A History of English Literature

that make Gray's 'Elegy' a great poem and should form definite opinions as
to the rank of 'The Bard' and 'The Progress of Poesy' among lyrics. These
two poems are the best examples in English of, the true Pindaric Ode as
devised by the ancient Greeks. By them it was intended for chanting by
dancing choruses. It always consists of three stanzas or some multiple of
three. In each set of three the first stanza is called the strophe (turn),
being intended, probably, for chanting as the chorus moved in one
direction; the second stanza is called the antistrophe, chanted as the
chorus executed a second, contrasting, movement; and the third stanza the
epode, chanted as the chorus stood still. The metrical structure of each
stanza is elaborate (differing in different poems), but metrically all the
strophes and antistrophes in any given poem must be exactly identical with
each other and different from the epodes. The form is of course artificial
in English, but the imaginative splendor and restrained power of expression
to which it lends itself in skilful and patient hands, give it especial
distinction. Lowell declares that 'The Progress of Poesy' 'overflies all
other English lyrics like an eagle,' and Mr. Gosse observes of both poems
that the qualities to be regarded are 'originality of structure, the varied
music of their balanced strophes, as of majestic antiphonal choruses,
answering one another in some antique temple, and the extraordinary skill
with which the evolution of the theme is observed and restrained.' 'The
Progress of Poesy' allegorically states the origin of Poetry in Greece;
expresses its power over all men for all emotions; and briefly traces its
passage from Greece to Rome and then to England, with Shakspere, Milton,
Dryden, and finally some poet yet to be. 'The Bard' is the imagined
denunciatory utterance of a Welsh bard, the sole survivor from the
slaughter of the bards made by Edward I of England on his conquest of
Wales. The speaker foretells in detail the tragic history of Edward's
descendants until the curse is removed at the accession of Queen Elizabeth,
who as a Tudor was partly of Welsh descent.
35. COWPER, BLAKE AND BUMS. One day. Above, pages 247-253. The reading
should include a few of the poems of each poet, and students should note
definitely the main characteristics of each, romantic and general.
36. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY NOVEL AND GOLDSMITH'S 'VICAR OF WAKEFIELD.'
Above, pages 253-264. Most students will already have some acquaintance
with 'The Vicar of Wakefield.' Read again as much as time allows,
supplementing and correcting your earlier impressions. Consider: 1. The
relation of idealism, romance, and reality. 2. Probability, motivation, and
the use of accident. 3. The characterization. Characterize the main
persons. 4. Narrative qualities, such as unity, suspense, movement. 5. Is
moralizing too prominent! 6. The style.
37. COLERIDGE. One day. Above, pages 265-270. Read at least 'Kubla Khan,'
'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' and Part I of 'Christabel.' In 'Kubla
Kahn' 'Xanadu' is Coleridge's form for 'Xamdu,' the capital of Kublai Khan
in Purchas's Pilgrimage, which Coleridge was reading when he fell into the
sleep in which he wrote the poem. Coleridge said (though he is not to be
trusted explicitly) that he composed the poem, to a length of over 200
lines, without conscious effort; that on awaking he wrote down what has
been preserved; that he was then called out on an errand; and returning
after an hour he could recollect only this much. How far do you agree with
Swinburne's judgment: 'It is perhaps the most wonderful of all poems. We
seem rapt into that paradise revealed to Swedenborg, where music and color
and perfume were one, where you could hear the hues and see the harmonies
of heaven. For absolute melody and splendor it were hardly rash to call it
the first poem in the language. An exquisite instinct married to a subtle
science of verse has made it the supreme model of music in our language,