twice, in the whole range of English letters. Of the prose writers we shall have occasion to speak later. The poets found the palace of their art swept and garnished, so to speak, by the work of Burns and Cowper, and well did they profit by what had been done.

During the five years 1770-75 were born five great English writers. The first three are absolutely in the front rank-of the other two there is doubt. In 1770, Wordsworth; Scott in 1771; Coleridge in 1772; Southey in 1774; and Walter Savage Landor in 1775. Landor stands by himself; the influence of Scott was not felt for some time. others may be taken now.

The

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, and ROBERT SOUTHEY have long been grouped together under the name of Lake Poets. Referring to the beautiful district where Wordsworth spent his days, the expression implies a connection in life and work which as a matter of fact did not exist. Southey's friendship for the others was not very warm, saving a youthful affection for Coleridge-and certainly was not permanent. Moreover, the mental constitution of the three was utterly dissimilar, and even in the purely physical points of domestic life and external surroundings there was no resemblance. But, on the other hand, they began their careers at the same time; their literary influence was very strong and had the same general tendency; while they enjoyed the distinction of being singled out

and condemned by one of the leading critics of the day. So that they may very well stand here under the time-honored designation.

Of the three Wordsworth was the greatest. (?)

Whatever may be said about his poetic weaknesses, there can be little doubt of the supreme excellence of his best work. And he was the conscious champion of the new poetry, devoting his whole life to what he considered a sacred vocation. That life was singularly uneventful. He was born in the north of England and educated at Cambridge University, taking his degree and winning some academic distinction-acquirements which have by no means been usual in the education of literary men. He was in France during the summer of 1790 and came into close contact with the Revolution, his opinions on which afterwards changed-regarding the manner of its consummation, rather than the consummation itself. About 1791 he settled down with his sister—a life-long and congenial companion-in Dorsetshire, a few miles distant from where Southey and Coleridge were dreaming dreams very beautiful and very youthful of a glorious future. The sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, was in sympathy with her brother in every respect, and the life of the two was idyllic. "Her journals are Wordsworth in prose, just as his poems are Dorothy in verse. The one soul kindled at the other." To this household Coleridge was introduced in 1797 and a lasting friendship began. The Lyrical Ballads,

the joint work of the two poets, and a most valuable production, appeared the following year. About the same time they travelled in Germany. Upon his return Wordsworth lived at Grasmere in the Lake District, and after 1813 at his well-known place, Rydal Mount. He was a man who was "constitutionally incapable" of earning a living by his pen; and fortunately was never under the necessity of doing so, as first the kindness of a friend, and then a well-paid appointment, placed him beyond fear of want. The rest of his life was spent in excursions to Scotland and the Continent, in almost ceaseless writing, and "in stately care of his own worth."

To understand that worth it is necessary to understand his theory of poetry. In some ways this was the best that could be evolved for the time of its application. It hinged upon the idea that the simplest and most poetic language was compatible with the loftiest poetic thought. This was coupled with a plea for the lowliest subjects as food for poetic treatment. This theory Wordsworth taught in his verse during his whole life. But it gave rise to grave faults. One main weakness in the poet's serious, manly, and self-centred character was a lack of the sense of humor, which sometimes betrayed him into unfortunate utterances. And it was just this lack that prevented him seeing the weak points of his theory. He forgot also-or refused to acknowledge—that the language of everyday life is a

/ different thing from that of poetry; the two cannot be identical. Each is operated by distinct rules— else why not write novels, for example, in the racy language of the dinner-table? A few trains of association are all that is necessary in the straggling style of ordinary conversation; but in composition a closer connection of thought is necessary, other conditions are imposed, and the whole style alters perforce. Wordsworth laid chief stress upon the one point, simplicity of diction, and much of his work is open to the charge of childishness. Yet his theory in its best aspects was what the time needed. It was very good for the stilted artificial language of classicism to be confronted with its opposite extreme. Wordsworth threw down the gauntlet on behalf of the new brotherhood. It was at once taken up by the first and most famous of those Edinburgh critics who for so long dispensed judg. ment on contemporary work. Francis Jeffrey (see Chapter XVI.) reviewed the Lyrical Ballads in the Edinburgh Review and began his article, "This will never do!" Which was exactly what most of England thought. But "this" did do! Wordsworth returned again and again to the attack until the victory was won.

The Lyrical Ballads afforded critical onslaught upon it and also ultimate triumph of Wordsworth. the most remarkable volumes that

excuse for the reasons for the It was one of

ever appeared.

It contained some of the best poetry of its respective

makers Lines Written above Tintern Abbey, by Wordsworth, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Coleridge. The bulk of the work, however, was the former poet's. Wordsworth's power and excellence lie in the beauty of his expression, in his wonderful description of natural scenery, and in the pantheism by which nature is sometimes interpreted, and which at its best moment "blazes in unmasked fire of rapture." Not all-nor even the greater part of his poetry is of high merit; it frequently drags and not seldom grovels. But at the best it is the equal of anything in English verse, save the unmatched glories of Shakespeare and Milton. Wordsworth wrote a great deal, chiefly in poetry. His chief works were the Lyrical Ballads, 1798, and a second edition (which was much enlarged and contained a valuable preface), 1800; Poems, four volumes, 1807; The Excursion, a blank verse philosophical poem, 1814; The White Doe of Rylstone, narrative, 1815; Sonnets, 1819-20; The Prelude or Growth of my own Mind, finished in 1805, but published posthumously. His long poems, such as The Excursion, while they contain many fine passages, are monotonous and hard to read through. In the opinion of most his greatest piece of work is the Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood. If we want to see Wordsworth at the height of his genius, we have only to read this passage—though it is scarcely fair to detach it: