KINDS OF POETRY
+55. Classification.+ Poetry may be divided into four general types or
classes: (1) _didactic_ poetry, which is chiefly concerned with
instruction; (2) _lyric_ poetry, which generally gives expression to
some emotion; (3) _epic_ poetry, which is devoted principally to
narration; and (4) _dramatic_ poetry, which deals with direct
representation. All these types or classes have variations and
subdivisions, which call for consideration in some detail.
+56. Didactic Poetry.+ The term "didactic" as applied to poetry involves
a seeming contradiction. Instruction is a function peculiar to prose;
but in the hands of a genuine poet, didactic verse may be so adorned by
the imagination and so warmed by the feelings as to lift it sometimes
into the realm of genuine poetry. Thus Dryden's _Religio Laici_, the
first didactic poem of special note in our language, is essentially
prosaic in theme and purpose. But its opening lines, by a happy simile,
are unmistakably poetic:
"Dim as the borrowed beams of moon and stars
To lonely, weary, wandering travellers,
Is Reason to the soul; and as on high
Those rolling fires discover but the sky,
Not light us here, so Reason's glimmering ray
Was lent, not to assure our doubtful way,
But guide us upward to a better day."
A didactic poem, at its best, is apt to be more or less prosaic. In
estimating its worth, three points are principally to be considered: (1)
To what extent has it a true poetic quality? (2) To what extent is it
complete, symmetrical, and true? and (3) To what extent is it correct
and skillful in versification?
Our language is specially rich in didactic poems, among which may be
mentioned Dryden's _Religio Laici_ and "Hind and Panther," Pope's "Essay
on Criticism" and "Essay on Man," Young's "Night Thoughts," Johnson's
"Vanity of Human Wishes," Cowper's "Task," Akenside's "Pleasures of the
Imagination," Rogers's "Pleasures of Memory," Campbell's "Pleasures of
Hope," Wordsworth's "Excursion," and Pollok's "Course of Time."
(1) _Satire_ is a species of didactic poetry. It is the use of wit,
irony, and sarcasm to ridicule foibles, vices, or evils of any kind.
Three kinds of satire may be distinguished: _personal_ satire, which is
directed against individuals, and usually springs from malignant or
unworthy motives; _partisan_ satire, which aims to make an opposing
party or sect odious; and _social_ satire, which seeks to improve the
manners or morals of society. Dryden, himself a master of the dangerous
art, says,--
"Satire has always shone among the rest,
And is the boldest way, if not the best,
To tell men freely of their faintest faults,
To laugh at their vain deeds and vainer thoughts."
The mood of satire may be various: it may be genial and pleasant; it may
be earnest and just; or it may be personal, unjust, and malicious. Any
species of satire may exhibit keenness of wit, but satire reaches its
highest excellence only when it springs from upright motives and
confines itself to truth. If there is exaggeration or caricature, as is
generally the case, there still must be a substantial basis of fact. No
amount of intellectual brilliancy or artistic skill can justify what is
false and slanderous.
Satirical poetry is very old. Aristophanes, Juvenal, Horace were
distinguished satirists of antiquity. Satire is found in almost every
period of English literature. Among our well-known satires are Butler's
"Hudibras," Dryden's "Mac Flecknoe" and "Absalom and Achitophel," Pope's
"Dunciad," Byron's "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers" and "Waltz,"
Lowell's "Fables for Critics," Moore's "Fudge Family in Paris," and not
a few others.
(2) _Descriptive poetry_, or the _nature epic_, as it has been called,
may be classed under didactic poetry. It is devoted to the description
not of successive events but of successive scenes in nature. It is sober
and reflective in character. Beginning with Chaucer, who delights in May
time and the daisies, nature occupies a prominent place and displays an
ever-unfolding richness in English poetry. Pope's "Windsor Forest" is an
elaborate though artificial piece of description. Milton's "L'Allegro"
and "Il Penseroso" are nature pictures that have never been surpassed in
their graphic portraiture. Other celebrated descriptive poems are
Goldsmith's "Traveller" and "Deserted Village," Thomson's "Seasons,"
Bryant's "Forest Hymn," Whittier's "Snow-Bound." But in poems of every
class there are descriptions of nature, though occupying an incidental
and secondary position.
In these nature poems there should be truthfulness of description. They
should be genuine; not coldly conventional, as Pope's "Windsor Forest,"
but real or idealized pictures from nature. The descriptions should be
specific rather than general; and if, in addition to faithful
portraiture, we have the warmth and elevation that come from human
emotion or from the recognition of an all-pervading Presence, the result
is the highest type of descriptive poetry. These finer descriptions of
nature are found in all the great poets since the days of Wordsworth.
(3) _Pastoral poetry_ is a species of descriptive poetry. It is devoted
to a portrayal of country life and manners, and generally embodies a
slight degree of dramatic action. "A pastoral," says Alexander Pope, "is
an imitation of the action of a shepherd, or one considered under that
character. The form of this imitation is dramatic or narrative, or mixed
of both; the fable simple, the manners not too polite nor too rustic;
the thoughts are plain, yet admit a little quickness and passion, but
that short and flowing; the expression humble, yet as pure as the
language will afford; neat but not florid; easy and yet lively."
English literature is not rich in pastoral poetry. What we have is
generally an imitation or translation of classical models. One of the
best known English pastorals is Spenser's "Shepherd's Calendar," which
contains imitations of Theocritus and Marot. Milton's "Comus" is a kind
of pastoral. The purest examples of pastoral poetry are found in Pope,
who has a series which he calls "Pastorals." Keats's "Endymion" has
been classed with pastoral poetry, but it is not a pure example of the
type.
+57. Lyric Poetry.+ Lyric poetry gives intense expression to thought and
emotion. As the name indicates, it was originally accompanied by music.
Though lyric poems are short, they constitute, in the aggregate, a large
part of English poetry. At the present day didactic and epic poetry is
rarely written; but lyric poetry continues to flourish. Its range of
theme is practically without limits.
There are numerous kinds or classes of lyric poetry, of which we may
distinguish the following: (1) ballads, (2) songs, (3) odes, (4)
elegies, (5) sonnets. These will now be considered in the order given.
(1) A _ballad_ is a brief narrative poem in lyric form. The ballad was
originally the production of wandering minstrels, and in its old English
form it possessed a simplicity, directness, and charming crudeness that
a more cultivated age cannot successfully imitate. The old English
ballads, most of which were composed in the north of England, depict the
lawlessness, daring, fortitude, and passion characteristic of life along
the Scottish border. A group of ballads gathers about the name of Robin
Hood, "the gentlest thief," as Scott calls him, "that ever was." A
stanza or two will illustrate their general tone and style:
"He that hath neither beene kithe nor kin
Might have seen a full fayre sight,
To see how together these yeomen went
With blades both brown and bright.
"To see how these yeomen together they fought
Two hours of a summer's day,
Yet neither Robin Hood nor Sir Guy
Them fettled to flye away."
Recent poets have written ballads, among the best of which may be
mentioned Longfellow's "Skeleton in Armor" and "Wreck of the Hesperus,"
Tennyson's "Edward Gray" and "Lady Clare," and Goldsmith's "Hermit."
These are all ballads of a pure type.
(2) A _song_ is a lyric poem intended to be sung. Songs may be
classified according to sentiment or occasion. In this way we may
distinguish love songs, convivial or drinking songs, political songs,
war songs, national songs, religious songs or hymns. As with lyric poems
in general, there is no thought or sentiment of the human soul that may
not find expression in song. Burns is distinguished as one of the best
of all song writers. Moore's "Irish Melodies" and "National Airs" are
bright though somewhat artificial. Among the writings of nearly all our
poets are pieces suitable for music.
Our hymns do not as a rule reach a high degree of poetic excellence. The
reason is, perhaps, not difficult to find. The hymn writers are
concerned less with a free play of the imagination and emotions than
with a strict regard to theological or even dogmatic truth. But
notwithstanding the difficulties of the case, not a few hymn writers
have given beautiful expression to their faith, adoration, and love.
Keble, Watts, Wesley, Cowper, Bonar, and many others have written hymns
that give satisfying expression to a deep religious fervor.
(3) The _ode_, is a somewhat lengthy lyric, characterized by exalted
feeling, dignity of theme, and irregular and complicated structure. Our
literature contains a number of excellent and famous odes, among which
may be mentioned Dryden's "Alexander's Feast," which the confident
author thought would never be surpassed.
"'Twas at the royal feast, for Persia won
By Philip's warlike son:
Aloft in awful state
The godlike hero sate
On his imperial throne;
His valiant peers were placed around,
Their brows with roses and with myrtles bound;
(So should desert in arms be crowned).
The lovely Thais, by his side,
Sate like a blooming Eastern bride,
In flower of youth and beauty's pride.
Happy, happy, happy pair!
None but the brave,
None but the brave,
None but the brave deserve the fair."
Pope's "Ode on Saint Cecilia's Day" is scarcely inferior. Collins's "Ode
on the Passions" is well known, though not equal perhaps to his "Ode to
Evening." Gray's "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College" and
"Progress of Poesy" are deserving of mention. Shelley wrote an "Ode to
Liberty" and an "Ode to the West Wind," both well worth reading and
study. Coleridge's "Ode on France" deservedly ranks high, and
Wordsworth's "Ode to Duty" and "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality"
are almost unsurpassed. Lowell's "Commemoration Ode" is justly admired.
(4) The _elegy_ is a meditative poem of sorrowful theme, usually
lamenting the dead. English literature may boast of several elegies
unsurpassed in any age or country. Spenser's "Astrophel" is a lament
over the death of Sir Philip Sidney. Milton's "Lycidas" is a monody on
the death of the poet's friend, Edward King. Gray's "Elegy in a Country
Churchyard" is celebrated for its graphic description and beautiful
thought. Shelley's "Adonais," a lament for Keats, belongs to the upper
regions of song; and Tennyson's "In Memoriam" belongs to the great
poetic achievements of the nineteenth century.
(5) The _sonnet_ is a lyric poem consisting of fourteen iambic
pentameter lines. It is divided into two parts: the first consisting of
an _octave_ or double quatrain, and the other of a _sestet_. The rhymes
of the first two quatrains are usually the same; those of the sestet are
variously arranged. The sonnet is an artificial and complicated poetic
form; but it lends itself admirably to the development of a single
poetic thought, and Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Mrs. Browning,
Longfellow, Hayne, and many others have used it with great skill and
power. The following sonnet by Mrs. Browning will serve for
illustration:
"I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young;
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair,
And a voice said in mastery while I strove,
'Guess now who holds thee?' 'Death,' I said. But, there,
The silver answer rang, 'Not Death but Love!'"
As will be seen on examination, the rhyme scheme is as follows: _a b b a
a b b a c d c d c d_. But the quatrains may have alternate rhymes, and
the sestet may consist of a quatrain and couplet or of interwoven
triplets, as in the following schemes: _a b a b a b a b c d c d e e_; _a
b b a a b b a c d e c d e_.
+58. Some Criteria.+ The brief lyric, above all other kinds of poetry,
should be finished in form and expression. The imperfections of diction
that might go unchallenged in a longer poem are inexcusable in a lyric.
Delicacy of thought and intensity of feeling constitute its breath of
life, and should mold for themselves a beauteous form. What is
commonplace, harsh, or unmusical in expression should be avoided, unless
such diction is wedded to the thought. Concrete and suggestive words are
to be used rather than abstract and vague expressions. There is always a
distinct gain when the poem evokes pleasing pictures.
As a rule the thought and expression should be clear; the poet should
not mystify the reader nor tax too far his efforts at comprehension.
Browning sometimes grievously offends in this particular. While
insisting on clearness, however, we should not forget that the mystical
and the musical have their place in poetry. A poem may sometimes be
pleasing through its melodious and mystical character, even when it is
not clearly intelligible.
Whether the poet has a distinct introduction, or whether he plunges into
the midst of his theme, he should observe method and symmetry of
structure; and in spite of the liveliest play of the imagination and
sensibilities, he should impose a severe restraint upon himself. He
should leave something to the imagination of the reader.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
55. Into how many classes is poetry divided? Name them, giving the
general character of each class. 56. What contradiction is there in the
term _didactic poetry_? How is it saved from this contradiction?
Illustrate. What points are to be considered in estimating didactic
poetry? Mention some principal didactic poems.
What is poetic _satire_? What three species are mentioned? What is said
of the mood of satire? Mention some well-known satires. What is meant by
_descriptive_ poetry? What is said of nature in poetry? Mention some
descriptive pieces, or nature epics. What are their criteria? What is
_pastoral_ poetry? What was Pope's conception of it? What is its place
in English literature? Mention our principal pastorals.
57. What is _lyric_ poetry? Mention the principal kinds. What is a
_ballad_? What is said of old English ballads? Mention some recent
ballads. What is a _song_? Name the different kinds. Who are mentioned
as song writers? What is said of hymns? Why are they not better? Name
some prominent hymn writers? What is an _ode_? What place does it hold
in our literature? Name a few famous odes. What is an _elegy_? Mention
some famous elegies. What is a _sonnet_? How is it divided? What is the
rhyme scheme of the sonnet? Name some of our great sonneteers. 58. What
are some of the criteria for judging lyric poetry? What was one of
Browning's faults?
ILLUSTRATIVE AND PRACTICAL EXERCISES
The following selections should be studied in the light of such
questions as these:
To what division of poetry does it belong? Is it
didactic, descriptive, pastoral, satirical? What is
the spirit of the piece? Is it a ballad, song, hymn,
ode, elegy, sonnet? Is it elevated and intense? Is it
true in sentiment and thought? Is it well constructed
and harmonious? Is it clear or hazy? Is it natural or
affected? What is its meter?
Of all the causes which conspire to blind
Man's erring judgment, and misguide the mind,
What the weak head with strongest bias rules,
Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.
Whatever nature has in worth denied,
She gives in large recruits of needful pride;
For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find
What wants in blood and spirits, swelled with wind:
Pride, where wit fails, steps in to our defence,
And fills up all the mighty void of sense.--POPE.
Of these the false Achitophel was first,
A name to all succeeding ages cursed:
For close designs, and crooked counsels fit;
Sagacious, bold, and turbulent of wit;
Restless, unfixed in principles and place;
In power unpleased, impatient of disgrace:
A fiery soul, which, working out its way,
Fretted the pigmy-body to decay;
A daring pilot in extremity;
Pleased with the danger, when the waves went high,
He sought the storms; but, for a calm unfit,
Would steer too nigh the sands to boast his wit.
DRYDEN.
Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes,
And pause awhile from letters to be wise;
There mark what ills the scholar's life assail,
Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail.
See nations, slowly wise, and meanly just,
To buried merit raise the tardy bust.
If dreams yet flatter, once again attend,
Hear Lydiat's life and Galileo's end.--JOHNSON.
The groves of Eden, vanished now so long,
Live in description, and look green in song:
These, were my breast inspired with equal flame,
Like them in beauty, should be like in fame.
Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain,
Here earth and water seem to strive again;
Not chaos-like together crushed and bruised,
But, as the world, harmoniously confused:
Where order in variety we see,
And where, though all things differ, all agree.
Here waving groves a chequered scene display,
And part admit, and part exclude the day;
As some coy nymph her lover's warm address
Nor quite indulges, nor can quite repress.--POPE.
Right against the eastern gate,
Where the great sun begins his state,
Robed in flames, and amber light,
The clouds in thousand liveries dight;
While the plowman, near at hand,
Whistles o'er the furrowed land,
And the milkmaid singeth blithe,
And the mower whets his sithe,
And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn in the vale.--MILTON.
In this, our happy and "progressive" age,
When all alike ambitious cares engage;
When beardless boys to sudden sages grow,
And "Miss" her nurse abandons for a beau;
When for their dogmas Non-Resistants fight,
When dunces lecture, and when dandies write;
When spinsters, trembling for the nation's fate,
Neglect their stockings to preserve the state;
When critic wits their brazen lustre shed
On golden authors whom they never read;
With parrot praise of "Roman grandeur" speak,
And in bad English eulogize the Greek;--
When facts like these no reprehension bring,
May not, uncensured, an Attorney sing?--SAXE.
In the street I heard a thumping; and I knew it was the
stumping
Of the Corporal, our old neighbor, on that wooden leg he wore,
With a knot of women round him,--it was lucky I had found him,
So I followed with the others, and the Corporal marched
before.
They were making for the steeple,--the old soldier and his
people;
The pigeons circled round us as we climbed the creaking stair;
Just across the narrow river--O, so close it made me shiver!--
Stood a fortress on the hill-top that but yesterday was bare.
HOLMES.
Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in.
Time, you thief! who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in.
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad;
Say that health and wealth have missed me:
Say I'm growing old, but add--
Jenny kissed me.--LEIGH HUNT.
Those evening bells! those evening bells!
How many a tale their music tells,
Of youth, and home, and that sweet time
When last I heard their soothing chime!
Those joyous hours are passed away;
And many a heart that then was gay,
Within the tomb now darkly dwells,
And hears no more those evening bells.--MOORE.
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;--
Turn wheresoe'er I may,
By night or day,
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
WORDSWORTH.
Abide with me! fast falls the even-tide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me!--LYTE.
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide;
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask; but Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best; his state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait."--MILTON.
NOTE
In addition to these selections the student might classify, as far as
possible, the poetical extracts previously given. In some cases, owing
to brevity, this classification will be difficult. Furthermore, the
teacher might assign particular didactic, descriptive, satirical, or
lyric poems for special study as to form, content, and mood. The special
criteria of this chapter should be applied. A comparative study of
Pope's "Windsor Forest," Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," and
Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey" would be specially instructive, as showing
the different ways of treating nature.