CHAPTER EIGHT. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 98. Gradual Development. The literature of the nineteenth century is not marked by any conspicuous periods or changes. Whatever development there may have been, has been gradual rather than periodic. This is especially true of the last fifty or sixty years. For this reason our outline of the history of English language and literature is near its close. The literary products of this century may be of greater value to us than those of all the centuries that have preceded it; but the influences that have been at work are general rather than particular, and are therefore not easily traced to their source. - 99. Dissemination. There has been a wide dissemination of gifts. The century has given us some writers, it is true, whose genius has raised them above their contemporaries; but in the main it may be said that our literary wealth lies in the excellent contributions of the many rather than in the dazzling productions of the few. The history of literature is like that of the race. At first it has its giants, its chiefs, on whose prowess rests the result of every issue; but as civilization advances, it comes to depend more and more on the intelligence, the united loyalty to truth, of the great brotherhood of mankind. 100. The Lake Poets. Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey are called the Lake Poets, or the Poets of the Lake School. They were closely associated in their lives and in their writings, especially Wordsworth and Coleridge, who dwelt near Lake Windermere, in Westmoreland, and sometimes assisted each other. Wordsworth was the leading spirit, and held to the theory that any subject might be made poetical, and that the ordinary expressions of every-day life were wholly adequate to the requirements of poetic diction. This extreme view was a reaction from the stilted and artificial forms so much affected and admired in the preceding century. Time and experience, however, modified both his views and his practise, until he and his associates exerted a strong influence toward weaning the public taste from exaggerated and false ideals of character and emotion. 101. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) is one of the best of our modern English poets. His great theme was the influence of nature upon the character of men. He has been called a worshiper of nature, but he worshiped her only as an expression of the character of God. He looked upon nature as a means by which God would communicate with mankind. Some of his poetry seems almost unworthy of so great a mind. In many passages his meaning is obscure to inexperienced readers. He is one of those poets whom we learn to love more and more as we become better acquainted with them. Some of his shorter poems are beautiful in their simplicity. His greatest poem is "The Excursion.' It seems unnecessarily drawn out, and yet it is only a fragment of what he intended to complete if his eighty years of almost uninterrupted leisure had been long enough for the purpose. The following estimate of "The Excursion" is found in Chambers's Cyclopedia: "In 1814 appeared The Excursion,' a philosophical poem in blank verse, by far the noblest production of the author, and containing passages of sentiment, description, and pure eloquence not excelled by any living poet; while its spirit of enlightened humanity and Christian benevolence extending over all ranks of sentient and animated being imparts to the poem a peculiarly sacred and elevated character." 102. Samuel T. Coleridge (1772-1834) was a man of varied and versatile accomplishments. He wrote on politics and metaphysics, is described as a most charming preacher, and as a generous critic of character and composition has had few equals. Instead of degrading a man and his productions, he left them the better for the handling. He was magnanimous enough to treat an error kindly, and to show a warm appreciation of every excellence. In conversation and in public speaking, he was clear, concise, and highly entertaining, showing no hesitation in setting forth the most abstruse reasoning; but in writing, especially in his poems, he is often obscure. He had an active imagination, but had a tendency to leave a conception, or even an entire poem, unfinished. "The Ancient Mariner" is thought to be his best poem. "Christabel" is replete with weird fancies, but the meaning and motive are uncertain, at least they are so to most readers. As a man, Coleridge loved truth, freedom, nature, mankind, and God; and his writings, when rightly understood, are characteristic of their author. 103. Robert Southey (1774-1843) was a voluminous writer and a profound student of books. Had he studied books less, and men more; had he taken a more active part in the affairs of life, his writings would have been better adapted to the needs of humanity. His prose style is good, and many of his shorter poems are excellent. In his long poems we find those extravagances which seemed to be a part of his character. In them he gives free flight to his imagination, painting pictures, which, though not lacking in originality or splendor, are too gorgeous for earth, but not pure enough for heaven. All through life he took extreme views, never quite losing the character which his uncle gave him, who declared that he had every good quality which a young man needed, except prudence and common sense. Notwithstanding his own inconsistencies, Southey's judgment on other men's writings is held in high respect. His detestation of war and oppression is strongly set forth in some of his poems, and it is to be regretted that such sentiments are not more universal. ́ 104. Sir Walter Scott (1728-1832).- Scott was one of the most prolific, as well as one of the most popular, of authors. He has been called the "Great Magician of the North," so captivating were his writings to nearly all classes of readers. As a story-teller he has scarcely an equal. On being asked his opinion of one of Scott's books, Lord Holland said, "Opinion! we did not one of us go to bed last night-nothing slept but my gout." Fourteen hundred thousand volumes of his works were sold in France alone. They were entertaining without being vulgar; dignified without being dull. Most of them pertained to feudal times and the border wars between England and Scotland. The author himself was an honest, hearty, genial Scotchman, noted for his hospitality and kindness, and beloved by all his neighbors and contemporaries. Scott's poems have made the scenery of Scotland famous for all time. A distinguishing feature of his verse is its freedom from complications. Prose itself is not more easy of interpretation. A reader not familiar with poetic forms can understand him without difficulty; yet his lines are far from being prosy. They have an unpretending beauty that wins upon the reader more and more. They are sometimes comprehensive, as when he recounts, in four short lines, the experiences and misfortunes of a long day's hunt. This morning, with Lord Moray's train, The greater part of Scott's prose was hastily and often carelessly written. Its rhetorical improprieties are frequent, and his long, badly-arranged sentences would become tiresome if it were not for the absorbing interest of his theme. The reading of his poetry has a tendency to simplify and improve one's literary style, |