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CANADA 
 
 PUBLIC ARCHIVES 
 
 ARCHIVES PUBLIQUES 
 
•^^L!ll^£iii±£ff:^ 
 
 PRIMER 
 
 Of 
 
 ENGLISH LITERATURE 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 BT 
 
 JOHN MILLAR MA., 
 
 Principal of St. Thotms CoUejiate Instituie. 
 
 DRSIONKD FOR 8TUDKNTS PRKPARINU FOR OPVICIAI. 
 KXAMINATION'8 
 
 W J. GAGE & CO., 
 
 TORONTO. 
 
 \ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. LITERATURE AND ITS DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 1. Literature in its widest sense embrjices all kinds of 
 literary productions whicli have been preserved in writ- 
 ing ; but is generally restricted to those works that come 
 within the sphere of the literary art or rules of rhetoric. 
 
 2. Classillcation. — Literature, in regard to its />n», 
 is divided into (1) Prose and (2) Poetry. In regard to 
 matter^ it has three divisions : (1,) Composition, designed 
 to inform the understanding by descriptionf narraHojif or 
 exposition ; (2) Oratory ; (3) Poetry. 
 
 3. Description, or descriptive composition, is of two 
 kinds : (1) Objective, where the observer pictures what he 
 describes as it is perceived by his senses or realized by 
 his fancy ; (2) Subjective, where the observer, referring 
 to the feelings or thoughts of his own mind, gives his im- 
 pressions as they have been excited by the outward scene. 
 Scott is a good example of an ohjedivef and Byron of a 
 Buljective writer. 
 
 4. TTarration is that kind of composition which gives 
 an account of the incidents of a series of transactions or 
 events. It may also be subjective or objective. 
 
 7/^/, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 5. Exposition includes those literary production! 
 
 where facta ur principles are discussed and cunclusions 
 reached by a process uf reasoning. It embraces vari- 
 ous treatises, from tlio brief editorial, or essay, to the 
 full discussion in extensive works. To this class belongs 
 the pliilnsopliic poem. 
 
 G. Oratory is that kind of composition in which argu- 
 ments ur reasons are oliered to inlluence the mind. It 
 admits of the f(»llowing divisions : (1) Judicial, (2) Politi- 
 cal, (3) Religious, and (4) Moral suasion. 
 
 7. Proso compositions are those in which the thoughts 
 are arranjg'cd in non-metrical sentences, or in the natural 
 order in common and ordinary lant;ua','0. The principal 
 kinds of i)rose composition are narrative, letters, memoirs, 
 history, bioi,'raphy, essays, philosophy, Bunuons, novels, 
 Speeches, S:c. 
 
 8. Sentences are divided gramniaiicnlly into simple^ 
 iomplej\ coiiipoHiul, and also into declardtive, hite.rroyativef 
 im}>rratirey and ejclnmatioe. Rhetorically, they are di- 
 vided into loose, sentences and periods. 
 
 0. A loose sentence c<»nsists of parts which may be 
 separated without destroying the sense. It is generally 
 adopted l)y Aildison. 
 
 10. A period is a sentence in which the complete 
 sense is suspended until the close. The fiist sentence of 
 Parailise Lost, and also the lii'st sentence of tJie I'a^tkf 
 Book III, furnish e.\ami)les. 
 
 11. Poetry is that species of composition in which the 
 words are metrically arranged. It also dillers from prose 
 m (1) having a greater number oi Jifjures uf sjteevh, (2) em- 
 ploying numerous <(/vAm/(;, or nou-c.olloipual terms, (3) pre- 
 ferring ejiithets to extended exjiressicms, (4) using short 
 and euphonious words instead of what are long or harsh, 
 »iid (5) permitting deviations from the rules of grammar. 
 
vi 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 12. Motre is defined as *' the recurrence within cer- 
 tain intervals of syllables similarly aU'octed." This may 
 ariae from (1) alliteration, (2) (juantity, (3) rhyme, (4) 
 accent, or (5) the number of syllables. 
 
 13. Alliteration, which was the cluracteristic of Old 
 English poetry, consisted ill tho repetition of the samu 
 letters. 
 
 14. Quantity has reforcnce to the length of vowels or 
 syllables. In tho classical lanL;ua;e.s, (lU iiitity was mea- 
 sured by tho length of syllables; in English, by tlie length 
 of the vowels. 
 
 15. Rhyme is a similarity of sound at the end of 
 words ; its essentials being (1) vowels alike in sound, (2) 
 consonants before tho vowels unlike, and (.'J) consonants 
 after tlie vowels alike in sound. l*<>etry without rhyme 
 is termed blank verse. Blank verse usually consists of 
 five, or live and a half, feet. 
 
 IG. Accent, which forms the distinguishing feature of 
 English venso, is the 8tre.ss on a syllable in a word 
 
 17. Rhythm. — When the words of comi»ositi<m are so 
 arranged that tho succession of accented syllables pro- 
 duces harmony we have rhythm. When the accents occur 
 regularly we have rer.se, or metre. 
 
 18 Couplets, triplets, &c. , are used to designate two, 
 thn'o, j^'c, verses taken together. 
 
 1{>, Stanza is a term applied to a part of a poem con- 
 sisting of a number of verses regularly adjusted to one 
 another. 
 
 20. Feet. — A portion of a verse of poetry consisting of 
 two or more syllables ct>mbined according to accent is 
 called A foot. Two syllables thus combined is called a dis- 
 vjlldhir. foot, which may be (1) an iamhus, when the accent 
 is on the second syllable, or (2) a trochee, when the accent 
 NB on the first syllable, or \'S) a spoiuUe^ when both are 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 fH 
 
 A<)eeTitecl, or both unaccented. Three syllables combined 
 form a tri-nyllahic fuut, which may be a dactyt, an amphi- 
 6racA, or an muipaest. 
 
 21. Monomotor, dimeter, trimeter^ tetrameter, penta- 
 meter, and liewamfter, are terms that indicate the number 
 of feet or measures in the verse. Thus five iambic feet 
 are called iamUie pentameter. This is the metro of the 
 Deserted Village, T)<« Task, and also of the principal 
 epic, dramatic, philoo^phic, and descriptive poems. From 
 its use in epic poetry, where heroic deeds are described, it 
 is called heroic measure. An iambic hexameter verse Ib 
 called an Alcyandrine. 
 
 22. The Elgiao stanza consists of four pentameter 
 lines rhymini; alternately. 
 
 23. The Spenserian stanza consists of eight heroic 
 lines followed by an Alexandrine. 
 
 24. Common Metre consi.sts of four verses, the first 
 and third being iambic tetrameters, and the second and 
 fourth, which rhyme, iambic trimeters. 
 
 25. Short Metre has three feet in the first, second, and 
 fourth lines, and f(mr in the third. 
 
 26. Long Metre consists of four iambic tetrameter 
 lines. 
 
 27. Ottava Bima is a name applied to an Italian 
 stanza consisting of eight lines, of which the first sii 
 rhyme alternately, and the last two form a couplet. 
 
 28. The Rhyme Royal consists of seven heroic lines 
 the first five recurring at intervals and the last twr 
 rhymin'^. 
 
 29. The Ballad Stanza consists of four lines, the first 
 and third being iambic tetrameters, and the second and 
 fourth iambic trimeters. 
 
 30. Pauses. —Besides the usual pauses indicated by the 
 punctuation and called sentential pauses, there are in poetif 
 
riii 
 
 tNtRODUCtlOW. 
 
 diction the Final panso at the end of each line and the 
 Citsural pause. 
 
 31. The CoDSUral Pause is a Buspcnsion of the voice 
 somewhere in the lino itsulf. It is not found in short 
 lines, and in long versos is movable. It gunoially occurs 
 near the middle, but may come after the 4th, 5th, Gth, or 
 7th syllable. It is often found in the iniddlo of a foot, but 
 never in the middle of a word. Somotiines a secondary 
 pause called demiaesura^ JR found before and also after the 
 cvuiiral. 
 
 32. Scansion h a term applied to the division of a 
 verse into the feet of which it consists. 
 
 33. Classifloation of Poetry.— In respect to form and 
 mode of treatment, poetry may be divided into (1) Epic, (2) 
 Dramatic, and (3) Lyric. 
 
 34. Epio poetry is that variety in which some preat 
 event is described, or where the exploits of heroes are 
 treated of. The leading forms of Epic poetry are these : — 
 
 (1) The Great Epic, as the Iliad, the A!neid, Paradise Lost; 
 
 (2) The Romance, as the Faerie Qneene, The Lady of the 
 Lake; (3) The Ballad, as Chevy CJiase, Macaulay'a ImijoJ 
 Horatins; (4) The Historical Poem, as Dryden's Annri* 
 Mirabilis ; (5) The Tale, as Byron's Corsair, Enoch Arden; 
 (G) The Mixed Epic, as Byron's Childe Harold; (7) The 
 Pastoral, Idyll, A'c, as the Cotter's Saturday NiilUy the 
 Excursion ; (8) Prose Fiction, including sentimental, comi- 
 cal, pastoral, historical, philoso])liical, or religious novels. 
 
 35. Dramatic Poetry deals also with some important 
 events, but dillers from Epic poetry whore the author him- 
 self narrates the events forming its subject, in having the 
 various charar ters represent, in action or conversation, 
 the story to be »Uscribed. Dramatic poetry is of two kinds, 
 ^1) Tragedy, where the human passions and woes or mis* 
 fortunes of life • * 'it sucU a mauuer as to ex* 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 il 
 
 eitepity.asRhaVpaponro'i Murhefh or TTamJri; (2) rnmody, 
 wliorc tlio liulitcr faiilfH, priHsiniis. jirtiuus, uiid fuliios are 
 reproat'iiti'd, as tliu Mi-rclidnt of I fiiire. 
 
 3(i. Lyric Pootry is so calU'»l l)t!caiiso <)ri?.:iri.illy writ 
 ten to bo 8un\' to tho Lyre. Its itrincij)jil kinds arc : (1) 
 Tlio Odo, as dray's Haul; (2) The llynm, as tln)so of 
 Cf)\vi>er ; (3) Tlie Soiij^, as tlioso of liunis or Mooru ; (4) 
 The Ele<,'y, as CJray's ; (5) Tim Soti.u't, as tlwisoof SlialxO- 
 speare or Wordsworth ; (G) The simple Lyric, as liurna* 
 Moiititnin Daisy. 
 
 37. Further Classiflnntion as to object will eml>race ; 
 (1) De8crij)tivo poi'try, as 'Ihoinson's i^i'iisons; ('J) Diilac- 
 tic, as Wordsworth's I'li'cuision; (3) Pastoral, as ilain- 
 say's Gentle Shfjihenl ; Satirical, as liutler's iludibnui (5) 
 Humorous, us Cuw^er'a John Lid^iru 
 
 n. FIGURES OF SPEECn. 
 
 38. A Figure is a doviatittn from tho ordinary form or 
 construct ion or ap])licati<m oi words in a sentence for the 
 purpose of greater precision, variety, or elfjance of ex- 
 pression. There are three kinds, viz., of Ltyvioiogy, of 
 Syntax^ and of Jiho.fi>rir.. 
 
 3'.). A Figure of Etymology is a deparniro from the 
 usual form of wort's. Tiie prnic:i]ial fiuMires of etynioIoLjy 
 are : Afilnrresis, J^rostJirsi.t, iSyncojie, AjxicopCf J'arayoye, 
 nid'resis, iS//iircrc.s/.s, 'An«.s/a. 
 
 40. Aphffiresis. — The olisinn of a syllable from the 
 beiiiniiin'' <»f a word, Jis 'nr.alli tor hcitcnth. 
 
 4L Prosthesis. — The pretixinix of a syllable to a word, 
 as aydihg for yoinfj. If the letters are placed in the middle, 
 bjpentliesis^ a^ further ior ftinr. 
 
 42. Syncope. — The elision of a letter or syllable from 
 the body of a word, as medicine for medicine. 
 
iNTRoDUClIOfr. 
 
 43. Apocope. — The elision of a letter or syllable from 
 the end of a word, aa tlio' for thoiigh. 
 
 44. Paragoge. — Tlie jinnexing of a syllable to the end 
 of a word aa deary for dear. 
 
 45. Diaeresis. — Tlie divison of two concurrent vowels 
 into dillorent syllables, as co-operate. 
 
 46. SynODresis. —The joining of two syllables into one, 
 in either orthography or pronunciation, as dust for dcestf 
 loved for tor-ed. 
 
 47. Tmesis. — Separating the parts of a compound 
 word, as " lllidt time soever." When letters in the same 
 word are interchanged, us brunt for hnmtf nostrils loi' nose- 
 thirles, the figure is called Metathens. 
 
 48. A Figure of Syntax is a deviation fro^n the usual 
 construction of a sentence for greater beauty or force. 
 The princi]ial figures of syntax are : Ellipsis^ Pleonasm, 
 Syllepsi.% I^nallage, llyperhatoHy Feriphra.'iis, Tautology. 
 
 40. Ellipsis. — An omission of words with a rhetorical 
 purpose, as '* Impusaible f" Asyndeton is the omission of 
 connectives. 
 
 50. Pleonasm. — The employment of redundant words, 
 as "Thy rod and thy staft", fJicy comfort me." 
 
 51. Syllopis. — An inferior species of peisonijicationj as 
 " The moon gives her light bj' night." 
 
 52. Enallage. - The substitution of one part of speech 
 for another, as — 
 
 '* Wliether charmer ninner it or saint it 
 
 If folly grow romantic I must paint it." — Pope. 
 
 53. Hyperbaton. — The transposition of words in a 
 sentence, as *' A man he was to all the countrj' dear." 
 
 54 Periphrasis or Circumlocution. — The emi>loy ment 
 of more words than are necessary to convey the sense, as 
 the use of a definition or descriptive phrase instead of • 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 noun, as ** He was charmed with the idea of takiHg np 
 arms ill the service of lii^ cunntr>i." 
 
 56. Tautology. — The repetition of the aanie sense iii 
 ditlerent words, as — 
 
 ** Tlie dawn is overcast — the mornincj lowers, 
 
 And heavily in clouds brings on the day." — Addison. 
 
 56. A Figure of Rhetoric is a form of speech art- 
 fully varied from the direct and literal mode of expres- 
 sion for the purpose of greater ell'ect. llhetorical tig urea 
 may be divided into three classes. 
 
 57. I. Figiu-es of RelSitivity. — Ant HJiesis, Simile^ 
 Metaphor y Allegory^ Persoaijiratioii^ Apodnjplie., Visiuii, 
 AUusioTiy Irowj, Sarcasm, Sipiecduche, Ahtonymy, Euplitrii- 
 %sm, Litotes, LpiDKc.t, CufacJiresis. 
 
 58. IT. Fig^ires of Gradation. — Climax, rfupprhnle. 
 
 59. III. Figures of Emphasis. — Epizeiu-i.s, Auapliora, 
 Epipiiorr^, Anadiploais^ EpiDudcp^is, Alliteration., Aiiacithi- 
 than, Apnsiopestis, EaraleipsiSf Erotesis, EpaicortUusi^t l^yl- 
 lepsis, EcpJiovesls. 
 
 60. AntithesiP. — The st.itement of acont rast of thonfrlits 
 and words, as '* The wicked flee when no man pursueth, 
 but the righteous are bold as a lion." 
 
 Under tliis tij^ure may be mentioned Oxymoron, or a 
 contradiction of terms, as ** a pious fraud " ; Aiiti)nrt<diole, 
 where the words are reversed in eacli member of the anti- 
 thesis, as " A wit with dunces, and a dunce with wits." 
 
 61. Simile or Comparison. — A formal expression c 
 resemblance, as : '* He shall be like a tree planted by t/ 
 rivers of water." 
 
 62. Metaphor. — An implied comparison or a inmile 
 without the sign, as " Pitt was the pillar of the State." 
 
 63. Allegory.— A continuation of metaphors,oT a story 
 having a figurative meaning and designed to convey in- 
 
xU 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Btruction of a moral character, as Bunyan's rilgriin'a PrO' 
 gress 
 
 04. Personification.— A tigure in which some attri- 
 bute of life is iiscribed to iiiaiiiuuito objects, as " The 
 mountains i^'nui t.oijpJher, the hills rejoice and dap hands.'^ 
 
 Go. Apostropho. — A turning oU' from the subject to 
 address st.nu'thmg absent, as " Death is swallowed up in 
 victory. O Death, where is tliy sting V 
 
 GO. Vision. — The narration of past or absent scenes as 
 though actually [present, as "I sue before me the gladia- 
 tor lie," etc. 
 
 07. Allusion. — Tliat figure by wliich some word or 
 plirase in a sentence calls to mind something which is not 
 iMenLioncd, as " It may be aaid of him that he came, he 
 saw, he contiuered." 
 
 ()8. Irony. — A figure by wliich wo mean to convey a 
 meanin;i the contrary of what we say, as where Elijah ad- 
 dresses iho worshippers of Uaal, " Cry aloud, for he is a 
 III 
 
 oy. Sarcasm.-^ A mode of expressing vituperation 
 under a somewhat veiled form, as the Letters of J unius. 
 70. Synecdoche. — A figure where — 
 
 1. A part is put for the whole, as '* A fleet of twenty 
 sail," 
 
 2. The species for a genus, as "our daily bread." 
 
 3. The concrete for the abstract, as *'The patriot 
 comes forth in liis politics." 
 
 4. The whole for a part, as "Belinda smiled and aU 
 tJie ivorld was gay." 
 
 6. The genus for the species, as ** The creature wa» 
 
 sad." 
 6. The abstract for the concrete, as — 
 
 ** Ik'lgiuni's capital had gathered then 
 
 Her beauty and her chivalry. ' 
 
rtCTRODUC 1 lOR xiil 
 
 Antonnwafiia {■ a form of synccdonhe wli'jro a prono* 
 noun is used to desi-nate a class, as — ^^ 
 
 *'Some vi]la^'o Jlamjnlen, that with danntlesa breast. 
 The little tyrant of his fields withstood." 
 71. Metonymy. A liunre where one thuig is described 
 by another thing m suhiuituting — 
 1- The cause for the eliect, as 
 
 " A time there was, ere England's griefs bp^an, 
 Wlien every mod of (jnmnd maintained its man." 
 
 2. The effect for the cause, as ''Gray /uzirs should be 
 respected. " 
 
 3. Tlie sign for the thing signified, as *' Ho carried 
 away tlie ;7a/yn." 
 
 4. The container for the thing contained, as '• Tjfie 
 toper h)ves his bottle. " 
 
 6. The instrument for the agent, as "The pen is 
 miglitier tlian the sword." 
 
 6. An author for his works, as «'We admire Addi- 
 son." 
 
 72. Euphemism.— A figure by means of which a harsn 
 expressi(m Is set aside and a softer one substituted m us 
 place, as " Tlie mercliant prince has stopped payment." 
 
 73. Litotes.— A fi-ure in wliich by denying the con- 
 trary, more is implied than is expressed, as 
 
 " Immortal names, 
 That were not horn to die." 
 74 Transferred Epithet.— An e]nthot joined to an. 
 )thei t( explain its character, as "Thes7(?n/»/ Sc.uth " 
 
 75. Catachresis.— A figure where a W(jrd is wrested 
 from its original apj^lication and n^ade to express Pome- 
 thing at variance with its true meaning, as " Her voice 
 was but the .shadow of a sound." 
 
 76. Climax.— An ascending scries of thoudits or state- 
 meats iiicreasiug in strength, as *' What a pioce of worK 
 
 it 
 
dv 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^ man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculties ; 
 li^-nonn and niuving, how evpress and admirable ! in aC' 
 tion, how like an angel ! in ai)i)ruhensinn,ho\v likeaGod ! — 
 Hamlet. Wliero the series is descending we have an Anti- 
 dinuw, as " If once a man indulges himself in murder, 
 v?Ty soon he comes to think little of robbing ; and from 
 robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, 
 and from that to incivility and procrastination." — De 
 Quincy. 
 
 77. Hyperbole. — A figure by which more is expressed 
 than the truth and where the exai^geration is not expected 
 to be taken literally, as '* They were swifter than eagles, 
 thry were stronger than lions." (Referring to David's 
 statement concerning Saul and Jonathan.) 
 
 78. Epizeuxis. — The immediate repetition c5 vome 
 word or words for the sake of emphasis, as — 
 
 ** Restore him, restore him if you can from the dead. " 
 70. Anaphora. — The repetition of a word or phrase at 
 rhe beginning of each of several sentences or parts of a 
 sentence, as — 
 
 " No more the farmer's news, the barber's tale, 
 No more the woodman's ballad shall prevail, 
 No mine the smith his dusky brow shall clear." 
 
 80. Epiphora. — Where the repetition is at the end, and 
 Anadiplosis. — Where the repetition is in the 
 middle : 
 
 ** Has he a gust for bloodi Blood bhall fill his cup." 
 
 81. Epanalepsis. — Where there is a repetition at tht- 
 end of the sentence of the word or words at the beginning 
 
 82. Alliteration. — The repetition of the same lettei 
 or letters, as '* Jpt alli*^oratic.i's artful aid." 
 
 83. Anacoluthon. — A figure by which a proposition it 
 left unfinished and something else introduced to fivuih 
 the sentence, 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 W9 
 
 , 
 
 *' If thou be'st he— but oh, how fallen, how ohanged 
 from him who," etc. 
 
 84. Aposiopesis.— A suddfen pause in a sentence by 
 which the conchision is left unfinisluul, as — 
 
 " For there I picked up on the heather. 
 And tliere I put witliin my breast, 
 A moulted feather, an eagle's feather — 
 Well — I forget the rest." — Browning. 
 
 85. Paraleipsis or omission. — A figure by which a 
 apeaker pretends to pass by what at the same time he real- 
 ly mentions, as " I do not speak of my adversary's scan- 
 dalous venality and rapacity ; I take no notice of his bru- 
 tal conduct." 
 
 80. Erotesis.— An animated or passionate interroga- 
 tion, as — 
 
 " Hath the Lord said it ? and will He not do it ? 
 Hath Ho spoken it ? and shall He not make it good ?" 
 
 87. Epanorthosis. — A figure by which an expres- 
 sion is recalled and a 8tr(»nger <me substituted in its 
 place, as " Why should I sjieak of his neglect — neglect did 
 I say ? call it rather contempt." 
 
 88. Syllepsis. — The use of an expression which ia 
 taken in a literal and metaphorical sense, as — 
 
 ** Lie heavy on him, Earth, for he 
 Laid many a heavy load on thee." 
 
 89. Ecphonesis. — An animated exclamation, as — 
 
 Othello. — 0, my soul's joy. 
 
 If after every tempest come such calms, 
 May the winds blow till they have wakened death." 
 
 90. Other figures are often found, as zeugma, whereby 
 a verb, etc. , applicable to only one clause does duty foi 
 two, as — 
 
 "Tliey weara garment like the Scythians, but a Ian 
 kjuag*^ peculiar to themselves." — Sir J. Mandeviilo. 
 
 I 
 
 iifiiillMHMll 
 
 HUggjI 
 
xvl 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Annccrnnftis, where tho speaker appeals to the judg* 
 mentof his audiuncu on the point in debate, as if they had 
 feelings common with his own. Tlie Euupna or riddle. 
 The Epi(jr<im, where the mind is roused by a conliict or 
 contradiction between the ["orm of the language and the 
 nieaninijr to be conveved, as " The cliild is father of the 
 man." I'ersondl Mctdjihor, where acts are attributed to 
 inanimate objects, The i'aroi/omasia or pun. The Para- 
 We, rroverb, llcpaiieef etc 
 
 III LIST OF PRT.NXIPAL WRITERS. 
 
 Drydon, Jolm (1(>.'^0— 1700). Annus Mirahilis, Absa- 
 lom and AJiitojiliel, Mdc Fkcinice^ Tlie Hind and Panther^ 
 Translation of Viijil, Ode fur tSt. Cecilia s Day^ Alexan- 
 der s Feast. 
 
 Locke, John (1032 — 1704). Essay oil ITnman Under- 
 standi)!'!, Letters conci'niouj TiAcratioti, Treat se on Oivil 
 Goi'er}nne)it, Thoinihts runcerniinj Education. 
 
 Newton, Sir .1. (ir>42 — 1727). I'ri)u:i}ila, Optics. 
 
 Wychoriy, Wiiliuni (IGIO- 1715). Several immoral 
 Comedies. 
 
 Do Foe, Daniel (ICOl— 1731). Resides editing The Ee- 
 I'ieiv, wrote Uohinsun Crusoe, Moll Flanders, History of the 
 Great Pla^fue, C(t])tain Sinyleton, Mrs. VeaVs Apjxirition. 
 
 Bontlcy, Richard (1002—1742). Editions of i/omce, 
 TeriH'e, j'hoidnis, anil other ch-issical works. 
 
 Pi lor, Mathew, (1005—1721). 'The Town and Country 
 Mouse, Solomon. 
 
 Swift, Joiiatlian (1000—1745). TaleofnTuh, Drapier'a 
 Letters, Gulliver s Trarels, and poems including Morning^ 
 Tlie City SlLuwcr^ llkajjsody on Foetry, Verses on My Own 
 Death. 
 
 Congrovo, William (1GC9— 1728). Several comedies of 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 xvu 
 
 ,1P 
 
 ^1? 
 
 a very Immoral tendency, and the tragedy The Morni)*g 
 
 Lride. 
 
 Ciboer. Collcy (1G71-1757). The Comedy Careless 
 
 Husband. 
 
 Steele, Richard (1071-1720). -Rosides writino; for the 
 Taller, Spectator, Guaniuxn, Kmillslnnau, etc., lie wrote 
 comedies— 77ie Funeral, The Tender llasband, The Lying 
 Lover, The Cunscioas Lovers. 
 
 Addison, Joseph (1072—1719). Contributions to the 
 Tatler, Spectator, Guardian, ]Vld<}, Examiner, etc. Poems 
 ^Letter from Italy, Camj^uUjn, Uynins, llosamond, TU 
 Dnnnmcr, Cato. 
 
 Vanbrugh, John (1072-1720). 77.6 Provoled Wife. 
 
 Eowo, Nicholas (1073-1718). The Fair FeniUni a.nd 
 
 Jane Shore. -r . mr r 
 
 Watts, Isaac (1074-1748). Hymns, Logic, The Im- 
 
 proreweid of the Mind. 
 
 Philips, Ambrose (1075-1740). Tlie DldresseA Mother. 
 
 Philips, John (107<',-1708). The Splendid Shilling. 
 
 Farquhar, Geo. (1078-1707). The Eecruiting Officer, 
 The lleaiix' Stratagem. 
 
 ParaoU, Thomas (1070-1717). The Hermit. 
 
 Young, Edward (1081—1705;. Night Thoughts, The 
 Revenqe, The Loce of Fame. 
 
 Berkeley, George (1084-1753). Theory of Vision. 
 
 Tickell, Tliomas (1080—1740). Besides writing for 
 Spectator and Guardian, wrote the ballad of Colin and 
 Lucy, and the poem Kensington Gardens. 
 
 Gay, John (1088-1732). The Shepherd's Week, Trivia, 
 The Fail, Black-eyed Susan, Beggars' Opera. 
 
 Pope. Alexander (1088-1744). Essay on Criticism, 
 The M'issiah, Elegy on an Unfortunate Lady, The Rape of 
 the Lock, Tlie EpUtle of Uoisa to Abelard, The Temple oj 
 
 .p V4-..K ■-'"{ap'B-**''* "■'n**^- 
 
XVlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Fame, translation of Iliad and Odyssey, The Dunciad, Ea- 
 
 my on Man, Windsor Forest. 
 
 Richardson, Samuel (1089— 17C1). Pamela, Clarissa 
 Harlonc, Sir (liurlos Crandison. 
 
 Savage, llichard (l(i!)G— 174;^). The Wanderer. 
 
 Thomson, James (1700—1748). Seasons, Liberty, The 
 Ca^th of Indolence. 
 
 Wesley, John (1703 — 1701). Hymns and Sermons, 
 Journal. 
 
 Fielding, Henry C1707 — 1754). Joseph A ndrews, Tom 
 Jorces, JonatJuin Wild. 
 
 Johnson, Samuel (1709—1784). Wrote for the A'.fm- 
 bier. Idler; and A Life of Savage, Dictionary i)f Uie Enjlish 
 La,ngua(je, London, Hasselas, Jour)icy to the Hebrides, Lives 
 of the Focts. 
 
 Hume, David (1711— 177G). A Treatise of Human Na- 
 ture, Moral and I'itilosophical Essays, Folitical Discourses, 
 Ilistorif of Englaiui. 
 
 Sterne, Lawrence (1713—1708). Tristam Shandy, TJie 
 Sentimental Journey. 
 
 Shenstone, Willia\n (1714—1703). The Schoolmistress, 
 The Pasiond Ballad. 
 
 Gray, Thomas (171G -1771). The Elegy, The Progress 
 of Poesy, The Bard, Ode i^ Spring, Ode to Adversity, Ode 
 on a Distant Frospe.cJ of Eton. 
 
 Walpole, Horace (1717 — 1797> Lttters ami Memoirs, 
 The Castle of Otranto. 
 
 Collins, William (1720— 175D). Odes to Liberty and 
 Evening, The Passions, Oriental Eclogues. 
 
 Akenside, JNlark (1720 — 1770J. Pleasures of Imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 Robertson, William (1721—1770). Histories of Scot- 
 land, Charles the Fifth of Germany and Atnerica. 
 
 Smollett, Tobias (1721 — 1771). Roderick Paridom, 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Xl% 
 
 
 teregrint Pickle, Unmphrey Clinker^ ITistory of England, 
 Edited Critical lieriew. 
 
 Warton, Jo8e[)h (1722—1800). (Me to Fancy. 
 
 Blackstono, William (1723—17^0). Commentaries on 
 the Linos of England. 
 
 Smith, Adam (1723-1700). "^hf. Wealth of Nationa^ 
 The Theory of Moral Sentiments. 
 
 Goldsmith, Oliver (1728—1774). The Traveller, The 
 Deserted Village, Retaliation, The Vicar of Wakefield, Tfie 
 Good-Natund Man, She Stoo]).t to dmnner. Animated Na- 
 ture, llistorie* of England, Rome, Greece, Citizen of the 
 World. 
 
 Percy, Thomas C1728— 1811). Published a collection 
 of ballads entitled Hellques of Engluh Poetry. 
 
 Warton, Thomas (1728— 17U0). The Pleasures of Mel- 
 anclioly. History of English Poetry. 
 
 Bxirke, Edmund (1730—1797). The Vindication of 
 Natural Society, Essay on the Sublime and Beaiitiful, Re- 
 flection on Uie Revolution in France, Letters on a Regicide 
 Peace 
 
 Falconer, William (1730— 17C9). The Shipwreck. 
 
 Cowper, William (1731—1800). Truth, Table-talk, Ex- 
 postulation, Error, Hope, Charity, John Gilpin, The Task 
 translation of Homer, Letters. 
 
 Darwin, Erasmus C 1732— 1802). 27i€ Botanic Garden. 
 
 Gibbon, Edward (1737—1794. The Decline and Fall of 
 the Roman Empire. 
 
 Macpherson, James (1738— 1790). Fingal a.nd Temora, 
 t'/ro epic poems, which he represented he had translated 
 from materials discovered in the Highlands. 
 
 Junius, (Sir P. Francis) (1740— 181o). Letters of 
 Junius. 
 
 Boswell, James (1740—1795). Life ofJohnscm. 
 
 Paley, William (1743-1805). EUmmU of Moral and 
 
Introduction. 
 
 Polific.nl Philnnnphy, Uom J'auHnae, Evidences of Clirii- 
 iiditltij, N(itiU(d Tlifitliniij. 
 
 Mackonzio, IK-my (1745— 18:51). The Man of Feelinij, 
 T}te Mnu uf the ll'uihL 
 
 Bentham, Jeremy (1747— 1S.">2). Fntrpnpitt 071 Govern- 
 meiit, and miiMer<»us \vritiiiL,'s mi Law and rolitics. 
 
 Sheridan, Ilichard !».. (17:)1 -1817). The naals, Tlie 
 School for Sciuithd, The J)in'iino, The Critic. 
 
 Chatterton, Tlionias (i7">2 — 1770. Wrote th(i trai^edy 
 of L'llii, Ode to J'Jdii, Fxecntiim of Clmrlrs Jl'tn-iliu^ and 
 other pnenis wliicli lie reprijsented he fdnnd, and said had 
 been written in the ir)th centiiiy by Ilowh.-}', a Monk. 
 
 Stewart, Dnu'ald (175;i-18l'8). J'hiiusoj>hy of the IIu- 
 mnn Mnut, Moral I'hiloaophy. 
 
 CrabbeGe()rge(17r)4— 18;;2). The Lihrnry, The VUhvje, 
 The Parish Jieyister, The liiirmojli^ The Tnlcs nf tlif II, dl. 
 
 Burns, Uol)ert (17.")!)— I7'.m;). Tom O'Sh.nttrr, To a 
 Daisy, To a Aluuse^ The Cotter n lSaturdi.iy A/(//it, The Jolly 
 Beyinrs. 
 
 Hall, Robert (1704—18.")!). Sermons. 
 
 Clarke, Adam (17<>0— 18;>-i). (\onoicvtnricnonihe Bihle. 
 
 Bloomflold, Robert, (17(i()— 182.1). TU Fanners Day, 
 R\iroi Tides, Moy-d(t\j triih the Mu.Hrji. 
 
 Edgeworth,Maria(17<»7— 1848). Castle Rorkrevf, Pnpu. 
 lar Tales, Leouttra, Tides of Fashimudile J^if', Pot ioihoip.. 
 
 Opie, Amelia (170'.) — 1853). Father and Dauyhter, Tales 
 of the Heart, Temper. 
 
 Wordsworth, William (1770 — 18.5nv Ajx Eveiuiyrj 
 Walk, iJesrriptire Sketches, TJte Kxctirsion, Thr W'iiite l)ne <J 
 liylstiiue, Soinirts, Landoniia, Lines on Ferisit l)iii t)ie iVi/e, 
 
 Scott, Sir W. (1771 — 18:32.) F,order Miostrrlsy, The Lay 
 of the Lost Minstrel, Mannion, The Lody of the Lake, Vision 
 of Von lioderickj Jiokeby^ Life and IVorhi of JJryden ; no- 
 
tNTRODUCtlON. 
 
 xxi 
 
 rels, incliidinff Wnm-Jry, Hah Roy, Tfduhoe, Kenilu'or(h, 
 ^^"l'/.^•^«7l■ ; Life of .Va/'o/('(»/i. 
 
 Moutgomory, .I.mui.s (1771 — 18r)4). dreenhuid, The 
 Pflirmi l.-iiaiid, The Wainli-n'r in SimtzrrUtK i^ I'lLmn 
 ATHH^'tin'^ils, Thr. U'orll lirfdi)' Ihf. Fluoil. 
 
 Coleridgo, SamiU'l T. (1772- \K\A). Ode tothe nepnrt- 
 ihij Yrdi; The H'dh*'. of the Aiii'iii'iif Mm-iiH'rc, Christahel, 
 G<'iii'i'ii'i'<\ Liu-ftt res on Shdhcsin'ttrf, Hoxinijikm IjHrrnrui. 
 
 Lingfird, .Inlm (1771 — IH.'il). llUlonj of IJiujland. 
 
 Southoy, Kc.l.crt (1771-181.".). ll''it T>ile.r, Thdnha, 
 The C'liise of KrhdDKi, liodcrkk, I'i^iun itf Judgment^ Lii'ei 
 of nV.s/c;/, (Jiiirper, S:c. 
 
 Mooro, Thniiiius (177!) -1 8.-^2, .. fr!sh ^fHoliles, Lalla 
 iCookk. The Fad>jt FaiiuLy i)i FarU, The E^jicuritaii. 
 
 
 f 
 
m 
 
' 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OP ENGLISH 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 -o- 
 
 Poetry as a Mirror. — The literature of a nation 
 hears an intimate relation to its history. The poets of a 
 p«riod fairly express its prevailing thoughts and senti- 
 nients. Great eras in a country's rise an<l progress have 
 always been found to correspond with the great intel- 
 lectual eras of its growth. When questions of a political, 
 social, moral or religious importance have stirred men's 
 minds, then have arisen authors whose works have re- 
 jected the prcdom-i.^nt features of the times in which 
 they lived. Thus th ) heroic greatness of the Hellenic 
 race is marked by Homor, not only rich in poetic thought, 
 but clearly the outcome of the mental life and character 
 of ancient Greece. The age of Pericles, brilliant in poli- 
 tical achievements, was no less iiiustrious for its intellectual 
 vigor. The Augustan era, forming the lofty climax of 
 Roman influence and power gave to the Latin language 
 Virgil and Horace, Cicero and Livy. A review of 
 English literature, and especially English poetry, exhibits 
 still more clearly this intimaitj relationship. T^e writings 
 
10 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 li 
 
 of Chaucer, Spenser, Sliakcspcare, IMilton, Drydcn and 
 Poj)o as well as Cowpor. Burns, Scott, Tcnmyson and 
 Browning roHeet, as 'with a magic mirror, the genius of the 
 periods of whicli tliey are distinguished rejjrescntatives 
 Chaucer beKmgs to a period when the darkness o'. 
 the IMiildle Ages was j)assing away. New languagej- 
 were forming on the continent, and tlie haj>py fusion b} 
 courtly inilucnce of Angh)-Saxon and Norman-French, 
 terminated a h>ng struggle for ascendancy, and produced 
 our noble English tongue. It was the age of Dante, of 
 Petrarcli, and Boccaccio — when W'yclill'e by liis writings, 
 translations and discourses was creating a ferment in the 
 religitnis world, — when Ci'ccy and Poicliers were gained, 
 and Edward HI. was encouraging the settlement of 
 Flemish artisans and extendnig the trade of the English 
 merchants over every sea of Europe, and tluis j)aving the 
 way for that connnercial supremacy which should subse- 
 quently add to the nation's glory. Witli Chaucer is well 
 exemi)lifiud the fact that the poet to be successful must 
 live iviilh and /or his generation, nmst suit himself to the 
 tastes of his public, must have common sympathies with 
 his readers and must adopt a style that accords ^»rith the 
 emoticms by which he is actuated. The Canterbury 
 Tales, his greatest work, vividly represents that gaily 
 apparelled time when king tilted in tournament. 
 and knight and lady rode along with falcon on wrist, and 
 when friars sitting in tavern sang war songs quite in 
 harmony with the nation's victories on the continent, but 
 little in keei)ing with their sacred calling. With the 
 ** father of English poetry" every character is a perfect 
 study elaborated with a careful linish and minuteness of 
 touch ; the beautiful and grand objects of nature are 
 painted with grace and sublimity ; and results are thus 
 combined wlxich are unsurpassed by any English poet that 
 
 mmm 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 II 
 
 lived before his time. Ho became the acknowledged in- 
 ventor of the heroic lino, characterized not by quantity 
 as that of Greece and Rome, but by accent which thus 
 became a recognized feature of English versilication. The 
 legacy left to our literature has not been unproductive in 
 the liands of a long succession of heirs. His influence 
 had its etfect up<jn all the great poets that followed him, 
 and upon none more evidently than those of the present 
 century. 
 
 Spenser. — The breaking up of old systems, the 
 revolts of the people, and the furious struggles between 
 the Houses of York and Lancaster darkened for a time as 
 with a mist, the lamp of English poetry, but it possessed 
 suflicient vitality to enable it to blaze forth under favor- 
 able influences with greater brilliancy than before. The 
 invention of printing ; the interest in classical literature ; 
 the study of Greek philosopliy.and, esi)ecially, the freedom 
 with which religion was discussed, aroused a spirit of 
 activity which {idded powerful impulses to the growth of 
 the national intellect. The translation of the works of 
 modern Italy, and those of France whore letters received 
 an earlier revival ; the circulation of the Scriptures pre- 
 senting a variety of incidents, images, and asi)irations 
 connected with oriental life and manners ; the study 
 of the allegorical tales and romances of chivalry and the 
 fostering influence of a learned queen who surrounded 
 her court with men qualified to shine in every department 
 of learning, ushered in a period which is ap[)ropriatelj 
 termed the Augustan age of English literature. 
 
 It is not dilhcult to understand how, with such 
 knightly spirits as Raleigh and Essex, the essential spirit 
 of chivalry, " high thought and a heart of courtesy" as 
 Sidney puts it, found a fitting exi)()nent in Edmund 
 Spenser. Among the poets who flourished exclusively in 
 
13 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF KNGUSH POETRf. 
 
 the reign of Elizabeth he stands without a rival. No 
 master-piece of the great painters ever glowed on canvas 
 with more reality than the Fctrie QueenCy and no poet 
 says Wilson, " has ever had a more exquisite sense of t-ie 
 •)eautiful" thaii its author. He deemed himself the 
 potitijal 'ion of Chaucer, and was, in his own times, taunted 
 Mth "affecting the ancients," and with engrafting on his 
 own language the "old withered words and exploded 
 persons" of a former period. If guilty, so may Virgil and 
 Milton, Scott and Wordsworth receive similar condemna- 
 tion. At all events succeeding generations have paid 
 homage to the richness and pathos of his strains, and the 
 author of Paradise Lust, and the author of the Seasoixs, as 
 well as Sc<jtt and Tennyson have been essentially indebted 
 to this " Rubens of English poetry." 
 
 Shakespeare. — The new impulses by which the 
 human mind began to be stirred, mark the early part of 
 the sixteenth century as the great frontier-lino which 
 divides the Literary History of the Middle Ages from 
 what we call Modern. The Revival of Classical Learning 
 opened up to a people zealous for enquiry the rich mines 
 of knowledge of the Greeks and Romans. Theological 
 discussions aroused a spirit of research and investigation. 
 The extensive circulation of the Scriptures and other 
 works decided the question of a national tongue. Under 
 Shakespeare, the greatest writer the world has ever seen, 
 the drama reached its highe't perfection. But the 
 " myriad-minded" writer of tragedy and comedy with all 
 his depth, sublimity, creative power and refinement was 
 inspired by that same love of nature and truth that pre- 
 vades the works of Chaucer, Spenser and the great 
 modern poets. Nature was his great preceptress from 
 whose inspired dictates he spoke — " warm from the heart 
 and faithful to its fireit" — and in his disregard of rules he 
 
THE DB eLOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRV, 
 
 »i 
 
 pursued at wih his winged way through all t) 
 labyrinths of fancy and of the human heart. No writ 
 has exhibited such a deep acquaintance with the human 
 heart, its passions, its powers, its weaknesses and its aspira- 
 tions. From his works may be gathered precepts adapted 
 to every condition of life, and to every circumstance of 
 human aliairs, and no writings except the Bible have been 
 more closely interwoven with the language of every-day 
 
 life. 
 
 Milton nobly closes that rich poetry of the imagina- 
 tion which marks the age begun by Spenser. With a 
 mind stored with invaluable treasures of the mines '^f 
 Greece and Rome, and an extensive acquaintance with 
 the older English poets, many years actively employed in 
 the keen straggle for civil and religious liberty, well 
 qualified him for undertaking a theme lofty in its con- 
 ception, and intimately connected with everything im- 
 portant in the circumstances of human history. In the 
 crash which shattered the regal and hierarchic institutions 
 of the country, his majestic, unwordlyand heroic soul saw 
 only the overthrow of false systems, and the dawn of a 
 bright period marked by private investigation and 
 individual liberty. All the higher influences of the 
 Renaissance are summed up in Milton. That pure poetry 
 of natural description which he began in LAUegro, and £1 
 Penserotio has no higher examples to produce from the 
 writings of Wordsworth, Scott, or Keats. Living in an 
 age when skilful criticism, though it purified English verse, 
 c/ave rise to false conceits and extravagance, hii know- 
 ledge of good classical models enabled him to free liifl 
 works from the advancing inroads of a rising school. 
 
 Not only did he create the English epic and place him- 
 self by the side of Homer, Virgil and Dante, but he put 
 new life into the masque, sonnet and elegy, the descriptive 
 
 i 
 
t4 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETftV. 
 
 lyrio, the soni? and tho choral drama. Tliongh untrue ii. 
 his descent from the Eli/.abetluuis in a want of humo^ 
 and of the dramatic faculty, we can forget tliese defects 
 while wo listen to tlie organ ring of his versilicatitm, the 
 stately march of his diction, the beautiful and gorgeous 
 illustrations from nature and art, the brightly coloured 
 pictures of human ha|>i)iness and innocence, and the lofty 
 sentiments of Paradise Lod. Blank verse, which Surrey 
 had introduced into our literature, is managed by Milton 
 with a skill that shows its power in the construction of an 
 heroic poem. The depth or sublimity of his conceptions 
 finds a corresponding exi-ressiveness in his numbers ; and 
 his power over language was not in its variety due to a 
 musical ear, but had its source in tho deep feelings of a 
 heart inflm;nced by the conscientious spirit of Puritanism. 
 The Restoration. With the return of the English 
 people to monarchical government they were sadly disap- 
 pointed in their expectations of a return at the same time 
 to their ancient nationality and modes of thought, llie 
 exiled Charles and his royalist followers had rubbad off by 
 their friction with the men and manners of other nations 
 much of those external ha1)its and customs, which, if not 
 of the most commendable descrij)tion, possessed asiiirit of 
 nationality and patriotism. They returiied witli strong 
 predelictions in favor of French liter.vture, beuig fully im- 
 pressed with the belief of its superiority (»v'or that of every 
 Other country. It was not the first or last instance when 
 a foreign literature exercised a marked ifiliuorioe ui-on our 
 own. Chaucer, though plaiidy the poet of cli.tr ci« ' and 
 of practical life, writes largely after tho manner of tho 
 Provingals, but imi)roved by It.dian models. Spenser's 
 manner is also that of the Trovinoals, but gi.idcd by the 
 authors of a later Italian school. The ciuiractor of ( »erman 
 littirature luUueaccd Scott, and in our own day, Carlyie. 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 15 
 
 Milton, aa we have seen, was the great represent.itive 
 of the Classical school, now to be followed hy the 
 writers who moulded their works after tliu tastes of Paris, 
 riio social uiisjliiefs of the Restiiration were the worst 
 fruits of tlie French inllueiice. The C(jurt and the society 
 of the metropolis began to exercise a powerful intluence on 
 the various departments of literature. Tlie corrupt and 
 profligate manners of the Ocjurt tainted too easily a people 
 who had feltthe restraintsof Puritan rule. Th»^liglitei' kinds 
 of composition mirrored fai hfully the surrounding black- 
 ness, whicli reijuired no short [)eriod of time, no little 
 exertion and a religious revival tt) clear it away. The drama 
 sank to a frightful degree of shame aiul grossness. Other 
 forms of poetry were marked l)y no higlier object than 
 that to which satire aspires. Writing verse was degraded 
 from a high and noble art to a mere courtly amusement, 
 or pander to the inmiorality of a degenerated age. 
 
 The Artificial School of Poetry. The i)oets already 
 considered belonged to the "school of nature." Inlluences 
 were now at work wliich gave rise to am^ther phase of 
 ■poetic genius. The Gothic and llomance literature of 
 the Mitldle Ages gave its inspiration to Chaucer, S[)enser, 
 Shakesjieare and Milton. The study of tlie (ireek and 
 Roman Classics gave an impetus to a class of writers who, 
 influenced by causes of another kind, deveh>ped a neiv 
 style of poetry. The great masters possessed artistic as 
 well as natur d powers. The seconilary poets of the 
 Elizabetlian period, though fresh and im()assione(l, as a 
 result of the strong feehngs that ins[)ired them, were ex- 
 travagant and unrestrained because of their want of art. 
 When the national life grew chill, the poets inspired by no 
 warm feelings became lavish in the use of " far-fetched 
 meanings," and fanciful forms of expression. With poetry 
 •i)it|-avagant in words and fantastic in images, the sens^ 
 
i6 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH »ETRV. 
 
 became often obscure. The natural style onregulatf i by 
 art assumed an unnatural character. Miiton, in ac' Jition 
 to the inspiration derived from Gothic and Ilonian' j liter- 
 ature, by his knowledije and imitation of the gre?' jlassical 
 models, gave the first example in England of a pure, C'l- 
 ished and majestic style. Those who felt during the 
 Restoration period the power of his genius were also 
 influenced by the "school of inquiry," which all over 
 Europe showed its work in science, politics and religion. 
 [n France this tendency to criticise was well represented 
 ^n poetry by Doiloau, LaFontaine, and others, whose effort 
 after greater tinish and neatness of expression told on 
 English writers Jit a time when French tastes began "even 
 to mingle with the ink that dropi)ed from the poet's pen." 
 The new French school was founded on classical models, 
 which had already become fashionable in England. The 
 admirers of Charles II. were also admirers of that great 
 nation so friendly to the Stuarts, which under Louis XIV. 
 had reached the highest point of civilization then attained 
 by any European state. It would be a mistake to con- 
 clude that the Restoration was the origin of the "artificial 
 school." Tlie work had already been begun and had made 
 much progress before the death of the Protector The 
 accession of the "merry monarch" gave it a mighty im- 
 pulse, and in accelerating the adoption of "cold, glittering 
 mannerism, for the sweet, fresh light of natural language" 
 added at the same time the poisonous colouring of an 
 immoral court. 
 
 Dryden. Milton the great leader of the setting age, 
 ^5xiJ scarcely given to the world his Paradise Lost, when 
 ^rydun, the leader of the rising age, appeared before the 
 ii A'\c. As a poet his is the great name of the period that 
 followed the Restoration. He had fallen upon evil times. 
 The poet must reflect his age. There was little noble to 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 ♦) 
 
 reflect. The poetry of the passions of the human heart, 
 the poetry of the aliectioii, and the poetry of religion had 
 shown evident indications of decline. Satire, didactic and 
 philosophical poetry came to the front. Living in a most 
 hifamous period of English history when the most flagrant 
 corruption was rampant in church and state, Dryden, in 
 want of better subjects turned satirist. There his wit and 
 sarcasm turned agiiinst his opponents rendered him unsur- 
 passed by Horace or Juvenal. Our literature possesses no 
 more vigorous portrait-painter. His choice of words and 
 forms of expression are most appropriate. In versification 
 he is one of our greatest masters. He was a diligent 
 student of the best models. He carried to the highest per- 
 fection the rhymed heroic couplet of ten syllables By the 
 occasional introduction of a triplet and the skilful use of 
 the Alexandrine at the end of a paragraph, he knew well 
 how to break the uniformity of the couplet and give to 
 his versification that 
 
 " Long-resounding march and energy divine." 
 
 which ga/e to his poetry of tliis nivitre such vigour, sonor- 
 ousness and variety. ^ 
 
 Pope. The glitter of Dryden's poetry dazzled the 
 public mind from the death of Milt(m till his own in 1700. 
 His most distinguished pupil was Alexander Pope, who 
 as a poet surpasses his master in the most characteristic 
 features of the artificial school. In mechanical execution 
 Pope is without a [)eer. His neatness and correctness of 
 expressicm, pointed and courtly diction, harmony of versi- 
 fication and melody of rhyme rank him par ercellerice the 
 artist of poetic style. In his polished heroic couplets are 
 found sparkling wit, strong sense, good taste and terse 
 and vigorous command of the choicest English. We find, 
 hpwever, that coldness of sentiment and disregard tif ttit 
 
 * 
 
 i 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 etnotinna and passions of tho soul which Dryden had ob- 
 nyrvod, earned to sucli perfection by Popo that the 
 nublio soon after longed for a return to nature. Tlie age 
 was not designed to cultivate tlie liigliest jmotic genius. 
 Matter was regarded of les3 importance tlian the form ot 
 the words by which it was expressed. We look in vain 
 through Po[)e's elaborately polished verses for those qual- 
 ities that would place him among the greatest masters of 
 the lyre. IJe has none (jf the universality of Shakespeare 
 or sublimity of I\lilton. Of the varying shades and 
 gradations of vice and virtue, wisdom and folly, he was a 
 nice observer and an accurate descnbcr Had he studied 
 the great English poets more, and paid less attention to 
 the school of Horace and Boileau, his memory would have 
 been hallowed with still more aire(;lionate and permanent 
 interest. His great object was toexpvess himself sniooihly. 
 Attractive and lucid utte^-ance was his aim. With a desire 
 l"* "set" gems rather tlian create tliem, to make 'correct" 
 verso his " study and aim," it is no wonder that '* truth " 
 was often "cut short to n;jike a sentence round." In the 
 first half of the eigntcenth century no name is more bril- 
 li.mt than that of the author of TJie Rape of i)ve Lock, 
 Windsor Forest, The Temple of Fame, The Dimciad and 
 the translation of Homer. In his Epistles and Essay on 
 Maw we have numerous passages that have supplied to 
 our current literature more phrases and sentiments re- 
 markable for their mingled truth and beauty than are to 
 be found probably in any other pieces of equal length. 
 
 Decuy of the Artificial School. The greater part 
 of the eighteenth century was, in a literary point of view, 
 cold, dissatislied and critical. It valued forms more than 
 substance. Warm feelings, grand thoughts and creative 
 genius, were less esteemed than elegance of phrase and 
 •yminetry of proportion. In a period when philosophy 
 
tttE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 to 
 
 was essentially utilitarian, and relic^non a sj'stem of prac- 
 tical morality, it is not 8Liri)risiiig that poetry was larirely 
 didactic and nicclianical. With such atteniion to form, 
 an active criticism rendered our English prose, when 
 employed by such masters as Adilison, for the first time, 
 absolutely simple and clear. F(jr similar reasons during 
 the same period, Nature. Passion, and Imagination de- 
 cayed in poetry. But matters were coming to a crisis. 
 Hume and Robertson were becrinniuG: their career as 
 historians. Richardson, FieldiuL: and Suiollet aroused a 
 taste for light literature. In moral pliilosophy Jonathan 
 Edwards and Josej)]! Ikitlor were laying the foundations 
 of systems on a sounder basis. New thoughts moved men. 
 The poets felt the impulse of the transition period. The 
 publication of Warton's Uidonj of Poetry and Percy's 
 Relique<i revived a taste for the bold, free style of our earlier 
 writers. The inspiration seized tlie writers of verse, and 
 a return from tlie clasaical to the romantic, from the arti- 
 ficial to tlie natural, soon began to manifest itself. Pope's 
 name stood highest until his death in 17-i4, but the most 
 distinguished of his contemj)oraries departed widely from 
 the style of their great ma3;er. Thomson made no 
 attempt to enter the school of polished satire and pungent 
 wit. E(pial originality is shown by Young in his startling 
 denunciations of death and judgment, stirring appeals and 
 choice epigrams. Gray and Collins in aiming at the dazzl- 
 ing imagery and magnificence of lyrical pt)etry show the 
 " new depiarture." Tlie former is not witliout the polish 
 and ex(iuisitely elaborated verso ff Pope, but as well as 
 Collins, he shows the freshness, the s])iiit of imagination, 
 and the sprightly vivacity of the older poots. Akenside in 
 strains of melodious and original blank verso, ex;)atiated 
 on the operations of the mind and the associated cIkivth 
 of taste and genius. Johnson alone of the pnun«»n» 
 
 % 
 
i6 
 
 •rtffg DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRV. 
 
 V 
 
 authors of tliia period seems to have adopted the style o! 
 Dryden and Pope. But liis ponderous Latinized composi- 
 tion was counteracted in part by the sim[)licity of Gold- 
 smith and Mackenzie. Many of the poets of the transi- 
 tion period show the didactic tendency of the times. It 
 required in some cases an etlort to break off from what 
 had been popular. To such a low ebb had the public 
 taste been reduced that Gray was ridiculed and Collins was 
 neglected. The spirit of true poetry was not, however, dead. 
 The conventional style was destined to f\ll, leaving only 
 that taste for correct language and polislied versification 
 which Pope had established. The seed was sown and the 
 next generation was to see under Cowper that work com- 
 pleted which Thomson had begun. 
 
 The System of Patronage. During the Elizabethan 
 period and considerable time afterwards the social stand- 
 ing of literary men was far from encouraging. Tue names 
 of Spenser, Butler and Otway are sullicient to remind us 
 that warm contemporary recognition was not enough to 
 secure an author from a position of want ParalL*e Lest 
 yielded its author during eleven yeirs only £15. Ben 
 Johnson in the earlier, and Dryden in the latter part of 
 the seventeenth century found the laureate's pittance 
 scarcely sufficient to keep their heads above water. The 
 first few years of the next century showed signs of 
 nnprovement. In the reign of Charles II. , Dorset had 
 introduced the system of patronage, which, under Mon- 
 tague, Earl of Halifax, became subsequently so serviceable 
 to men of literature. The politicians who came into 
 power with the Revolution were willing for a time to 
 share the public patronage with men of intellectual 
 eminence. Addison. Congreve, Swift and other authors 
 ut less iu»te won by their pens not only temporary prohts, 
 buc pei'mauent places. Prior, Gay, Tickell, Rowe and 
 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 21 
 
 Steele hold oflicoB of considorable emolument, and Locke, 
 Newton and others were [>hiced above indigence by the 
 same system of princely favor. 13ef'»re P(ipe was thirty 
 the fruits of his pen amounted to over £0000, and by the 
 popular mode of 8ubscri[»ti<m he received £8000 for his 
 translation of Homer. Such rewards indicate a readiness 
 among both political parties to patronize literature with .% 
 beneticenco honourable to those who gave, and advantage- 
 ous to those who received. In one respect at least the 
 period may bo termed the Augustan age of literature. 
 Its patrons were in high places and were prepared to give 
 it substantial rewards. Fortunately for the cause of litera- 
 ture, though painfully inconvenient for many writers of 
 the "transition period," this system of patronage was 
 doomed shortly after the accession of the House of 
 Hanover. 
 
 Decline of Patronage. The reigns of William III 
 and Anne are noted for the encouragement given to 
 literature by those in authority. After the accession of 
 the House of Hanover, there was a marked change. The 
 reign of George H., though productive of much progress 
 in science and literature is marked by no indication of 
 originality. (Still it had many authr.rs who deserved 
 better treatment than they received. As the system of 
 [>arty government deveIo[)ed, the political partisans were 
 sufticient to absorb all the sinecures at the disposal of the 
 leaders. Authors were rewarded by no munificent pa- 
 tronage from the Crown or ministers of state. Harley 
 and Bolingbroke were succeeded by Sir Robert Walpole, a 
 wise tactician, but a man with no taste for learning, no 
 admiration of genius. His liberality to the extent of 
 £50,000 was extended only to obscure and unscrupulous 
 partisans, the supporters of a corrupt government, whose 
 names might have passed into oblivion but for the satire 
 
•t 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 of Pope. Scribbllri'^' 'tor a party in paniplilets anrl news- 
 papers was rewarded, wliile i^eiiiuH \\,\n ne«/lee'tod. The 
 considoraMo sums .^jieiit on liicraturo were ;,'ivcn fo.' ser- 
 vices eijiially do-^radiir^' to ,i;ivcr uiul receiver. iNTeu of 
 talent, wh(j would not stoop to the "dirty worii " of 
 Bustaiiun-^ with tlieir [)en3 a ha?,i! adiiiiaistri'.tion, nii;^lit 
 starve in (Iruh Street, or ho iJiUoried m tlie haxcuui^ 
 althou;^h had they \\\v:A thirty yeiirs before, tiiey niiyht 
 have been entrusted with an euibiissy or apfxjinted Coin- 
 missi(jncrs, Surveyors or Secretaries, iMon h!<e Cliurohill, 
 who turned their pens to political satire, were well re- 
 nnjnorated. Youn%' obtained, in time, a pension, and 
 Thomson, after tastin'^Mhe worst inisei ies of anthor-Iife, 
 was rewarded with a sinecure. Ihit C(jllins, t'ieldin^, and 
 even Tliomson and .Johnson, were arrested for debt, and 
 the wretched and pi-ecarious lives of nnmy, h.we mnde 
 Grub Street, in which they herded togetlicr, su'^^estive 
 of rajjjs, hunger and misery. The age of dedication was 
 intolerable to men of independence of spirit. Authors by 
 profession must either starve or beconii^ parasitas. The 
 reading public was very limited, and the booksel'ers, in 
 consequence, were not to be Ijlamed for the small sums 
 givcm to authors. A better fl.iy w;i.s dawning. The right 
 of the I'ress to discuss juiblic atlairs created a class of 
 writers of higlicr moral and liteiary qnalitications. The 
 tinie was rife foi' the emuncipatiiMi lor ever, of literature 
 from the "system of llattery." The letter of Johnson to 
 Chesteitield gave tlio "knock-down" blow. It was, as 
 Carlyle calls it, "the far-famed blast of doom proclaiming 
 into the ear of Lord Chestertield, and through him, of the 
 liatening world, th;it ))atronage should be no more." The 
 period between the old and tlie new system, was one of 
 much privation and sulluring. In that period lived GoJd- 
 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 23 
 
 ps of 
 
 The 
 
 it are 
 
 n to 
 
 , lis 
 
 Revival of tho Natural School. From about tho 
 
 middle of I'opu's lifo to tho dcalli of Johnson, was u time 
 
 of transition. Tho inHuonco of tho didactic and satiric 
 
 poetry of tho criticiil school, lini^'cred anion;^' tho new 
 
 clcMutMits which \.i!ro at work. Tho study of Greek and 
 
 Latin classics revived, and that coirect form for which 
 
 Popo S(m,:,dit, was blcndinl with tho beautiful forma of 
 
 " natural fooling and natural scenery." Tho whole course 
 
 of poetry was taken up with greater interest after the 
 
 publication of Warton'a V//.s^or»/ of luifjlish ruiinj, and Dr. 
 
 Percy's lU'liqncH of Aiiciciit LtKjUsh Vudry in 1705. 
 
 Shakes[)oaro was studied in a more accurate way, and tho 
 
 child-likeness and naturalness of Chaucer be^an to give 
 
 delight. The narrative ballad and the narrative romance, 
 
 afterwards perfected by Sir ^^'alter Scott, took root in 
 
 English verse. Forgeries such as Futgal, an Ancieitt 
 
 Epic Poem, by Macplieraon, and the fabrications of Cliat- 
 
 terton, 
 
 " the marvellous bov. 
 The sleepless soul, that porish'd in his pride, 
 
 indicate tho drift of the new element. It w;i,s felt that the 
 artiflcial school did not exhil)itfu]ly the noble sentiments, 
 emotions and thoughts of the lunnan soul. Man alnjie had 
 b(M n trea,t('<l of by the p<»ets. Nature now was taken u p. The 
 polish and accuracy of Po])e is fully preserved by such writers 
 as Gray, Collins and Goldsmith, but their verse is also 
 " instinct with natural fooling and simplicity." Natural 
 description had appeared already in the poems of the 
 Puritans, Marvel and ^lilton ; but Thomson, in the 
 Seasons, was tho '* first Poet who led the English people 
 into the new world of nature in poetry, which has moved 
 and enchanted us in the works of Wordsworth, Shelley, 
 Keats and Tennyson, but which was entirely impossible 
 for Pope to understand." The real and actual were, aa 
 
24 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH ?01j^RY. 
 
 Bubjectg of aong, to be substituted for the abstract and 
 remote. The increase in national wealth and population, 
 led to the improvement of literature and the aits, and to 
 the adoption of a more popular style of composition. The 
 human intellect and imagination, unhampered by the 
 conventional stiffness and classic restraint imposed upon 
 former authors, went abroad upon wider surveys and with 
 more ambitious designs. 
 
 The age of Cowper. Of all poetical writers of the 
 last twenty years of the eighteenth century the name of 
 Cowper casts the greatest i 'lustration upon the period in 
 which he lived. The hard artificial brilliancy of Pope 
 standing r ' the head of that list, which included Gibbon 
 and Hume, Chesterfield and Horace Walpole had scarcely 
 ceased to dazzle the poets of the Johnsonian era. The 
 death of "king Samuel" in England, like that of Voltaire 
 in France, was not followed by the accession of another 
 to the throne of literature. Tlie reaction which followed 
 the jRestoration did not readily subside, : 'I *he approach 
 of the French Revolution was marked by luovements of 
 irreat social as well as of great political importance. In 
 England the forces which had been silently gathering 
 strength ushered in a revolution no less striking than that 
 which convulsed the continent. The attention of the 
 community was arrested by changes of a moral and re- 
 ligious character, which are still running their course. 
 The earnestness of the puritan had almost disappeared, 
 and the forms of religion were found v/ith little of its 
 power. Scepticism widely pervaded the wealthy and 
 educated classes. The progress of free inquiry had 
 produced a general indiflference to the great questions of 
 Christian speculation. It arose partly from an aversion 
 to theological strife, as a result of the civil war, and 
 partly from the new intell«ctual and material channels 
 
TH DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 as 
 
 fco which human energy was directed. The spiritual 
 decay of the great dissenting bodies had gone hand in 
 hand with that of the establishment. It was an age of 
 gilded sinfuhiess among the higher classes, and of a sin- 
 fulness ungilded, but no less coarse, among the lower 
 classes. Drunkenness and foul language were not sufficient 
 to render the politician guilty of them unfit to be prime 
 minister. The purity and fidelity of woman were sneered 
 at, as out of fashion. The vast increase of population 
 which had followed the growth of towns, and the rapid 
 development of manufactures had boon met. by little 
 eflfort to improve the moral or intellectual condition oi 
 the masses. Without schools the lower orders were 
 ignorant, and brutal to a degree which it is hard to 
 conceive. The rural peasantry who were fast being 
 reduced to a state of pauperism by the abuse of the poor- 
 law had in many cases no moral or religious training of 
 any kind. Within the towns matters were worse. There 
 was no effective police to withstand the outbreaks of 
 ignorant mobs. It was the age of the old criminal law 
 when cutting a pear-tree or stealing a hare, was re- 
 garded as a capital crime, while the "gentleman" might 
 with impunity be guilty of duelling, gambling, or outrages 
 on female virtue. It was the age of the old system of 
 prison discipline, which aroused the philanthropy of 
 Howard. It was a period which has associated with 
 it fagging and bullying in school and the general applica- 
 tion of the rod as the most potent aid in the process of 
 instruction. It was the period with which the names of 
 Walpole and Newcastle are identified, and which has 
 associated with it rotten boroughs, political corruption, 
 party without principle, and all the rancourness of faction 
 warfare. The sights that indicate cruelty and hardness 
 of heart, such as ball-rings, cock-pits and whippimr-uosita 
 
v;-^!.**' 
 
 26 
 
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH POETRY. 
 
 were quite as common as the fumes tliat indicate intem- 
 perance. It was the age of great reforms. Jolmson liad 
 left hia impress on tlie improved U>ue of societj^ and had 
 overthrown the system of patronage ; Wilberforce and 
 Chirkson were coming forward to abolish the slave trade. 
 33urke and Pitt were to restore the higher principles of 
 statesmanship, and to redeem tlie character of public men. 
 A more important reform and one wliich gave an impulse 
 to all the others, was of a religious character. 
 
 In the middle classes, the piety of a former period had 
 not completely died out. From that qu.uter issued the 
 " Methodist movement," which awakened a spirit of moral 
 zeal, that softened the manners of the pe()j)le, called forth 
 j.hilanthropists and statesmen who infused clemency and 
 wisdom into our penal laws, reformed our prisons, 
 abolished the slave trade, gave to popular education its 
 first impulse, discussed measures for arresting the evils of 
 intemperance, and adopted various methods of a Christian 
 character for bettering the social condition of the humbler 
 classes. (See Green's English History.) The enthusiasm 
 of th i Wesleys and VVhitetield was not kindled against the 
 rules of the Church or State, but only against vice and 
 irreligion. The results of their zeal are not confined to 
 the denomination which owes its origin to the movement, 
 and no body is more ready than the English Church to 
 acknowledge the great advantages of the religious revival 
 of the last century. 
 
 If Wesley came to revive religion and impress upon hia 
 followers that Christian worship was "of the heart," 
 Cowper, who was imbued with the spirit of the movement 
 came to regenerate poetiy, to Christianize it, to elevate it, 
 and to fill it again with feeling and with trutli. If the 
 ballads of a nation have, as in the case of Burns, a lasting 
 effect in arousing patriotism, the religious poems of Cowper 
 may bo regarded no less influential in extending ** that 
 religion which exalti and ennobles man."