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 REMARKS 
 
 O N T H E 
 
 BEAUTIES 
 
 O F 
 
 POETRY.
 
 REMARKS 
 
 ON T H E 
 
 BEAUTIES 
 
 O F 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 By DANIEL WEBB, Ef qi 
 
 Then Criticifm the Mufe's Handmaid prov'd, 
 To drefs her Charms, and make her more belov'd. 
 
 EJJay on Criticifm, 
 
 LONDON, 
 
 Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, in Pall-Malh 
 
 MDCCLXII.
 
 /o3! 
 W32^ 
 
 &T37U
 
 Remarks 
 
 ON THE 
 
 I 
 
 fc E A U T I E S 
 
 O F 
 
 POETRY. 
 
 ... ' - - ' * 
 
 Jfpafia, Horienjiu$i JLiigenib. 
 
 Uort. m \T O U did not know, Eugemo, 
 JL that the Gentleman who has 
 juft left us, is a Poet. You faw how he 
 took fire at your reflection on Rhyme. Your 
 aflertion, that Blank Verfe is better adapted 
 to the genius of Poetry, and the general 
 improvement of Eloquence, cannot be dis- 
 puted, whenever the abufe of rhyme is car- 
 ried fo fer, as that the Sound becomes more 
 B the
 
 s REMARKS 0& THE 
 
 the object of our attention than the Senfej 
 or, that the force and beauty of Exprefliorr 
 are facrificed to an infignificant jingle. Mr. 
 Dryden, I remember, ipeaking of Rhyme, 
 fays " What it adds to fweetnefs, it takes 
 away from fenfe j and he who lofes lead by 
 it, may be called a gainer*.** . 
 
 Jfp. And yet there is fomething fo pleaf- 
 ing in the chiming of founds, or elfe, from 
 the influence of early imprefllons, we are to 
 accuftomed to- receive and &el it as a plea- 
 fare, that I am perfuaded, Eugenie's opi- 
 nion, were it made public, would not have 
 many followers. 
 
 Eug. You do well, Afpafia, to diftmguifh 
 between things pleating in themfelves, and 
 fuch as are fo merely from the force of habit. 
 Were there any thing truly delightful in 
 the nature of Rhymes,, it is not probable, 
 
 that
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. ? 
 
 that the ancients fliould have over-looked 
 this advantage nor would it have been re- 
 ferved for a fet of trifling Monks, to fing 
 them into reputation. But thefe are general 
 reflections : in order to decide the matter ifr 
 debate, it would be neceflary to make a par- 
 ticular inquiry into the Beauties of Veri- 
 fication , and to determine from them the 
 merits of its feveral modes. 
 
 Afp. I wish, Eugenio, you would under- 
 take this tafk. One condition* however, I 
 muft infill on, that m Love matters you 
 mew us fome indulgence. 
 What will you leave us, if you fteal ouf 
 Rhyme r* 
 
 Hor. Jingling is fo pretty a fubftitute pf 
 
 fentiment, it is fo wedded to gallantry, that 
 
 it were a cruelty to dWorce them. I will 
 
 fecure you, Afpafia, agarnft; any fucft af- 
 
 B 2 tempt,
 
 4 REMARKS ON THfi 
 
 tempt, by the authority of Shakefpear ; who, 
 in the commerce of Love, places Rhymes 
 in fo refpectable a light, that lie fets them 
 on a level even with bracelets, rings, and 
 fweetmeats -*The paffage is decifive. 
 
 22. - - J - - My gracious Duke, 
 This man hath witch'd the bofom of my 
 
 child : 
 Thou, thou, Lyfander, thou haft gh'n be? 
 
 rhymes, 
 And ftol'n th* impreflion of her fantafie 
 Wifh bracelets of thy hair, rings, gawds, 
 
 conceits, 
 Knacks, trifles, nofegays, fweetmeats, (mef- 
 
 fengers 
 Of ftrong prevailment in unharden*d youth. ) 
 
 M. N. V. 
 
 This, Eugenio, is an authority which you 
 muft not difpute ; and, as Afpafia has made 
 
 con*
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. $ 
 
 conditions for her love fongs, I muft beg a 
 neutrality for epigrams, riddles, and the . 
 modern ode. Let me add to thefe, that 
 fpecies of poetry, which we call the Mock- 
 Heroic: for, here, I think, the rhyme feems 
 to forward the playfulnefs in the ideas. 
 
 Eug. As I mean to confine my obferva- 
 tions to truth and nature, the exemptions 
 you have infilled on, will take place of 
 courfe. 
 
 The fole aim of verification is harmony. 
 To undtrftand this properly, we muft divide 
 jt into two kinds. The firft confifts in a 
 general flow of verfe, moft pleafing to the 
 C#r, but independent on the fenfe : the 
 ieeon,dj in bringing the found or meafure of 
 the verfe to correfpond with, and accom- 
 pany the idea. Th former may b called 
 4 verbal harmony : the latter a fe^timcntal. 
 
 B3 K
 
 6* REMARKS ON THE 
 
 If we confider the flow of verfe merely as 
 mufir, it will then be allowed, [a] that va* 
 riety is no lefs necefiary than fweetnefs ; and 
 that a continued repetition of the fame 
 movements, muft be as tirefome in poetry, 
 as it would be in mufic. On examining 
 Mr. Pope's yerfes, we mall find, that in 
 eighteen out of twenty, the paufes reft on 
 the fourth and laft, or the fifth and laft 
 iyllables : and that, almoft without excep- 
 tion, the period is divided into two equal 
 lines, and, as ;t were, link'd by the rhyme 
 into a couplet. 
 
 [a] K tr >? xpartr* wttam, u rif av tj^oi v>sira$ 
 mtonravkas ti x^ jxilaCoXaj aff*on$ t/9f*<n ti aXXoIe a\ 
 Xoi, kou rcuTfit (pi-njj at xa?.fai erp^r^^kat hctipo^Qi, xhtic- 
 
 Dion. Hal. de Stre^. Orat. 
 Fop
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. > 
 
 For example 
 All are but parts of one ftupendous whole", 
 Whofe body Nature is, \\ and God the fotil ; 
 That chang'd thro' all, || and yet in all the 
 
 fame, 
 Great in the Earth, | as in the ^therial 
 
 frame ; 
 Warms in the fun, {] refrefhes in the breeze, 
 Glows jn the ftars, || and bloftbms in the 
 
 trees ; 
 J-ives thro' all life, |) extends thro' all extent, 
 Spreads undivided, J) operates unfpent. 
 
 JEfTay on Man. 
 
 Every ear muft feel the ill effeft of the 
 \b] monotony in thefe lines * the caufe of 
 it is obvjous 5 this verle confifts of ten 
 
 \}1 Auztcnrttvtn it *eti ttnjUMU <pip Sn pJI&tttf 
 ffr. Dion. HaL De Strud. Orat. Sea. it. 
 
 B 4 fyllables r
 
 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 fyllables, or five feet : when the paufe fall? 
 on the fourth fyllable, we (hall find, that 
 we pronounce the fix laft in the fame time 
 that we do the four firft ; fo that the couplet 
 is not only divided into two equal lines, 
 jbut each line, wjth refpeet to time, is di- 
 vided into two equal parts 
 
 As, 
 Warms in the fun, || refrefhes in the breeze, 
 Glows in the ftars, || and bloflbms in the 
 
 trees. 
 >r elfe, the paufe falls on the fifth fyllable, 
 and then the line is divided with a mechanic 
 exaclnefs. 
 As, 
 Spreads undivided, H operates uufpent. 
 
 Ilcr. Mr. Pope, in a letter to Mr. Walfh, 
 fpeaking of the Englifli verfe, fays, f there 
 f is naturally a paufe at the fourth, fifth, 
 
 i of
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 9 
 
 f or fixth fyllable. It is upon thefe the ear 
 t refts, and upon the judicious change and 
 * management of which depends the variety 
 1 of* verification.* Of this he gives, the fol- 
 lowing examples : 
 
 At the fifth, 
 .^Vhere e'er tjiy navy Jj fpreads her canvafs 
 wings, 
 
 At the fourth, 
 homage to thee, J) and peace to all fhe 
 brings. 
 
 At the fixth. 
 Like tracts of leverets, j| in morning fnow. 
 
 Eug. In this place, Mr. Pope takes no 
 notice of the fecond paufe, which always 
 refts on the laft word of each line, and is 
 ftrongly marked by the rhyme. But, it is 
 pn the balance between the twopaufes, that 
 X he monotony of the verfe depends. Now, 
 
 this
 
 io REMARKS ON THE 
 
 this balance is governed by the equal divi- 
 fion of the line in point of time. Thus, 
 if you repeat the two firft examples given, 
 you will find no difference, as to the time, 
 whether the paufe falls on the fourth or 
 fifth fyllable ; and this, I think, will extend 
 even to the laft example : or, if there mould 
 be any difference, it is fo (rifling, that it will 
 generally efcape the ear. But this is not fo 
 in blank verfe j for, the lines being made 
 often to run one into the other, the fecond 
 paufe is funk ^ the balance, from, the equaj 
 divifion of each line, is removed ; and by 
 changing the paufes at pleafure, an open is, 
 given into an unlimited variety* 
 
 Observe the effects in the firft lines of 
 J*aradife Loft. 
 
 Of man's firft difobedience, R and the fruit 
 Of that forbidden tree, || whofc mortal tafte 
 
 Brought
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY, it 
 
 Brought death into the world, || and all our 
 
 woe, 
 With lofs of Eden, \\ till one greater Man 
 Reftorc us, || and regain the blifsful feat, ; 
 h'ing, heavenly Mule. 
 
 In thefe, and the lines which immediately 
 follow, the paufes are fhifted thro' all the 
 ten fyllables. 
 
 Her. But this variety is not infeparable 
 from the nature of blank verfe. In AddU 
 fon's Cato, there is, I think, the very fam^ 
 monotony which you have condemned in 
 Mr. Pope ; Thus, 
 
 The dawn is overcaft, || the morning low'rs, 
 And heavily in clouds || brings on the day j 
 The great, th' important day [| 
 Pig with ths fate | of Cato and of Rome. 
 
 Again,
 
 tfi REMARKS ON THE 
 Again, 
 
 Who knows not this? fl but what can Cato do 
 Againft a world, || a bafe degenerate world, 
 That courts the yoke, | and bows the nec^ 
 
 to Caefar ? 
 Pent up in Utica, {] he vainly forms 
 A poor epitome |! of Roman greatnefs. 
 
 Afp. This is the very echo of the couplet 
 
 meafure. 
 
 Eug Nothing could be more to my pur- 
 jjbfe; it confirms all that I have advanced j 
 and proves further, that the monotony of 
 the couplet does not proceed, as has been 
 imagined, from the repetition of the rhymes, 
 but from a famenefs in the movement of the 
 verfe. No doubt, the ufe of rhymes was the 
 firft caufc of confining poetic harmony tp 
 
 fuel}
 
 fcEAUTlS OF POETRY." ij 
 
 Jlich narrow limits [<:]. Mr. Addifon, ac- 
 cuftomed to the fecure Monotony of the 
 couplet, had neither the genius to bear him 
 thro', nor courage to attempt the unbound- 
 ed variety of the Miltonic meafures. Birds 
 of a Weak flight move always in a line ; 
 but, the Eagle, wonderful in his foarings, 
 mews in his very Hoops the power of his 
 wing. A poet, of a fuperiox fpirit, muft 
 have refources in the variety of his numb- 
 ers. The flight of Satan, in Paradife Loft, 
 is not to be pent up in a couplet. 
 
 Then from pole to pole 
 He views in breadth -, and without longer 
 paufe, 
 
 $!? btoi, mpt raj fiSaSoXxt xat mt Poi*AjcMf n vreuo 
 
 tJlvxptrv. Diofl. Hal.De Struft. Orat. 
 
 Down
 
 U REMARKS ON TH 
 
 Down right into the wdrkFs firft region? 
 
 throws 
 His flight precipitant , and winds with eafcr 
 Through the pure marble air his oblique 
 
 way, 
 Amongft innumerable flars. 
 
 Hor. fk c6mparing, as you have done, 
 the gradations in poetic harmony to the' 
 flight of birds, by the foarings and ftoopi 
 of Che Eagle, I prefiime, you mean forne- 
 fchmg equivalent to thofe enforcements arid 
 lowering of founds, whicfe give fueh' a pfeaf- 
 ing variety, and have fo powerful an effect 
 m mufic. 
 
 Eug. Of this we have a fine example irv 
 the following paflage j in which you'll ob- 
 serve, that the Poet iets out with almofb 
 a profaic weaktoefs* <sf verfe* thence ri fin g 
 
 gra-
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRt. i$ 
 
 gradually, like the fwell of an organ, he 
 foars into tha higheft dignity of found. 
 
 W infernal Serpent -, he it was, whofe 
 
 guile, 
 
 Stir'd up with envy and revenge, deceiv'd 
 
 The mother of mankind, what time his pride 
 
 Had caft him out from heav'n, with all hia 
 
 hoft 
 Of rebel Angels, by whofe akfafpifing 
 
 To fet himfelf in glory above his peers, 
 
 He trufted to have equal'd the inoft high, 
 J he oppos'd j and with ambitious aim 
 Againft the throne and monarchy of God 
 Rais'd impious war in heav'n and battel 
 
 ppoud 
 ^WRth- vaia attempt. Him the almighty 
 
 power - 
 
 Hurl'd headlong flaming from th* ethereal 
 
 With
 
 i6 REMARKS O ft 4t 
 
 With hideous ruin and combuftion, down* 
 To bottomlefs Perdition, ther to dwell 
 In adamantine chains, and penal fire, 
 Who durft defy th* Omnipotent to arms. 
 
 Par. Loft. 
 
 It is obvious from what I have faid of it^ 
 that the Couplet is not formed for fueh gra- 
 dations as thefe. On the contrary, from 
 the famenefs in its flow, every fentiment, of 
 what nature foever, comes equally recom- 
 mended to the ear, and of courfe to our at- 
 tention. Thus, the following thought in 
 Eloifa to Abelard, receives as much impor- 
 tance. from the movement. of the verfe,as iff 
 could have done, had it been deftined to 
 infpire us with the mod noble and virtuous 
 feelings. 
 
 Not Csefar's emprefs wou'd I deign to prove : 
 No, make me miftrefs to the man I love. 
 
 5 4Sh.
 
 Beauties of poetry. i? 
 
 JJp. This fentiment may, as you have 
 bbferved, receive an importance from the 
 movement of theverfej but you will allow, 
 that it is very little indebted to die ex- 
 preffion. 
 
 Eug. The exprefiion mud often be dif- 
 graced, when a rhyme is neceflary. You 
 have made, Afpafia, a much better uie of 
 this paflagc, than I meant to do : for 1 pro- 
 duced it merely to fhew, that where a fame* 
 he& of verification prevails, there can be n<& 
 degrees* no contrafts in the founds* which, 
 like fhades in painting, throw forward, and 
 give a diftinction to the fuperior beauties-, 
 
 Hor. Mr. Pope feems to have had the 
 
 fame idea, with refpect to the thoughts, 
 
 that you have with refpeft to the founds. 
 
 C He
 
 i? REMARKS ON THE 
 
 He fays, 
 
 ' To beftow heightening on every party 
 
 * is monftrous : feme parts ought to be 
 
 * lower than the reft ; and nothing looks 
 ' more ridiculous than a work, where the 
 ' thoughts, however different in their own 
 
 * nature, feem all on a level.* 
 
 Letter to Mr. Walfh. 
 
 Eug. I wonder he did not perceive the 
 ill effects of this equality in the cadence of 
 his verfe, as well as in the colouring of his 
 ideas. Of all the modes of verification, 
 that have been cultivated by men of fenfe, 
 the [d] Latin diftich, and modern couplet 
 are the greateft levellers. There is no li- 
 
 [ d] The couplet, like the diftich, has a ftrong epi- 
 grammatic turn : it is formed to run into points ; But, 
 above all, it delights in the antithefis ; and the art of 
 the verfifcer is complete, when the difcord in the ideas is 
 
 ft berty,
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 19 
 
 berty, no continuance in their movements. 
 
 Like the out-line of a fcholar in drawing, 
 they are broken, and interrupted ; but, a 
 flow of pencil is the ftile of a mailer in his 
 art. Would you have a proof of what I 
 advance ? 
 
 Ye facred Nine ! that all my foul poffefs, 
 Whofe raptures fire me, and whofe vifiona 
 
 blefs i 
 Bear me, oh bear me to fequefter'd fcenes, 
 The bow*ry mazes, and furrounding greens. 
 
 W. Foreji. 
 
 Here, you cannot but be fenfible, how 
 the enthufiafm is tamed by the precifion of 
 the couplet, and the confrquent littlencfs 
 in the fcenery. 
 
 proportioned to the accord in the founds. To jar and 
 jingle in the fame breath, is a mailer pieca of Gothic 
 refinement. 
 
 C .2 How
 
 ^ re Marks OH: the 
 
 . How different Milton ? 
 
 Yet not the more 
 Ceafe I t6 wander", where the Mufes haant 
 Clear fpring, or Ihady grove* or funny hill, 
 limit with the love of fccred fong ; but chief 
 Thee, Sion,-and the flow'ry brooks beneath, 
 Triat warn thy hallow'd feet, and warbling 
 
 flow, ' 
 
 Nightly I vifit. 
 
 Par. Lofi. 
 
 ...... j 
 
 Tho' it do riot immediately belong to this 
 part of my fubject, yet I mud take notice r 
 here of a beauty, which finds its place na- 
 turally in blank verfe, but is almoft incom- 
 patible with the regular movement of the 
 couplet. I mean thoft fudden breaks or 
 tranfitions in the Verfe, which fo ftrongly 
 characterize, the paflions ; and dart, as it 
 
 were,
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 21 
 
 were, a fentirnenjt into the inmoft foul of 
 
 the reader. 
 
 - 
 
 Is this the region, this the foil, the cliine, 
 Said then the loft Arch-angel, this the feat 
 That we mufi change for IJeav'ri, this 
 
 mournful gloom 
 Fof that celeftial light, teitfo y fince he 
 Who now is fov'ra'n can dlfpofe and bict 
 What mall be right ; fartheft from him is beft, 
 Whom reafon hath ecjual'd, force hath made 
 
 fupreme 
 Above his equals, Farewell, happy fields. 
 Where joy for ever dwells. Hail horrors, hail 
 Infernal world, and thou profoundeft hell 
 Receive thy new pofleffor. 
 
 Tar, Lofi* 
 
 In the pathetic fpeeches" of Dido, in th 
 fourth ^Ineid, there are many fine ex- 
 
 C 3 ample?
 
 22 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 amples of the force that may be given to ^ 
 fentiment, by thefe fudden hreaks and tranf- 
 itions in the verfe : yet, thefe are entirely 
 loft in the Englifh tranflation. It cannot 
 be faid, that Dryden wanted feeling. To 
 what then can we impute this weaknefs, if 
 it be not to the invariable tamenefs and re- 
 gularity of the couplet ? You, Hortenfio, 
 may be convinced of this, by comparing 
 the Englifh with the Roman poet: but, 
 Afpafia muft be fatisfied fome other way. 
 I will therefore repeat Mr, Dryden's Tran- 
 flation of a particular pafiage -, after which, 
 I will give you one in blank verfe, which, 
 I think, enters more into the fpirit of the 
 original. As I am certain, Afpafia, that 
 you remember both the pafTage and the 
 occafion 5 it will require no introduction. 
 
 As
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 23 
 
 - . [*] As if the peaceful ftate 
 Of heavenly powers were touched with hu- 
 man fate ! 
 But go : thy flight no longer I detain, , 
 Go feek thy promis'd kingdom thro' the 
 
 main ; 
 Yet, if the heavens will hear my pious vow, 
 The faithlefs waves, not half fo falfe as thou, 
 Or fecret fands fhall fepulchres afford 
 To thy proud vefTels, and their perjured 
 
 Lord. 
 Then malt thou call on injured Dido's name. 
 
 Afp. I hope, Eug<mio, your blank verfe 
 will give the poor queen a little more fpirit. 
 
 [e] Scilicet b fuperis labor e0, ea cura quietos 
 Sollicitat ! Nequc te tenco, neque difta refello. 
 I, fequcre Italiam ventis, pete regna per undas ; 
 Spero equidem mediis, fi quid pia numina poflunt, 
 Supplicia haufurum lcopulis, ac nomine Dido 
 Sacpc vocaturum 
 
 C 4 Eujr.
 
 24 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Eug. You fhall judge for yourfelf 
 
 Think we, fuch toils,, fuch cares difturb the 
 
 peace 
 Of freay'ns bleft Habitants I Alike I feor^ 
 Thy perfon and impofture. Go, purfue 
 Thro' feas, thro'ftorms thy vifionary throne; 
 In thy mid-courfe, if juftice rules above, 
 O may deftru<5fcion wait thee I may'ft thoty 
 
 dafh'd 
 On lbme avqnging rock, call, often call 
 On loft Eliza, . 
 
 1% often happens }n the couplet yerfifi- 
 cation, that, when the poet has fully ex- 
 preffed his idea, the neceflity of a rhyme 
 obliges him to weaken its effect by the ad- 
 dition of fome unnecelTary circumftance ; 
 as in the following inftance
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETR1?. 45 
 
 [ /] What do I fay ? where am I ? fury turn? 
 My brain; and my diflemper*d bofcm burns,. 
 
 Dryden. 
 
 Sometimes this is carried %o a ridiculous 
 excefs. 
 
 [^] To thofe whom fevers bum, the pier- 
 cing fmell 
 Of vigorous wine }s grieyous, Death and 
 Hell. Creech. 
 
 We are tempted to laugh at fuch trifling as 
 this. But what fhall we fay, when the 
 nobleft images are ruined for the fake of a 
 jingle ? 
 
 [/] Quid loquor? aut obi fom ? Qu mentem in- 
 faniamutat? Vir. 
 
 [g] At cum membra homims percept* fervida febris, 
 Turn fit odor vini plagae nu&abilis inftar. 
 
 Lucretius. 
 
 He
 
 s REMARKS ON THE 
 
 ;[] He fpoke, and awful bends his fable 
 brows ; 
 Shakes his ambrofial curls, and gives the 
 
 nod ; 
 *I'be fiamp of fate, andfanflion of the God. 
 High Heav'n with trembling the dread 
 
 fignal took, . 
 And all Olympus to the centre /hook. 
 
 Pope. 
 
 Had it not been for the rhyme, that third 
 line had never found its way into this de- 
 icription. I need not obferve to you, how 
 it interrupts the fucceflion of the ideas, and 
 
 A/*o<rai o ' etpx %xilctt ixt^uarailo cnxtu^ 
 Kg]o( an afiawalsc, piyxt $ i^iX|i v Q\vu.itot. 
 
 Dixit, et nigris fuperciliis annuit Saturnius : 
 Ambrofiae vero comae concujfa funt regis 
 A capite imortalij ac magnum tremefecit O- 
 lympam. Clarke. 
 
 embar-
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 27 
 
 embarraffes the image. It was owing to 
 the fame caufe, that Jupiter is reprefented 
 making his curls, before he had given the 
 nod , whence, that which in the original 
 was a happy effect, becomes in the tranf- 
 lation a trifling action. 
 
 Jfp. I forgive you this time, Eugenio, 
 but let me have no more tranflations. 
 
 Eug . Your reproof is juft ; as the for&e 
 of the laft example turns on a comparifon, 
 which it is not in your power to make. I 
 (hall not forget the attention due to you a 
 iecond time. 
 
 Having thus far fhewn that blank verfe 
 has many advantages over rhyme -, and that 
 it leaves the poet infinitely more at large 
 with refpect to the fenfe, the found, and 
 
 the
 
 ?8 REMARKS ON THE 
 the expreffion : I (hall conclude this part of 
 my fubject, with a remark on the ill effecl:, 
 in our language, from the prevalence of that 
 hiffing conformant the S *. The Greeks, 
 we are told, had fuch an ayerfion to this, 
 letter, that they called jr. the favage, the 
 impure letter : if this were fp in a language 
 rich in vowels, what muft it be in one fo 
 over-charged with confopant as ours, I 
 When the neceflity of a rhyme, throws the 
 governing verb in a period into the prefent 
 time, all the other verbs thro' that period 
 muft follow the lead j thus 
 
 Is it for thee the lark afcends and lings ? 
 Joy tunes his voice, joy elevates his wings. 
 
 Ef. tit Man. 
 
 
 
 Here, inftead of the melting warble of a 
 lark, we have the difibnant hiffing of a
 
 gfiAU'TIES OF POETRY. 29 
 
 ferpent. Shoifrd it be fafd to this, that thefe 
 are objections rather, to the nature of our 
 language, than to the art of the poet ; I 
 anfwer, it may be fo, while it is under ther 
 fervitude of fhime : but why mould we pre- 
 fer that mode of verification, which aggra- 
 vates the imperfections- of our own lari- 
 guage, and prevents our imitating, of 
 adopting the beauties of others t To pur- 
 sue thefe reflections minutely, would be to 
 defcend from the character of a critic to that 
 of a grammarian , I fhall therefore content 
 my (elf with obferving, that it is a fault, to* 
 ffrfFer any one letter to take pofieflion of the 
 ear, o* to govern entirely the found of th 
 verfe: unlefs, where the alliteration i* 
 brought in aid of the ftnfe 5 in which cafe, 
 k may fometimes become a beauty : but 
 certaiAly, it a not a beauty in the follow^ 
 *n i&ftance. 
 
 EatJf
 
 3 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 "Each cbitf his fev'nfold^ield difplay'd, 
 And half un/fteath'd theyftining blade. 
 
 Or, 
 By the hero's armed (hades, 
 GVkt'ring thro' the^/oomy^/ades. 
 
 Ode on St. Cecilia s Day. 
 
 In a lefs careful verfifier, fuch effects might 
 be imputed to negligence-, but here, I 
 doubt, they were defigncd as beauties. 
 "When the habit of playing with founds is 
 once admitted into poetry, it branches out 
 into innumerable triflings. We cannot, in- 
 this cafe, be too much on our guard againft 
 the force of example. The reputation of 
 a writer makes even his errors fashion- 
 able : we naturally imitate thofe whom 
 we admire , and when we cannot affuma 
 their graces, we adopt their foibles. I fear, 
 
 AfpaGa,
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 31 
 
 Afpafia, that this minute criticifm has tired 
 y6ur patience. 
 
 . rffp. Not at all : I look upon it as an art- 
 ful lowering of your fubjecl:, from whence 
 you are to rife to the fentimental harmony. 
 
 Eug. You give authority to my ideas, by 
 the ufe you make of them. 
 
 In treating the fecond part of my fub- 
 ject, you will, no doubt, expe&, that I 
 lhoufd borrow, as I have already done, my 
 examples from Milton: but here, I am 
 tempted to change my author ; principally, 
 as it gives me an opportunity of doing juf- 
 tice in this particular, to the moft cxrraor- 
 ordinary genius, that our country, or, per- 
 haps, any other has produced. It feems 
 then to me, that, Shakefpear, when he at- 
 tends
 
 3* REMARKS ON THE 
 tends to it, ii riot only excellent in the me- 
 chanifm of his Verfe* but, in the fenti- 
 mental harmony, equal, if not fuperior to 
 any of our Englifh poets. The firft ex- 
 ample I (hall give you of his merit in this 
 kind, is in the celebrated fpeech of King 
 John to Hubert, when he firft opens to him 
 his defigns on the life of Arthur. 
 
 Hubert, 
 I am much bounden to yotir majefty. 
 
 K. John. 
 Good friend, thou haft no caufe to fay fo yefe 
 But thou (halt have ; u and creep time ne'er 
 
 .foffow, 
 Yet it mail corhe for me to do thee good. 
 I had a thing to fay but let it go : 
 The fun is in the heaven, and the proud day 
 Attended with the pleafures of the world 
 Is all too wanton, and too full of gawds, 
 
 To
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 3$ 
 
 To give me audience. * c If the midnight 
 
 bell 
 " Did, With his iron tongue and brazen 
 
 mouth 
 M Sound on unto the drowfie race of night j 
 " If this fame were a church-yard where 
 
 we fland, 
 " And thou pofiHTed with a thoufand 
 
 wrongs i 
 l< Or if that furly fpirit, Melancholy, 
 ** Had bak'd thy blood and made it heavy- 
 thick, 
 
 " Which elfe runs tickling Up and dowri 
 the veins. &c. 
 
 Hor. I allow you, that in thefe lines, 
 there is a general agreement between the 
 found, or [/] rather, between the movement 
 
 [?] The neceffity of this difUn&ion will appear frorn 
 hence, that the movement of a verfe may be good, and 
 fhe found at the fame time may be faulty.. 
 
 . D of
 
 $4 REMARKS ON TH 
 
 of the verfe and the idea which it conveys ; 
 but it will not fo readily be allowed you 
 that this was defigned : and the generality' 
 of readers will, 1 dare fay, efteem k rather 
 cafual than artificial. 
 
 Eug. When a man ftrongfy affected by 
 any.paflion, exprefles himfelf in words, the 
 
 Mufic hef foft afTuafive voice applies. 
 
 Ode on St. Cecil. 
 There is a continued hifs thro* this line . 
 
 The Greek Critics carefully obferved this dhtinaion f 
 thus Ariftotle Aiyu Si ^vtrpiw {Ml koyov, ret tyotla gt-fytor 
 
 By the fcfy*os WJks meant tke mealure or movement of 
 fhe verfe ; by <***>r the fweetnefs of the found ; and by 
 Harmony, the agreement of either, or of both with the 
 idea. The French Critic, Dacier, by not entering into 
 this diltinftion, has fallen into a ftrange error ; for he 
 fappofes that by- the ^fy* and f*o* Ariftotle meant 
 the dancing and mufic which ufually accompanied the 
 Greek drama. But I canhot conceive how either dancing" 
 or piping could be reckoned a conftituent part of verfi- 
 ncation Uy^, to jc1* f*&m*t &c. Erpecially, if, as 
 this fame Critic informs us, the dancing and mufic were 
 at the end of the Aft. 
 
 patural
 
 J3EAOT IES bF PbETktf. 35 
 
 natural tones Of .which correfpOnd with his - 
 ideas, it may pbflibly be by accident. But 
 when We obferve the fame" co-ihcidence iri 
 a Poet, it is rrioft reafohable to fuppofe; that 
 it is the effect of defign. For as he has 
 time to feleclfc His images and fentimerits, fo 
 he has likewife t'6 accommodate the move- " 
 ment of his numbers to the nature of thofe 
 ideas he means to exprefs. 
 
 dfp. I Have heard, tnat there have beeri 
 Philofophers who fuppdfed that all the" 
 beauties in natiire were produced by chance * 
 I FanCy, they wbuH not have been Well 
 i>leafed, to have had the beauties in their 
 writings included in the jumble* 
 
 Eiig. WEkE we to follow the common 5 
 
 notions concerning Shaltcipear, we fhould 
 
 be induced to think, tkat ^e ftfuck out 
 
 D 2 his
 
 $6 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 his pictures by dafhing his pencil againft 
 the canvafs; or that, like the Sibyl in Virgil, 
 he was only a temporary inftrument, to con- 
 vey the dictates of a fuperior agent. 
 
 Hor. Mr. Pope has given fome encou- 
 ragement to this notion, where he fays 
 
 * The poetry of Shakefpear is infpiration 
 ' indeed : he is not fo much an imitator as 
 c an inftrument of nature j and 'tis not fo 
 
 * juft to lay that he fpeaks from her, as that 
 ' {he fpeaks thro' him.' 
 
 Jfp. These diftinctions are too fubtle for 
 me. I (hall never be brought to confider 
 the beauties of a Poet in the fame light 
 that I do the colours in a Tulip. 
 
 Eug. The beauties of Shakefpear's ve*- 
 
 fification appear accidental when they are 
 
 4 moft
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 37 
 
 moft artificial : for, the mechanifm of hie 
 verfe, however [k] carefully formed to have 
 its effect, is fo falhioned to the temper of 
 the fpeaker, and nature of the fu eject, that 
 we overlook the artifice* and it pafles along 
 unheeded, as the cafual flow of an unftudied 
 eloquence. Thus the bold and refolute Per 
 truchio. 
 
 Have I not in my time heard lions roar ? 
 Have I not heard the fea, puffed up with 
 
 winds, 
 Rage like an angry boar chafed with fweat ? 
 
 [&] Yet muft I not give nature all : thy art 
 My gentle Shakefpear, muft enjoy a part. 
 For tho' the Poet's matter nature be, 
 His art doth give the fafhion : and that he 
 Who cafts to write a living line, muft fweat 
 (Such as thine are) and ftrike the fecond heat 
 Vpon the Mufes anvil? 
 
 Again 
 In his well torned, and true filed lines. 
 
 Ben Johnfon, 
 to the memory of Mr. William Shakefpear. 
 
 D 3 Have
 
 S 8 REMARKS ON THE 
 Have I not heard great ord'nance in the, 
 
 field? 
 And heav'ns artillery thunder in the fkies I 
 Have I not in a pitched battle heard 
 Loud '.larums, neighing ftceds,and trumpets 
 
 clangue 
 
 In fupport of the fentimental harmony in 
 thefe lines, you may pbferve, how, by 
 changing {he paufe.s, and varying the moye- 
 sient, the poet has at once guarded againft 
 a monotony, and enforced his jdeas. Woulc^ 
 you fee bis artifice in its full light, let us 
 
 follow him through a fucceffion of varied 
 
 ... i 
 
 movements. Is there not fomething mourn- 
 ful in the cadence of thefe lines ? 
 
 Ccnflancf. 
 What doll thou mean by making of thy 
 
 head ? 
 Why doft thou look fo fadly on my fon ? 
 
 What
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. .39 
 
 What means that hand upon that breaft of 
 . thine ? 
 
 Why holds thine eye that" lamentable 
 rheum ? K. John. 
 
 How different are the accents of the un- 
 happy Conftance, in this fojemn and ear- 
 ned addrefs to Heaven ? 
 
 Arm, *rm, ye Heavens, againft thefe per- 
 
 jur'd kings ! 
 A widow cries, Be hufband to me, Heav'n ! 
 }Let not the hours of this ungodly day 
 Wear out the day in peace; but 'ere fun-fet, 
 Set armed difcord twixt thefe perjured kings, 
 Jrlear me, oh, hear me ! 
 
 Obferve what ftarts of paflion fucceed t 
 
 Aujtria. Lady Conftance, peace. 
 
 Qnjt. War, war, no peace ; peace is to 
 
 me a war. 
 
 B 4, Q Lymoges,
 
 40 REMARKS ON THE 
 O Lymoges, O Auftria ! thou doft flume 
 That bloody fpoil : thou flave, thou wretch, 
 
 thou coward, 
 Thou little valiant, great in villany I 
 
 ----- - "What a fool art thou, 
 
 A ramping fool, to brag, to ftamp and fwear 
 Upon my party ; thou cold blooded flave, 
 Haft thou not: fpoke l&e thunder on my 
 
 fide? 
 Does the anxious heart lament its loft peace ? 
 
 ------- O gentle fleep, 
 
 Nature's fofc nurfe, how have I frighted 
 
 thee, 
 That thou no more, wilt wejgh my eye-lids 
 
 down, 
 And ftsep my ienics w forgetfulnefs ? 
 Why rather, Sleep, ly'ft thou in fmoaky 
 
 cribs, 
 Upon uneafie pallets ftretching thee, 
 
 And
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 4 x 
 
 And hufht with buzzing nightflies to thy 
 
 {lumber ; 
 Than in the perfum'd chambers of the Great, 
 Under the canopies of coftly ftate, 
 And Jull'd with founds of fweeteft melody? 
 
 K. H. IVth. 
 
 Mark, how the terrors of a guilty mind 
 echo thro* thefe lines - 
 
 - - - O it is monftroire ! monftrotis I 
 Rethought the billows fpoke, and told me 
 
 of it ; 
 The winds did fing it to me, and the thun- 
 der, 
 *That deep and dreadful organ-pipe, pro- 
 
 nounc'd 
 The name of ?rofper 
 
 fempeji. 
 
 Woyu>
 
 4-i REMARKS ON THE - 
 
 Would you compare, Afpafia, the ten* 
 der breathings of a Lover, with the bol4 
 and fwelling tones of a foldier ? 
 
 Glenclower She bids you, 
 All on the wanton rulhes lay you down, 
 And reft your gentle hpad upon her lap $ 
 And fhe will fiqgthe fong that pleafeth you y 
 And on your eye-lids crqwn the God of 
 
 deep j 
 Charming your blop4 with pjeafing heavU 
 
 nefs j 
 Making fuch difference betwixt wake anc} 
 
 fleep, 
 As is the difference betwixt day and night f 
 The hour before the heavenly-harnefs*4 
 
 tearq 
 Begins his gqlden progrefs in the eaft. 
 
 In agreement with the ideas, the poet 
 has drawn out theft lines into a languid mo- 
 notony. OthtUo,
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY, 43 
 
 Othello. 
 farewel the plumed troops, and the big war. 
 That make ambition virtue ! Oh, farewell! 
 Farewel the neighing fteed, and the fhrill 
 
 trump, 
 The fpirit ftirring drum, th- ear piercing fife, 
 The royall banner, and all quality, 
 Pride, pomp, and circumftance of glorious, 
 
 war j 
 And, oh, you mortal engines, whofe rsde 
 
 throats 
 Th' immortal Jove's dread clamours coun- 
 terfeit, 
 Farewell ! Othello's occupations gone* 
 
 Afp. That clofe, Eugenio, was happy. 
 pr, is it, that the change in your voice has 
 given that efFed to the veffe ? 
 
 Eug. The voice of a Garrick cannot lend 
 J>e amies to Shakefpear , it is no fmall praife 
 
 that
 
 44 REMARKS ON THE , 
 
 that he can do himjuftice. When fueh 
 contrails as thefe, which I have brought 
 together, are made to fucceed each other 
 fuddenly, and in the fame breath, fo that 
 we immediately feel the tranfitions i then, 
 the fevcral parts have, not only the intrin* 
 fie beauties of mufical imitation, but like* 
 wife a relative advantage from their com- 
 parifon one with the other ; and this may, 
 with fome allowance, be called the clear- 
 obfcure of harmony. The following paf- 
 fage, inCymbeline, is a proof and illuf, 
 tration of what I have advanced, 
 
 Bellarius. 
 
 O ! thou Goddefs, 
 Thou divine nature ! how thyfelf thou 
 
 blazon'ft 
 In thefe two princely boys ! they are as 
 gentle 
 
 As
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 4$ 
 As Zephyrs blowing below the violet, 
 Not wagging his fweet head ; and yet as 
 
 rough 
 (Their royal blood enchaf *d) as the riid'ft 
 
 wind 
 That by the top doth take the mountain 
 
 pine, 
 And make it ftoop to th J vale. 
 
 With what dignity do the numbers 
 move in the opening of this addrels ? In 
 the clofe, they ipring into a ftorm, and 
 fweep all before them. 
 
 Hor. I recollect, in Lear, a beautiful ex- 
 ample of a moll affecting tranfition in the 
 found, correfponding with a fudden and pa- 
 thetic change in the idea. 
 
 Lear. 
 1 lax not you, you elements, with unkind- 
 nefsj 
 
 I never
 
 4$ REMARKS ON THE 
 
 I never gave you kingdoms^ called rati 
 
 children j 
 You owe me no fubfeription. Then let fad 
 Your horrible pleaflire $ here I fland your 1 
 
 brave ; 
 c * A poor, infirm* weak* and defpis'd old 
 man." 
 
 Again, when tJamiet prevents Horatio* 
 from drinking the poifon; 
 
 Hamlet. 
 If thou didft ever hold me in thy hearty 
 Abfent thee from felicity a while, 
 ** And in this harfh world draw thy breatH 
 in pain. 
 
 The breaft actually labours to get through; 
 this lad line. 
 
 Eug . And yet thefe arts pafs unnoticei 
 in Shakefpear, while they are celebrated irf 
 
 Poocs
 
 Beauties of poet Rf. *f 
 
 JPocts of inferior merit* The caufe of this 
 may be, that we more readily obfervc any 
 artifice in the management T>f the. founds, 
 when we are not much affe&ed by the ideas. 
 It is in excellent poetry, is in capital paint- 
 ing, the fine and delicate touches of art are" 
 loft in the general effect. It requires fome 
 degree of temper to trace the minute and 
 auxiliary beauties of poetic harmony thro* 
 fuch a paflage as this.* 
 
 Othello, 
 Do you go back difmay'd ? Vis a loft fear i 
 Man but a rufh againft Othello's breaft, 
 And he retires. Where mould Othello go ?- 
 Now How doft thou look now ? Oh ill- 
 
 ftarr'd wench, 
 Pale as thy fmock \ when we mail meet at 
 compt, 
 
 This
 
 48 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 This look of thine will hurl my foul from 
 
 heav'n, 
 And fiends will match at it. Cold, cold* 
 
 my Girl, 
 Ev'n like thy chaftity. O turfed flave ! 
 Whip me, ye Devils, 
 From the pofleflion of this heav'nly fight* 
 Blow me about in winds, roaft me in fulphur, 
 Plunge me in fteep-down gulpha of liquid 
 fire. 
 
 Before we quit Shakefpear*s verfifica- 
 tion, I mud obferve to you^ that he in- 
 tended it to be nothing nore than a meafured 
 [/] of mufical profe; except, when he 
 
 [f] In general* Shak*fpear r rerfe has the eafy profai'c 
 flow of the Iambic : on extraordinary occafkmsj it rifes 
 Into the dignity and harmony of the Hexameter. Thus, 
 he has greatly the ad\-antage of the Greek Tragediansi 
 who were confined to the Iambick ; and of the French, 
 Who, from the regularity of the Couple^ cannot loofen 
 tkfif verfe into a profaic movement. That Shakefpear's 
 
 meant
 
 Beauties of poetry. ^ 
 
 meant to rife in his fubjed, or give a di- 
 ftin&ion to a thought j and then, we (halt 
 always trace in his numbers the influence 
 of his feelings , and find, that they aflume 
 a regularity and harmony, in proportion 
 as he was interefted in the effects. Nothing 
 could be more oppofite to the genius and 
 character of this Poet, than a conftant equa* 
 Iky of verfification j nay* it is eafy to fee 
 that he has often been careful to avoid it* 
 The fame is obfervable in Milton, who 
 fometimes defcends into a profaic negli- 
 
 verfifrcation is agreeable to nature* may be proved from 
 the authority of Ariftotle, who having ob&rved, that the 
 Iambiek meafure was beft adapted to the genius of tra* 
 gedy* becaufe it came the nearell to common difeourfe, 
 proceeds thus 
 
 At%tvs it yn'ofwijcj avrri jj Qvats to o<o [Atl^cr tvpu 
 jtaJur* y*% Xixlixo* rut /*t]f&> to tot^Q^ot irn arftnov tt 
 tT" roXwr* 7*5 (*t hiyofjLf* it tn aix^tKiu m tpo{ 
 dAA*iXo?* |f*i1a <tt OAiya*K, *a tkCentoilii Tj *.a1.*ij 
 
 *#*&>. Cap. iv. De Poetica. 
 
 E gence<
 
 50 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 gence, merely to interrupt the monotony ; 
 and, has frequently chofen to difgrace his 
 meafures, rather than to fatigue the ear. 
 
 Hor. Some Critics do not understand this 
 fo, when they tax his verfe with being ofte* 
 weak and unequal. 
 
 Ettg. The error then muft have been in 
 his judgment; for, thefe inequalities were 
 moft certainly defigned. 
 
 Having in this place fupported an ob- 
 fervation on Shakefpear, by a proof drawn 
 from the practice of Milton, it may not be 
 improper to fhew, that the verfification of 
 thefe two poets had other points of re- 
 femblance. 
 
 Full many a Lady 
 I've cy'd with beft regard, and many a time, 
 
 Th*
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. $t 
 
 Th' harmony of their tongues hath into 
 
 bondage 
 Brought my too diligent ear; for feveral 
 
 virtues, 
 Have I lik'd feveral Women, never any 
 ec With fo full foul, but fome defect in her 
 ** Did quarrel with the nobleft grace fhe 
 
 ow'd, 
 " And put it to the foil. But you, O you ! 
 " So perfect, and fo peerlefs are created 
 " Of every creature's bed. 
 
 Tempeji* 
 
 tu this pafifoge, the rifing from the feeble 
 and profaic movement of the firft lines, to 
 the even tenor of harmony in the laft, is 
 entirely Miltonic. Or, to fpeak more juftly, 
 it is one of thofe fine gradations in poetic 
 harmony, which give a kind of growing 
 -jenergy to a thought, and form a principal 
 E i beauty
 
 52 REMARKS ON THE 
 beauty in the verification of Shakefpear 
 and Milton. 
 
 Hor. There is a fpecies of harmony, Eu- 
 genio, of which you have made no men- 
 tion , and yet, fome of our poets feem to 
 delight much in it; I mean the imitating 
 the precife idea in the found i as, in the 
 whifpering of the breeze, the tumbling of 
 ruins. 
 
 Eug. Or, The rumbling of Drums, as 
 thus, 
 
 The double, double, double beat 
 Of the thund'ring Drum 
 Cries, Hark, the foes come. 
 
 Drydenl 
 
 This is altogether ridiculous ; that rule 
 
 . of Criticifm, the found fhould feem an echo 
 
 to the Unte, muft not be underftood too 
 
 literally.
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 53 
 
 literally. The founds fhouid, indeed, be 
 always in accord with the fenfe; but they 
 mould accompany, not mimic it. As the 
 movements of a good dancer are governed 
 by the mufic, fo the mufic of the verfe 
 mould be governed by the idea : but, the 
 nature of language will not admit, in this 
 latter cafe, of a conftant correfpondence : 
 however, though we cannot, fo often as we 
 might wifh, make our numbers harmonize 
 -with the fubjecl:, we mould never fuffer 
 them to run counter to it as they tooevk 
 dently do in the following inftance, 
 
 Not half fo fwift the trembling doves can fl>Y 
 
 When the fierce eagle cleaves the liquid fky -, 
 
 Not half fo fwiftly the fierce eagle moves, 
 
 When thro' the clouds he drives the 
 
 trembling doves. 
 
 Wind for Foreft. 
 E 3 I have
 
 54 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 I have not met with any lines more at 
 variance with their fubject than thefe : in- 
 Jtead of running lightly off, they ch cleave 
 to the tongue. 
 
 To prefcribe how far we may go in this 
 kind of imitation,' is impofiible, otherwife 
 than by examples j for this, like many other 
 beauties in poetry, can be determined only 
 by a happinefs of feeling. 
 
 The author of the Fleece has carried the 
 fentimentaj harmony to the utmoft allows 
 able point, in the following defcription of 
 a fudden calm.. 
 
 with eafy courfe 
 The veffels glides unjefs their fpeed be 
 
 flopp'd 
 By dead calms, that oft lie on thofe fmooth 
 feas, 
 
 While
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 55 
 
 While every Zephyr fleeps ; then the 
 
 fhrouds drop ; 
 The downy feather on the cordage hung, 
 Moves not , the flat fea (nines like yellow 
 
 gold 
 Fus'd in the fire, or like the marble floor 
 Of fome old temple, wide. 
 
 It is evident, that the poet ftudied the 
 effect in thefe verfes ; but he has foftened 
 his artifice by the fimplicity of his lan- 
 guage ; had it not been for this, the labour 
 would have been manifeft. Hence it ap- 
 pears, that the perfection of this fpecies of 
 harmony confifts in its feeming wholly ac- 
 cidental : and this can only be, when the 
 words are fo happily chofen, and the founds 
 are fo connected with the idea, that they 
 feem all to fpring from one and the fame 
 motion of the foul. 
 
 E 4 Hor.
 
 >3 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Hor. Let us, at the fame time, 
 the idea to be beautiful, and then, your de- 
 fcription will reach much farther than you 
 intended ; for, it takes in, not only a part 
 of good writing, but, perhaps, the whole. 
 
 Bug. From this point, we may take $ 
 general view of our fubjeA. We began by 
 confidcring harmony fimply as an addrefs 
 to the ear : thence, we traced its corre- 
 spondence with the idea, and, of courfe, 
 with the imagination. The fimpleft truth 
 is pleafing by its very nature; but this 
 pleafure cannot be too much heightened : 
 the force and furprife of imagery, the ele- 
 gance of diction, the varied accords of 
 harmony tend all to this point. Poetry is to 
 the foul, what the fun is to nature ; it calls 
 forth, it cherifhes, it adorns her beauties. 
 As we improve our language, we multiply 
 
 the
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY, 57 
 
 the refources of poetry , of all the mean? 
 of forwarding this improvement, the form- 
 ing and perfecting our verfificatiop is the 
 moft powerful, 
 
 Aff. 1 did not imagine, Eugenio, that the 
 flow of a verfe could have taken fo large a 
 range, 
 
 Eug. It extends ftjll farther. Why does 
 the eye fill with gladnefs, at the bare meor 
 tion of a great or generous action ? The 
 mind is pre-difpofed to receive the fined 
 jmprefjiops : the true direction and happieft 
 effect of poetry, is, by renewing thefe im- 
 preffions, to preferve the mind in a ftate of 
 fenfibility : we are induced to repeat thofe 
 imprefTions, by the pleafing fenfations with 
 which they are attended : for, the fupreme 
 Goodnefs has fo formed our organs, that 
 5 thofe
 
 5 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 thofe arts which tend moft to refine our 
 feelings, and, of confequence, our manners, 
 give us at the fame time the greateft plea- 
 fure. Now, it is probable, that all the 
 powers which produce thefe refined plea- 
 fures fpring from one common principle, as 
 it is evident they tend to one common end : 
 for there is fuch an interconrfe among them, 
 th^t, while we perfect our fenfations in any- 
 one of them, we acquire a general aptnefs 
 for them all. 
 
 Hon. Muft not the moral fenfe partake, 
 in fome meafure, of this general con- 
 nexion ? 
 
 Eug. The author of the Characteriftics 
 will anfwer you much better than I can 
 do [m\ : " The mind, which is fpeftator 
 
 [] Inquiry concerning Virtue. 
 i "or
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 59 
 
 * f or auditor of other minds, cannot be with- 
 * c out its Eye and Ear j fo as todifcern pro- 
 " portion ; diftinguifh found, and fcan each 
 " fentiment or thought which comes before 
 ** it. It feels the foft and harm, the agree. 
 " able and difagreeable, in the affections ; 
 " and finds a. foul and/j/r, a harmonious and 
 ** a dijfonant, as really and truly here, as in 
 *' any mufical numbers, or in the out- 
 " ward forms or reprefentations of fenfible 
 & things." 
 
 D I A,-
 
 60 REMARKS ON TH5. 
 
 - 4 mn . 
 
 DIALOGUE II. 
 
 Afpqfia* Horten/tus, Eugenio. 
 
 Jlor. HpHE moment, Eugenio, you, 
 JL left us yefterday, Afpafia be- 
 took/ herfelf to her Shakefpear : her eagemefs 
 to apply the hints you have given her, is 
 not to be fatisfied ; and me feems to enjoy 
 her difcoveries, like one who had fuddenly 
 acquired a new fenfe. 
 
 To nobler fights, 
 Michael from Adam's eyes the film re- 
 moved.
 
 feEAUTlES OF POETRY. Gi 
 
 Afy. Such advantages were not intended 
 for us poor women ; evert Angels are par- 
 tial, as you reprefent them : thus Michael, 
 when he meant to enlighten Adam, fays 
 to him, 
 
 --*-* Afcend 
 
 This hill i let Eve (for I have drench'd her 
 
 eyes) 
 Here fleep below, while thou to forefighc 
 
 wak'ft. 
 
 So it is you men deal with us ; you cut 
 us off from the means of knowlege, and 
 then wonder at our ignorance. Good fenfe 
 you have appropriated, by calling it manly. 
 Taftc, indeed, you allow us ; but you keep 
 it in fubjecYion to your fuperior genius :
 
 2 REMARKS ON frfft 
 
 Eug. Were you to examine thoroughly 
 the difference between Tafte and Genius, 
 you would have the fatisfaction to find, 
 that there are few men who are entitled to 
 a fubmiffion from you on this account. 
 
 Afp. Let me, Eugenio, owe this obli- 
 gation, as I have done many others, to 
 you. 
 
 Eug. As our converfation yefterday turned 
 intirely on poetry, we may preferve a con- 
 nexion, by confidering the qualities to be 
 examined, folely as they relate to that art. 
 When they are once determined in any 
 one mode, it will be eafy to extend them 
 to eloquence in general, and from thence .to 
 every art in which they are naturally ex- 
 erted. 
 
 v ^ A Poet
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 63 
 
 A Poet illuftrates one object by a com- 
 panion with another : he difcovers a juft 
 and beautiful relation between two ideas : 
 this is Genius. Afpafia feels in its whol 
 force the merit of that invention ; this i 
 Tafte. Now, it is evident, that there muft 
 be a great difference between the perceiv- 
 ing a beauty that is difcovered for us, and 
 the making that difcovery ourfelves : ac- 
 cordingly, we are allured by experience, 
 that a man of quick perception, may be of 
 flow invention j and that a lively reader 
 may be a dull poet. 
 
 Hor. We arc fo apt to over-rate our owa 
 
 talents, that I do not at all wonder, that fo 
 
 many men mould, in themfelves, mifrake 
 
 Senfibility for Genius. Are we not tdb 
 
 . . . * , 
 much encouraged in this error by the vanity 
 
 of Critics and Commentators, who are con- 
 tinually
 
 64 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 tinually infinuating to us, that they par- 
 take, in forne meafure, of that Divinity, . 
 which they attribute to their poets. 
 
 Eiig. Unhappily, they fupport their 
 pretenfion by the [] authority of Cicero," 
 who was himfelf the ftfongeft exception to 
 it. In fhort, Hortenfio, the bed Critic, 
 confidered merely as fuch, is but a depen- 
 dent, a fort of planet to his original j he 
 does no more than receive and reflect that 
 light, of which his poet is the fountain. 
 
 Afp. If you mean that I mould have a 
 clear conception of Genius, you mull de- 
 scend from thefe exalted ideas to its effects. 
 
 [ n ] Quorum omnium interpfetes, ut Grammatic! 
 Poetarum, proxime ad eorum, quos interpretantur, divi- 
 natiotjim videntur accedere 
 
 Cfc, de Divin. t i.
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. - 6$ 
 
 JLug. The diftin&ive property of Genius 
 is to furprize, either by original Beauty, or 
 Greatnefs in the idea. Thefe are the mafter 
 fprings; but there are others which areiub- 
 ordinate : for a fuperior genius will fo drefs 
 the moft common thought, or familiar 
 image, as to give it fome unexpected ad- 
 vantage ; by which it becomes apparently, 
 if not really, original: the refult is the 
 fame , we are furprized ; every fuch effect 
 implies a degree of novelty, and, confe* 
 quently, of Invention. 
 
 Hot. Is not furprife .rather the effect of 
 wit than of genius ? 
 
 Eug, To determine this, we muft flats 
 
 *he difference between them. This feems 
 
 to me to depend or the degrees of our pe- 
 
 F netratioR,
 
 66 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 netration, and the nature of our feelings, 
 The man of wit has a limited view into the 
 relations of ideas; and from thofe which he 
 does fee, his- feelings direct him to choofe 
 the mod Angular, not the moft beautiful. 
 He works upon us by furprife merely ; but 
 the man of genius furprifes by an excefs 
 of beauty. ' 
 
 Hot. It mould feem to follow from hence, 
 that the genius may be a wit. when he 
 pleafes ; yet we have feen fuch, who havtf 
 made the attempt without fuccefs. 
 
 Eug. Very rarely, when they give into 
 the practice of being playful : thus, who 
 has more wit than Shakefpear ? If others 
 have railed, it muft have been from the 
 influence of a better habit : accuftomed to 
 unite ideas by their beauties, they overlook 
 ... - the
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. -67 
 
 the little points of fimilitude in thofe which 
 are the mod oppofedj or, of difference, in 
 thofe which are the mod united : hence, as 
 Cunning is but a fhort-fighted Wifdom, 
 Wit may be called the fhort- fight of 
 Genius* i 
 
 L 
 
 Hor. You make a greater airrerence 
 between them than will be allowed by 
 many* 
 
 Rug. I use them in that fenfe, in which 
 they are uriderflood, when we fay, that 
 Ovid had wit, and Virgil genius : that this 
 is the moft exaft and received fenfe of thefe 
 words, will appear from hence, that, were 
 I to alfert, that Virgil had more wit than 
 Ovid, I fhould be laughed at: yet this 
 would be the confequence of underftarid^ 
 F 2 ing
 
 68 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 ing Wit in too [o] inlarged a fenfe, or of 
 making it equivalent to Genius. 
 
 Af-p. I have been often ill fatisfied with 
 myfelf, for not readily entering into fuch 
 thoughts, as I have known were generally 
 efleemed witty. You have, I thank you, 
 Eugenio, leffened the number of my mor- 
 tifications. I muft own, I have always pre- 
 ferred Humour to Wit, perhaps it was, 
 that I more eafily underftood it. I mould 
 call upon you for a better explanation of 
 this matter, were I not more intent on 
 
 [o] In the Eflay on Criticifm, it is faid 
 Trpe Wit is Nature to advantage drefs'd. 
 But immediately after this, the Poet adds 
 
 For works may have more wit than does 'em good. 
 Now, let us fubftitute the definition in the Place of the 
 thing, and it will ftand thus* A work may have more 
 of Nature drefs'd to advantage than will do it good. This 
 is impoffible ; and it is evident, that the confufion arifes 
 from the Poet's having annexed two different ideas to the 
 fame word' 
 
 another*
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 69 
 
 another. You remember, that, difcourfing 
 the other day, on a pafifage in the Inquiry 
 into the Beauties of Paintings in which, the 
 Superiority of Poetry is rather hinted at 
 than explained, you promifed me, that you 
 would enlarge this part of the fubject, 
 and 
 
 Eug. I understand you, Afpafia ; and 
 fhould be glad, in this, as in every thing 
 elfe, to prevent your wifhes. 
 
 I observed juft now, that the diftinctive 
 property of Genius is to furprife, either 
 by original Beauty, or Greatnefs, in the 
 idea. . . 
 
 The principal beauties in Poetry, fpring 
 
 from the force or elegance of its images : 
 
 of thefe, we will firll examine fuch as are 
 
 F 3 peculiar
 
 V REMARKS ON THE 
 peculiar to Poetry ; after which, we will 
 pafs to thofe which are in common to 
 Poetry and Painting. Of the former clafs, 
 are all images founded on comparifons, 
 either direct, or implied. The merit of 
 thefe confifts-in a ftriking fimilitude be- 
 tween two objects, which, to common obr 
 fervation, have no apparent or necefTary 
 connexion : hence we may judge of the 
 merit of a comparifon, by the degree of 
 our iurprife, which arifes from a combined 
 admiration of its juflnefs, jts novelty, and 
 beauty. A comparifon is direct in the 
 following inftance-*- 
 
 ..--' On her left breaft 
 A mole cinque-fpotted, like the crimfon 
 
 drops 
 I' ch' bottom of a cowflip 
 
 Cymleliri6. 
 
 An
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 71 
 
 An implied comparifon,.' or, in the lan- 
 guage of the Critics, a metaphor, confifts 
 in conveying an idea intirely by the fub- 
 ftitution of an image : this will be beft un* 
 underftood by an example. ? 
 
 Angelo, in Meafure for Meafure, . ob- 
 ferving, that his guilty paflion for Ifabella, 
 was inflamed by his knowledge of her in- 
 nocence, is mocked at the wickednefs of his 
 nature j which he aggravates by the force 
 of a metaphor. j 
 
 . . 5 - - - - Can it be, 
 That modefty may more betray our fenfe 
 Than woman's lightnefs ! " having wade 
 
 ground enough, 
 < c Shall we defire to raife the Sanctuary, 
 ? And pitch our evils there ? Oh fie, fie, 
 
 F 4 Some*.
 
 yt REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Sometimes a Poet has the happirteis t6 
 blehd thefe two; kinds of beadty in the fame 
 imae : he fets dUt With illuftratlhg his eb- 
 je& bf a direct cOnlpaHfon j and continues 
 to fupport it by a metaphor. This is a 
 high degree of beauty ; for, it can only 
 happen, when the companion is To exqui- 
 fitely juft, that the qualities eflential to the 
 borrowed object, are, With the titnioft prb- 
 pf iety, transferred to the original one. Thus 
 BeMaHus, defcribing to his pupils, the riiih 
 of his fortunes at court. 
 
 : - - - - Cymbeline lov'd'me. 
 And when* a fbidi'er was the theme, my 
 
 riam'e 
 Was not far off: then Was I as a tree, 
 Whofe boughs did bend with fruit. But in 
 
 one high'r, 
 A ftorm, or robbery, call it what you will, 
 
 Shook
 
 BEAUTIES OF POET &Y. fj 
 
 Shook do\Vri my nieliow hangings, nay, 
 
 my ledves , 
 And left trie barb to Weather. 
 
 Of this fpecies of beauty, the following 
 is, perhaps* a frill mott elegant example^-? 
 
 - * * She ne>er told net love, 
 But let concealment, like a worm i' th' bud, 
 Ftcd on her ddmajk cheek. 
 
 tfwdftb Night. 
 
 Shakespear's images are not mere ad- 
 (dreffes to the fancy ; they do not play about 
 the furface of an object ; they carry us into 
 
 its efience. As, where the mother of 
 
 Hamlet endeavours to excufe his extrava- 
 gance. 
 
 Thit
 
 7* REMARKS ON THE 
 
 V. 
 
 - - .-.-. This is mere madnefs j 
 
 And thus a while the fit will work on him ; 
 
 Anon, as patient as the female dove, ^ 
 
 Ere that her golden couplets are difclos'd, 
 
 His filence will fit drooping. 
 
 . 
 % Had the Poet commanded at one view 
 
 the whole circle of Nature, he could not 
 tyive felecled fuch another eontraft to 
 madnefs. It is the molt perfect image of a 
 patient, innocent,, and modeft filence, that 
 ever fprnng from human invention. It is 
 by the frequency and degree of thefe beau- 
 tie-, principally, that an original Genius is 
 diftinguifhed. Metaphors are to him, what 
 the Eagle was to Jupiter, or the Doves to. 
 Venus, fymboh of his Divinity , the furc 
 indications of Majefty and Beauty. 
 
 i ffm
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 75 
 
 Hot. It has been a matter of wonder to 
 many, that an imagination, at times, lb 
 wild and ungovernable as that of Shake- 
 fpear, mould, in the finer imitations of 
 nature, be diftinguimed by an unequalled 
 elegance and propriety. *'.,.: 
 
 Ettg* If we confider the nature and pro* 
 ,crefs of the imagination, we need not 
 wonder, that fuperior fpirits ihould be the 
 moft fubjeft to thefe exceffes. The -ex- 
 tremities of poetic boldnefs, like thofe of 
 perfonal courage, will often have a tinc- 
 ture of extravagance. But, this will not be 
 the cafe in men of fubordinate talents ; truft- 
 ing more to imitation than their own feel r 
 ings, they move in one even tenor ; with 
 them, judgment is but an obfervance of 
 rules i a fecurity to their weaknefs. 
 
 And
 
 76 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Arid often, to their comfort (hall they find 
 The fharded Beetle in a fafer hold 
 Than is the full wing'd Eagle.- 
 
 Cymb. 
 
 The lafl: fpecies of beauty in compara- 
 tive imagery, which I mail fpeak of here, 
 confifts in reducing a metaphor to a point. 
 "When a picture is given us in a fingle word, 
 to make out which, in our own imagina- 
 tion* We muft. go through a fucce/Hon of 
 ideas, then are we furprized in the moft 
 agreeable manner, and the beauty^ of courfe, 
 is eonfummate. You (hall have, Afpafia, 
 an example of this from your favourite au- 
 thor, Fletcher. Amintor, in order to con- 
 teal the Caufe of his grief, had put on a 
 IhoW of mirth j Melantius, his friend, who 
 wanted to extort the fecret from him* was 
 not to be fo impofed on. 
 
 You
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 77 
 
 - You may fliape, Amintor, 
 Caufes to cozen the whole world withall, 
 And yourfelf too ; but tis not like a friend, 
 To hide your foul from me ; 'tis not your 
 
 nature 
 To be thus idle , I have feen you ftand 
 As you were Uqfied* midft of all your mirth, 
 
 Maids Tragedy, 
 
 It is by the force or elegance of its allti- 
 fions and images, that a poetic diction is 
 diftinguilhed from fimple verification. The 
 Mufes, according to Johnfon, have their 
 anvil, and a verfe may be laboured into 
 precifion and harmony : but, the fallies of 
 the imagination are prompt and decifive \ 
 they fpring at once into being, and arc 
 beauties at their nrft conception. Thus, 
 in the language of a Poet, the fun is the 
 
 & 
 
 4
 
 ?S REMARKS ON THE 
 
 eye of heaven ; the heaven itfelf a ftarry 
 pavement ; a canopy fretted with golden fire. 
 
 Does the mind exult in its fulleft freedom ? 
 It is: as broad, as general as the cafing air. 
 What are the repeated calamities of life ? 
 T^Jlings and arrows of outrageous fortune ? 
 The properties of fleep ? 
 The />/ of each days life\ fore labours &tfj 
 A of hurt minds. . 
 
 Are our tender years expofed to the infection, 
 of vice ? the canker galls the infants of 
 the fpring. Is the night invoked to counte- 
 nance deeds of horror and cruelty ? 
 * : > i \ 
 
 , y " Come, thick night l, 
 
 Andpal! Uiee in the dunneft fmoak of helL 
 
 lior. How miferably naked of theie 
 beauties are the works of our ordinary 
 
 fongfte,rs I
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. ? 
 fongfters ? Their metaphors are like the 
 fcattered trees in a defert, ftarved and foii- 
 tary : in Shakefpear, they are vigorous^ 
 luxuriant, thickly fpread over every part of 
 his poetry. 
 
 Eug. This comparifon will hold,-. wjth 
 refpect to images in general : as to thefe* 
 which we have been juft defcribing, they 
 feem to me, to bear fome refemblance to 
 jthofe drawings -of the capital Painters, in 
 which, though the parts are rather hinted 
 than made out, yet the ideas are compleat ; 
 they both give a delightful exercife to our 
 minds, in continuing and enlarging the 
 defign. Thus, when the queen would per- 
 fuade Hamlet to lay afide his 'mourning :^- 
 
 Cood Hamlet^ caft thy nighled colour off. 
 
 This 
 5
 
 $q REMARKS ON THE 
 This metaphor feems, at firft, to reach no 
 farther than the gloominefs of Hamlet's 
 drefs ; but if our ideas go along with the 
 poet's, we fhall extend it to the melancholy 
 of his mind [/>]. 
 
 Hor. The manner in which you haye ex- 
 preffed yourfelf in this place, gives me fome 
 reaibn to imagine, that, joined to the plea- 
 fure which you have here remarked, w< 
 have a kind of felfifh enjoyment on thefe 
 occafions; for, while we enter into the 
 views, and obey the direction of the Poet, 
 we fancy that we co-pperate with him j we 
 grow proud of the connexion, and plume 
 
 [>] This is plain by Hamlet's anfwer. 
 
 Tis not alone my inky doak, good mother. 
 No, nor the fruitful rivqr in the eye, 
 That can denote me truly.. 
 
 ourfelves
 
 Beauties of poetry, si 
 
 ourfelves in his beauties. But let me not 
 interrupt yoin 
 
 Eug. The purpofe of Imagery is either tb 
 illuftrate, or aggrandize our ideas : of the 
 former, enough has been faid. 
 
 The greatnefs of ah image is mdft ob- 
 Viousj when it ftrikes us by its immediate 
 power, and with a fudden effect j as, in the 
 defcription of Satan in Paradife Loft. 
 
 - - - - - - He, above the reft 
 
 In fhape and gefture proudly eminent, 
 Stood like a tow'r. 
 
 A second fpecies of the fublime confifts 
 in giving a gradation to imagery. There 
 is not, perhaps, in Poetry, a nobler inftance 
 of this, than in the defcription of Satan's 
 return to hell 
 
 O He
 
 82 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 - - He through the midft, unmark'd, 
 In fhow Plebeian Angel militant . 
 Of lowefl: order, pafs'd j and from the door 
 Of that Plutonian hall, mvifibl'e 
 Afeended his high throne, which under 
 
 ftate 
 Of richeft texture fpread, at th' upper end 
 Was placed in regal luftre. Down a while 
 He fat, and round about him faw unfeen: 
 At laft as from a cloud his fulgent head 
 And (hape Star-bright appear'd. 
 
 Far. Loft. 
 
 Hort. While you repeated thefe lines,< 
 Eugenio, I felt myfelf affefted with the 
 lame kind of pleafure, as when we fee a 
 cloud rifing (lowly from the vale, become 
 by degrees the ornament of the heavens. 
 Might I, therefore, judge from my own 
 feelings, I mould conclude, that fueh images 
 4 as
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 83 
 
 as are in motion, and which, by a gradual 
 enlargement, keep our fenfes in fufpenfe, 
 are more interefting than thole, which owe 
 their power to a fingle impreffion, and are 
 perfect at their firft appearance. Where 
 there can be no gradation in an object, its 
 influence on the mind is immediately deter- 
 mined. 
 
 Eug. In this obfervation, we fee the.rea- 
 fon, why the principal beauties in Paradifc 
 Loft, have been naturally thrown on the 
 perfon of Satan. To defcribe a permanent 
 and unchangeable glory, is to paint with- 
 out fhades \ the Sun is more delightful in 
 its fetting, than in its meridian. The di- 
 vine Perfection, pure and Angelic natures, 
 canhave no clouds, no contrails ; they arc 
 #U one blaze. But, it is not fo, in the de- 
 scription of fallen Greatnefs , of climi-nifhed 
 G 2 .and
 
 84 REMARKS ON THl 
 
 and interrupted fplendor ; of a fuperior 
 nature funk and difgraced, but emerging 
 at intervals from its degradation. This is a 
 fubject fo truly poetic ; it gives rife to fuch 
 a train of fluctuating images, that, let the 
 object be ever fb obnoxious, if the danger, 
 as in the prefent cafe, be remote, it feizes 
 on the imagination, all calmer confidera- 
 tions are thrown afide, and the fenfes are 
 hurried away beyond the reach of reflec- 
 tion. 
 
 Aft. This is the belt apology I ever heard 
 for a diabolical greatnefc. 
 
 Eug. As a great effect was produced in 
 the laft inftance by a gradation in a fingle 
 image, fo may it equally proceed from the 
 arrangement or fucceflion of different ideas : 
 
 Of
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 85 
 
 Of this, the following defcription of a ftorm 
 \s a fingular example. 
 
 Profpero. 
 
 w T r ^ - - Haft thou, Spirit, 
 ^erform'd to point the tempeft that I bad 
 thee ? 
 
 /frid. 
 
 9 m 9 - - = To every article : 
 I boarded the King's fhip: now on- thp 
 
 beak, 
 Now in the wafte, the deck, in every cabin 
 I flam'd amazement. Sometimes I'd divide 
 And burn in many places : on the top mad, 
 The yards, and boltfprit, would I flame 
 
 diftin&ly, 
 Then meet and join. Jove's lightnings the 
 
 precurfors 
 Of dreadful thunder-claps, more momen- 
 tary 
 
 G 3 And
 
 86* REMARKS ON THE 
 
 And fight out running were not , the fire 
 
 and cracks 
 Of fulphurous roaring, the moft. mighty 
 
 Neptune , 
 Seera'd to befiege, and make his bold waves 
 
 tremble ; 
 Yea, his dread trident make. 
 
 tempefi. 
 
 Thb circumftances in this defcription 
 are brought together in a manner & unex- 
 pected ; they crowd On each other with 
 ilicli force and rapidity, that our fpirits are 
 in one continued hurry of furprife. You 
 may obferve, that this impetuoiity gives 
 way by degrees to a more regular -climax : 
 we fet out with furprife } we end in wonder. 
 
 Hor. I mud add one remark ta thofe 
 which you have made on this paflage. The 
 
 fub-
 
 BEAUTIES XW POETRY. %j 
 
 fubftituting the divinity of the fea, to the 
 thing itfelf, was a mafterly ftroke of cob- 
 duft How it fublimesthe object ? 
 
 Eug, You have feen in the Jaft inftance, 
 that the futyime . is produced [>], partly, 
 by the choice of great circurnftances ; partly, 
 by the rapid fucceffton of thofe circurn- 
 ftances : on the other hand, the Beautiful, 
 which tends to delight, not, to tranfport 
 us, may receive an equal advantage from 
 thefucceflion of the ideas, and this, on, a 
 principle quite oppofite to the former 
 
 From camp to camp, through the foul 
 
 womb of night, 
 The hum of either army ftilly founds ; 
 
 <avtc*uff$i run tKhthty^tiiut. 
 
 Longinus, Se&. *Q> 
 
 G 4 That
 
 $8 REMARKS ON THE; 
 
 That the fixt centinels almoft receive 
 The fecret whifpers of each others watch. 
 Fire anfwers fire, and through their paly 
 
 flames 
 Each battel fees the others umber'd face. 
 Steed threatens fteed, in high and boaftful 
 
 neighs. 
 Piercing the Night's dull ear j apd from the 
 
 tents 
 The armourers accomplishing the knights, 
 With bufy hammers clofing rivets up 
 Give dreadful note of preparation. 
 
 Chor. toH. Y. 
 
 We may obferve in the progreffion of 
 founds, a perfect correfpondence with what 
 has been here remarked concerning our 
 ideas : for, in mufic, we are tranfported by 
 fudden tranfitions, by an impetuous re-ite- 
 ration of impreffions : on the contrary, 
 
 5 W
 
 PEAUTIES GF POETRY. 89 
 
 we are delighted by a placid fucceflion of 
 lengthened tones, which dwell on the fenfe, 
 and insinuate tfyemjelves into our inmoft 
 feelings. The analogy between Ppetry and 
 Mufic is not confined to thefe two effects. 
 We know, that in both thefe arts, a well 
 fupported climax is a conftant fource of 
 the fublime. Again, as in mufical compo- 
 fition, harmopy is the refult of a well cho- 
 fen union and fucceflion of founds, fo, in 
 Poetry, there is a harmony or beauty, which 
 fprings from the mpft natural and pleafing 
 arrangement of our ideas. 
 
 Afp. I readily comprehend, that a gra- 
 dual rife from fmaller circumftances to 
 greater, mould be productive of the fub- 
 lime, becaufe, a contrary procefs has always 
 a mean effe&. Of a beauty of order di- 
 
 ftina
 
 9o REMARKS ON THE 
 
 ftinft from this, I have not fo clear a con- 
 ception. 
 
 Eug. The beauty of order may be proved 
 by the following experiment. Were you, 
 jn the above defcription of a night fcene, 
 fo change the order of the circumftances, 
 you would find, that each particular idea 
 would lofe a part of its force, and that the 
 general effect would be confiderably weak- 
 ened. What can be the reafon of this, but 
 that the arrangement of the ideas is, at 
 prefent, fuch, as to give the greateft truth 
 and evidence to the thing reprefented j fo 
 that the imagination, not being delayed, 
 or embarrafied by the neceffity of ftudyir\g 
 its obje<5b, receives every impreflion, as it 
 offers, with facility and promptnefs ? It is, 
 on this principle, that, in the general plan, 
 or difpofition of a fubject, we are fo well 
 
 pleafec}
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 91 
 
 pleafed with that perfpicuity of order, that 
 clearnefs of connexion, by which the feveral 
 parts feem to grow out of each other, and 
 the fatisfaction of the underftanding every 
 where keeps pace with the pleafures of the 
 imagination. From thefe obfervations we 
 may draw the following conclufions , firft, 
 that fine writing depends as much onahap- 
 pinefs in the arrangement, as in the choice 
 of our ideas: in the next place, that all fuch, 
 progreffive energy or beauty as has been, 
 here defcribed, mull, equally with thofe 
 images which are founded on comparifon, 
 be entirely foreign to painting. 
 
 Hot. We cannot, it is true, paint a com- 
 parifon or a metaphor ; but, we may re- 
 prefent the various affe&ions andpaflions of 
 the mind, by clothing them in images, and 
 as it were, drawing forth the foul into fea- 
 ture
 
 92 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 lure and action. Here, it fhould feem, that 
 the Painter and Poet go hand in hand ; and 
 it may be, with fome advantage to the for- 
 mer, as his imitations come nearer to a re- 
 ality. 
 
 Eug. Tou have opened upon us a new 
 fcene of imagery, ib to your remark on the 
 Painters advantage, I muft obferve to you, 
 that the merit of thefe ftmpk Images, or 
 Pictures, whether it be in poetry or paint- 
 ing, cannot confift merely in their juftnefs ; 
 for, this is no more than what we expett : 
 it muft therefore fpring, either, from an 
 exquiiitenefs in the degree of beauty $ or, 
 from ahappinefs in the circumftances. Of 
 the former, we have a fine example in the 
 
 defcription given by Bellarius of his prince- 
 ly pupil 
 
 This
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 93 
 
 - - - .- - - This Paladour, 
 (The heir of Cymbeline and Britain) Jove! 
 "When on my three-foot ftool I fit, and tell 
 The warlike feats I've done, his Ipirits fly 
 
 out 
 Into my ftory j fay, Thus mine enemy fell, 
 And thus I fet my foot on's neck ; even 
 
 then, 
 The princely blood flows in his cheek, he 
 
 fweats, 
 Strains his young nerves, and puts himlelf 
 
 in pofture 
 That acts my words. 
 
 Of equal beauty, tho' in a different kind, 
 Is the following picture of Love and Sor- 
 row. Imogen, on her hufband's going in- 
 to banifhment, had fent her fervant Pifanio 
 to attend him to the fhip j on his return, 
 
 Sba
 
 9 4 REMARKS ON TtfE 
 
 fhe queftions him- as to the particulars ef 
 her hufband's departure -a 
 
 trtiogtn. 
 Tnou fhoud^ft have made him ev'n 
 As little as a Crow, or lefs^ ere left 
 To after- eye him - 
 Pifan. Madam, fo I did, 
 im. I would have broke mine eye firings 
 
 crack't 'em but 
 To look upon him 
 
 Nay, follow'd him, 'till he had melted from 
 The fmallnefs of a gnat, to air, and then 
 Have turrt'd mine eye, and wept. 
 
 Cymbeline. 
 '. - 
 
 Thjs cHfierence between poetic and real 
 
 fainting, may be clearly ieen in this laft 
 .example; the circumftances in this descrip- 
 tion, which tend to heighten the beauty 
 \ t
 
 BEAUTIES OP POETRY. 95 
 
 of the image in the laft line, cannot be ex- 
 prefled by the Painter - t he can have no ad- 
 vantage from a fucceflion of ideas., If, in 
 fubjects that are in common to the Poet and 
 Painter, the latter be limited; fo' again, 
 there are many, from which he is totally 
 excluded. In this view 3 I mall continue," 
 as I began, to mark the advantages pecu- 
 liar to poetry. In each of thefe two laft 
 examples, the image furprifes by the de- 
 gree of its beauty. But, there are others 
 which owe their effecT:, as I have faid, to a 
 happinefs in the circumftan'ces. Of this, we 
 have, I think, an example in that beautiful 
 fcence, in the Tempeft, between Ferdinand 
 
 and Miranda. 
 
 J 
 
 Mir. Do you loVe me ? 
 
 Ferd. O heav'n, O earth, bear witnefs to this 
 found, 
 
 And
 
 96 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 And crown what I profefs with kind event; 
 If I fpeak true; if hollowly, invert 
 What bed is boaded me, to mifchief ! I 
 Beyond all limit of what cKe in the world, 
 Do love, prize, honour you. 
 Mir. . I am a fool 
 
 To weep at what I'm glad of. 
 
 Tears of gladnefs are not uncommon ; 
 but, Miranda, from her particular education, 
 could have no knowledge of the paflions in 
 their extremes ; fhe is therefore furprifed at 
 this apparent confufion in their fymptoms : 
 her furprife is a fpring to ours 
 
 . This leads us, you fee, to art eflentia! 
 point in the pathetic, namely, when a fcnti* 
 ment fprings with a peculiar happinefs from 
 the character and the occafion. 
 
 Thus
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 97 
 Thus the Poet- - 
 The Heats and Minutes of affairs are 
 
 watch'd, 
 And the nice Points of Time are met, and 
 fnatch'd, 
 
 As thefe lines were written in praife of 
 Fletcher, I mall give you an example of 
 the thing defcribed, from his Maid's Tra- 
 gedy- Melanti us, on his arrival at Court, 
 bears that his friend Amintor was that morn- 
 ing married. He knew that he was con- 
 traded to Afpafia ; but did not know that 
 ihe had been deferted by him : in this in- 
 fant Afpafia comes acrofs him 
 
 Melantius. 
 - - - - Hail, maid and wifo 
 Thou fair Afpafia ! may the holy knot 
 That thou hall ty'd to day, laft 'till the hand 
 H Of
 
 9 8 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Of age undo it! may'ft thou bring a race 
 Unto Amintor, that may fill the world 
 Succeflively with foldiers Afp, My hard 
 
 fortunes 
 Deferve not fcorn ; for I was never proud, 
 When they were good - 
 
 When we know that Afpafia thought 
 herfelf infulted by the brother of her happy 
 rival, this fentiment becomes fo affecting, 
 that our hearts melt, and our eyes fill in the 
 
 initant. 
 
 The uniformity in our feelings on fimilar 
 motives, though it be the ground-work of 
 the pathetic, yet, at the fame time, it na- 
 turally produces in us an indifference to all 
 fuch indications of paffiort as are obvious 
 and general. 
 
 The
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY* *j 
 
 The bufinefs therefore of the Poet, is to 
 give fome unexpected advantage to thefe 
 general feelings j either, by a happinefs in 
 the incidents from which they fpring -, or 
 fome peculiarity in the fituation and cha- 
 racter of the perfon affected : of this we 
 have a complete example, when the Daugh- 
 ters of Lear prefs hard upon him to re- 
 duce the number of his Knights 
 
 Regan, 
 m ' - - - - If you come to me, 
 (For now I fpy a danger) I intreat you 
 To bring but five and twenty , to no more 
 "Will I give place or notice^. 
 Lear. I gave you all.' 
 
 The ingratitude of a daughter, who owed 
 
 fevery thing to a father's generality, might 
 
 H 2 naturally
 
 !> REMARKS ON THE i 
 naturally produce fuch a reproach as this 
 but it receives an additional tendernefs from 
 the violent characler of Lear, and the ag- 
 gravating circumftances of his children's 
 conduct. 
 
 If the Pathetic, as mould feem from thefe 
 proofs, mull owe its effecl: to the occafion 
 which produced it; the fame may be affirm- 
 ed, in part, of the fublime : I fay in part, 
 becaufe though great fentiments, when pro- 
 duced in the Drama, niuft, in common with 
 the pathetic, derive a particular and fpe- 
 cific beauty from a happinefs in (heir ap T 
 plication ; yet there will be this difference 
 between them, that if a pathetic fentimenf 
 be confidered independent of the occafion 
 which produced it, it lofes its pathetic force. 
 On the other hand, if a fublime fentiment 
 fee confidered in the fame light, it lofes th$ 
 
 advantage
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 101 
 
 advantage it received from a happiriefs in 
 its application, but retains its intrinfic 
 greatnefs. This* I think, will appear, by 
 comparing the anfwers of Afpafia and Lear, 
 in the two lad examples, with the follow- 
 ing reply of Guiderius, to the ram and 
 foolifh Cloten* who had threatened to kill 
 him. 
 
 Chten. 
 Art riot afraid ? 
 
 Curd. Thofe that I rev'rerice, thofe I feaf* 
 
 the wife ; 
 At fools I laugh, not fear them. 
 
 This fentiment had been noble on any 
 ccafion j on this, it is happy as well as 
 great. 
 
 From thefe obfervations it is evident, 
 
 that the variety and force of our fend- 
 
 H i ments,
 
 to* REMARKS ON THE 
 
 merits, particularly in the pathetic, muft 
 depend on the variety and nature of their 
 motives. In this the Painter is extremely 
 confined , for among the infinite turns and 
 workings of the mind, which may be ex- 
 prefled by words, and become the fprings 
 of fentiment, there are fo few to which he 
 can give a fhape or being ; and his indi- 
 cations of peculiar and characteriftic feel- 
 ings, are fo vague and undecifive, that his 
 exprefllons, like their motives, muft be [q] 
 obvious and general. 
 
 [$>] If Painting be inferior to Poetry, Mufic, con- 
 fidered as an imitative art, muft be greatly inferior to 
 Painting : for as Mufic has no means of explaining the 
 motives of its various impreffions, its imitations of the 
 Manners and Paflions muft be extremely vague and un- 
 decifive : for inftance, the tender and melting tones 
 which may be expreffive of the Paflion of Love, will be 
 equally in unifon with the collateral feelings of Benevo- 
 lence, Friendfhip, Pity, and the like Again, how are 
 we to diftinguifh the rapid movements of Anger, from 
 
 It
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 103 
 
 It is obfervable, that the fame Critics* 
 who condemn fo much in Shakefpear a 
 neglect of the unities, are equally forward 
 in acknowledging the fingular energy and 
 beauty of his fentiments. Now, it feems 
 to me, that the fault which they cenfure, 
 is the principal fource of the beauties which 
 they admire. For, as the Poet v/as not con- 
 fined to an [r] unity and fimplicity of action, 
 
 thofe of Terror, DiftracVion, and all the violent agita- 
 tions of the Soul ? But, let Poetry co-operate with Mu- 
 fic, and fpecify the motive of each particular impfef- 
 fion, we are no longer at a lofs ; we acknowlege the 
 agreement of the found with the idea, and general 
 impreflions become fpecific indications of the Manners 
 and the Paffions. 
 
 [r] Ariftotle, in his Poetics, chap. vi. obferves, that 
 the firft Dramatic Poets were irregular in the conduct of 
 the Fable ; but excelled in the Manners, and in the 
 Dittion : that the Poets of his time, on the contrary, 
 excelled in the conduct of the Fable, but were weak in 
 the Manners, and declamatory in the Di&ion. By the 
 H 4 he
 
 io 4 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 he created incidents in proportion to the 
 promptnefs and vivacity of his genius. 
 Hence, his ientiments fpring from motives 
 cxquificely fitted to produce them : to this 
 they owe that original fpirit, that com- 
 manding energy, which overcome the im- 
 probabilities of the fcene ; and tranfport 
 the heart in defiance of the understand- 
 ing. I do not mean by this to juftify our 
 
 Manriers, aYe to be underftood all thofe fentiments which 
 become indications of Character* The advantage of 
 thefe in Tragedy, according to Ariftotle, confifts in this, 
 that they give us a rule, by which we may judge what 
 the refolutions and actions of the perfons in the Drama 
 will be. After this, he cenfures th Poets of his time, 
 for being weak in the Manners. a y w rm mtetrvt, 
 ar$<n<; r^a.yuhxt a. Dacier, his Commentator, has 
 paffed the fame cenfure on the French Drama Aujourd 
 hui, dans la plbs part des pieces de nos Poetes, on ne 
 connoit les mceurs des perlbnnages, qu'en les voiant 
 agir. As both the Greek and French Poets, here fpoken 
 of, were rigid obfervers of the dramatic Unities, thefe 
 facts mull ftrongly confirm what has been advanced on 
 this iubject. 
 
 Poet
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 105: 
 Poet in all his excefles. It mult be con- 
 fefTed, that he has often carried the indul- 
 gence of his genius much too far : but, it 
 is equally certain, that a rigid obfervance 
 of the dramatic unities is not free from ob- 
 jections : for, as no one fimple and con- 
 fined action can furnifh many incidents, and 
 thofe, fuch as they are, muft tend to one 
 common point, it necefTarily follows, that 
 there mull be a famenefs and uniformity in 
 the fentiments. What muft be the refult 
 of this ? Why, narration is fubftituted in 
 the place of the action ; the [r] weaknefs 
 in the manners fupplied by elaborate de- 
 fcriptions ; and the quick and lively turns 
 of paflion are loft in the detail, and pomp 
 of declamation. 
 
 Hort. May we not add to thefe an ob- 
 jection, which has often ftruck me, an4 
 
 which
 
 io6 REMARKS ON THE 
 which extends to the conduct of the fable 
 itfelf ? When the a&ion is confined to the 
 time of the reprefentation, the Poet muft 
 often bring events together within the 
 fpace of four hours* which, in the natural 
 courfe of things, would have taken up as 
 many days. Thus, by a ftrange kind of 
 management, he commits a violence on 
 nature, in order to come nearer to truth. 
 
 Eug. It is, to foften, in fome meafure^ 
 this impropriety, as well as to conform to 
 the unities, that thefe events, inftead of 
 being brought into action, are fo often 
 thrown into [j] narration. But, this is a 
 fubject which cannot be properly examined 
 in a morning's converfation : befide, we 
 
 j] Er TaySj ftij*jff; wjafta;? ffiruSaictf *.*i 
 
 Arift. De Poetica. Cap. vi\ 
 have
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 107 
 have other obje&s which demand our at- 
 tention. 
 
 It is a point that has not yet been de- 
 termined, how far Imagery may take place 
 in the Pathetic. Were the imagination to 
 have no fhare in our defigns upon the 
 heart, the Poet's talk would be, indeed, a 
 hard one. The difficulty then can only be, 
 to fet bounds to this indulgence. It muft 
 be allowed, that in the extremities of paffion, 
 all ftudied and ambitious ornaments are to 
 be avoided : hence I mould judge, that 
 thofe images which are founded on com- 
 parifon, can have little agreement with the 
 fimplicity of the Pathos : and this difagree- 
 ment will always be found to increafe in 
 proportion as the points of fimilitude are 
 ipecified and enlarged. But this objection 
 will not extend to fimple images : thefe are 
 
 often
 
 lofc KEMAkKS ON THt 
 often happily employed in the Pathetic ; ift 
 thcfe, Poetry co-operates with Painting ; 
 and even borrows her ideas from her fifter 
 Art * 
 
 Thus, in anger 
 
 Romeo. 
 Alive, in Triumph, and Mercutio flain i 
 Away to heav'n refpeclive lenity, 
 And [/] fire- ey'd Fury be my conduct now f 
 
 In grief 
 
 Juliet. Is there no pity fitting in the clouds, 
 That fees into the the bottom of my grief? 
 
 R. and J. 
 
 [i] Should this compound Epithet "fireey'd" be 
 thought inconfiftent with the true Pathos, it will be the 
 ftrongeft proof that can be given, of the necefiity of a 
 ftrift fimplicity on all fuch occafions. 
 
 Qf
 
 pEAUTIES OF POETRY; icy 
 
 Of all our paflions, that of Love mould 
 feem to have the greater): connexion with 
 the fancy. If, therefore, the diftinction 
 here made between fimple and comparative 
 imagery, mould hold good In this paffion, 
 it will hardly be difputed in others. I mall 
 reil the truth of my obfervation, as I have 
 hitherto done, on examples. 
 
 Juliet. 
 ~ - - - - - Sweet, good night ; 
 This bud of love, by fummers ripening 
 
 breath, 
 JMay prove a beauteous flower when next 
 we meet. 
 
 R. and J. 
 
 This is riot the language of nature; 
 jruc paffion is impatient of ftudied embel- 
 
 lifhments
 
 no REMARKS ON THE 
 
 lifiiments. Let us now fee, how far the 
 operations of the fancy may be brought to 
 Wrefpond with the movements of the 
 lieart 
 
 Ferdinand. 
 "Wherefore weep you ? 
 Miranda. At mine unworthinefs, that dare 
 
 not offer 
 What I defire to give ; and much lefs take 
 Wf hat I mall die t want : but this is trif- 
 ling; 
 'And all the more it feeks to hide itfelf, 
 The bigger bulk it fhews. Hence hajhful 
 
 Cunning, 
 And prompt me, plain and holy Innocence. 
 I am your wife, if you will marry me ; 
 If not, I'll die your maid : to be your 
 fellow 
 
 You
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY, m 
 
 You may deny mc j but I'll be your fer- 
 
 vant, 
 Whether you will or no. 
 Ferdinand. My miftrefs, deareft, 
 And I thus humble ever. 
 Miranda. My hufband then. 
 Ferdinand. Ay, with a heart as willing 
 As Bondage e'er of freedom ; here's my 
 
 hand. 
 Miranda. And mine, with my heart in't. 
 
 In tha images here employed, there is 
 no artifice, no defign ; they are as fimple 
 as Truth herfelf. 
 
 Thus far, Afpafia, I have endeavoured 
 t& give you fome general ideas of the prin- 
 cipal beauties in Poetry. I mail now pro- 
 ceed to thofe which I call the fubordinate 
 Beauties ; not, that they are always inferior 
 5 in
 
 in REMARKS ON THE 
 
 in their effects, but becauie thofe effects arc 
 produced by means lefs obvious ; and fpring 
 more from the manner, than from the idea 
 itfelf. This is a diftinction, which, in fome 
 cafes, will be preferved with eafe; in others, 
 with difficulty : however, if the nature of 
 the beauty, whatever it is, be well under- 
 stood, I cannot think it of any great confe- 
 quence in what clafs it is to be ranked. 
 
 It is the peculiar province of Poetry, to 
 raife us above the level of our ordinary 
 ideas. But we are not to expect, that this can 
 be done by a continued fucceflion of beau- 
 tiful images, or affecting fentiments. Here 
 then, Art comes in aid of Nature; and our 
 ideas muft derive an importance from the 
 manner in which they are conducted. 
 With what a Angular delicacy does Ophelia, 
 
 wljen
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRV. 113 
 
 when me folicits Hamlet to take back his 
 prefents, reproach him with the change in 
 his affections ? 
 
 Hamlet. 
 No, I never gave you ought. 
 Opb. O my good Lord* you know right 
 
 well you did, 
 And with them, words of fo fweet breath 
 
 compos'd, 
 
 As made the things more rich ; that perfume 
 
 lA 
 Take thefe again.* 
 
 The manner is fomewhat varied in the 
 following inftance ; Camillo, in the Winter's 
 Tale, endeavours to dilTuade the young 
 Lovers from expofing themfelves to the 
 croffts of fortune. 
 
 i You
 
 ii4 REMARKS ON THE .. 
 
 - - - - - - - - You know, 
 
 Profperity's the very bond of Love, 
 Whofe frefli complexion, and whofe heart 
 
 together, 
 Affliction alters. 
 
 Perdita. - - One of thefe is true ; 
 
 I think affliction may fubdue the cheek, 
 But not take in the mind 
 
 From an elegance in the turn of the 
 thought, we naturally pafs to a Felicity in 
 the exprefiion Thus, Pofthumus reflect- 
 ing on his Wife's infidelity. 
 
 Me of my lawful pleafures fhe reftrain'd, 
 And pray'd me oft forbearance ; did it with 
 A pudency fo rqjie> the fweet view on't 
 Might well have warm'd old Saturn ; that; 
 
 I thought her 
 As chafte as unfunrfd Snow,-* Cymb. 
 
 Hor.
 
 Beauties of poetry. 115 
 
 Hort. Unsunn'd Snow The expreffion 
 is beautiful : but is not the image likewife 
 new, and wholly Shakefpear's ? 
 
 Eug. You're in the right, Hortenfiusj 
 but I was fo intent on the force of the Ex- 
 preffion, that I quite over-looked the no- 
 velty in the idea. The completion of 
 Beauty is in their Union : of this we have 
 an exquifite example, where Jachimo fteals 
 upon Imogen as fhe flept. 
 
 The crickets fing, and man's o'er-labour'd 
 
 fenfe 
 Repairs itfelf by reft : our Tarquin thus 
 Did foftly prefs the ru fries, ere he waken* d 
 The Cbafiity he wounded. 
 
 Cymbeline. 
 I 2 To
 
 L 
 
 ne REMARKS ON THE 
 
 To reprefent Lucretia by perfonifying 
 her virtue, was a beauty in the Thought : 
 the elegant precifion with which the action 
 is defcribed, is a beauty in the Manner. In 
 this analyfis, we difcover the limits between 
 Nature and Art ; for if by Nature we mean 
 the intrinfic Merit in the Thought , by 
 Art muft be underftood, i. Every advan- 
 tage given to that thought, to the im- 
 provement of its original beauty. 2. Every 
 fuch happinefs in the manner, as fupplies 
 the want of Novelty in the Idea. 
 
 Afp. The firft part of your defcription 
 of Art, has been fully explained by the 
 examples you have given : but, I do not 
 as yet, clearly comprehend, how a happi- 
 nefs in the manner can fupply the want of 
 Novelty in the Thought. 
 
 Eug.
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 117 
 
 Eug. We can beftow a Novelty on a 
 known object, either by difcovering in it 
 fome new circumftance or quality ; or by 
 varying and improving its ufual impreffion. 
 We have an example of the former, in the 
 reflexion made by Helena on the vanity of 
 her love for 3ertram. 
 
 - - - - * - - Indian like 
 Religious in mine error, I adore 
 The fun that looks upon his worJhiper y 
 But knows of him no more. 
 
 All's Well, that Ends Well. 
 
 Again, when the Shepherd, in the Win- 
 ter's Tale, is queftioned by Polyxenes, 
 concerning the love of Florizel for Per- 
 dita 
 
 1 1 Shepherd,
 
 u8 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Shepherd. 
 - - '- Never did the Moon 
 
 So gaze upon the waters, as he'll (land, 
 And read my Daughter's eyes. 
 
 I now come, Afpafia, to the explanation 
 you defire. When a known object pre- 
 fents itfelf to us, through a new and un- 
 prafticed medium, we confider the novelty 
 as inherent in the object. It is much the 
 fame with refpect to our ideas , whatever 
 is original in the Reprefentation, is tranf- 
 ferred to the Thing reprefented. For in- 
 
 ftance The confideration that all men 
 
 have fprung from the fame origin, and are 
 de Mined to the fame difiblu'tion, has been 
 often employed, as a check on human 
 pride, and an incitement to a focial affec* 
 tion. How is this urged by the Poet ? 
 
 Arviraguh
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY". n 9 
 
 Arviragus. 
 - - - - - Brother, flay here; 
 -Are we not Brothers ? 
 Imog. So man and man mould be 
 But clay and clay differs in dignity, 
 Vv T hofe duft is both alike. 
 
 Cymb. 
 
 Is not the energy with which this Idea 
 is conveyed, equivalent to a novelty in the 
 Idea itfelf ? The fame effect may be pro- 
 duced by a happinefs in the ufe and ap- 
 plication of a known image As in the 
 advice given by Lady Macbeth to her Huf- 
 band. , 
 
 Look like the innocent flower, 
 But he the ferpent under't. 
 
 1 4 Hor.
 
 120 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 Hot. From the light which you have 
 thrown on this fubjecT:, we may account 
 for the oppofition in our judgments, when 
 we beftow on Writers the reputation of 
 being Original. For, a Poet may be ori- 
 ginal in the manner, and not at all fo in his 
 Ideas. 
 
 Eug. True Genius, Hortenfio, will be 
 original in both : of this we mail have a 
 further proof, in the ufe that Shakefpear 
 has made of the qualities and attributes of 
 the Heathen Divinities. And here, I can- 
 not but wonder, that a Poet, whofe claffi* 
 cal images are compofed of the fined parts, 
 and breath the very fpirit of the antient 
 Mythology, mould pafs for being illi- 
 terate. 
 
 See
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 121 
 
 See what a grace was feated on his brow ! 
 
 Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove him- 
 felf; 
 
 An eye-like Mars, to threaten or com- 
 mand; 
 
 A ftation, like the herald Mercury 
 
 New^lighted on a heav'n-kifiing hill. 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 In this portrait, the features are bor- 
 rowed from the antique; but they are 
 united into a character by a creative fancy. 
 This power of giving an advantage to 
 the mpfl familiar objects, by fome un- 
 expected happinefs in their ufe and appli- 
 cation, is particularly diftinguifhed in our 
 Poet, when he touches on the Fables of 
 
 Antiquity. Thus Perdita, at a lofs 
 
 for
 
 122 REMARKS ON THE 
 
 for a variety of flowers to beftow on he? 
 guefts 
 
 -------O Prcferpina 
 
 For the flcw'rs now, that frighted thou ktji 
 
 fall 
 From Dis's waggon ! DafFadils 
 That come before the Swallow dares, and 
 
 take 
 The winds of March with beauty, Vio- 
 lets dim, 
 But fweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes, 
 Or Cytherea's breath. 
 
 Exclusive of the purpofe for which 1 
 have produced thefe lines, you muft have 
 obferved the uncommon art of the Poet, in 
 characterizing his flowers. 
 
 - - - They at her coming fprung* 
 
 5 A FINE
 
 BEAUTIES OF POETRY. 123 
 
 A fine imagination, like the prefence 
 of Eve, gives a fecond vegetation to the 
 beauties of nature. In thefe principles, and 
 in the examples by which they have been 
 fupported, we fee clearly the reafon, why 
 every enlightened age has had, and muft 
 continue to have, its original Writers. We 
 have no right, therefore, to complain, that 
 Nature is always the fame; or that the 
 fources of Novelty have been exhauiled. 
 It is in Poetry, as in Philofophy, new re- 
 lations are ftruck out, new influences dif- 
 covered, and every fuperior genius moves 
 in a world of his own. 
 
 I N I S.
 
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