
and magnificence of sound and of language, beyond any other stanza
that I am acquainted with. It allows the sententiousness of the
couplet, as well as the more complex modulation of blank verse. What
some critics have remarked, of its uniformity growing at last tiresome
to the ear, will be found to hold true, only when the poetry is faulty
in other respects.
THE
MINSTREL;
IN TWO BOOKS.
_Me vero primum dulces ante omnia Musae,
Quarum sacra fero, ingenti perculsus amore,
Accipiant.----_