Longfellow's
poems as yet were very few, printed in literary journals, and not yet
signalizing his genius. It was the day when Percival Halleck, Sprague,
Dana, Willis, Bryant, were the undisputed lords of the American
Parnassus. But the school reading-books already contained "An April Day"
and "Woods in Winter," and all the verses of the young author had a
recognition in volumes of elegant extracts and commonplace-books. But
the universal popularity of Longfellow was not established until the
publication of "Hyperion" in 1839, followed by "The Voices of the Night"
in the next year. With these two works his name arose to the highest
popularity, both in America and England; and no living author has been
more perpetually reproduced in all forms and with every decoration.
If now we care to explain the eager and affectionate welcome which
always hails his writings, it is easy to see to what general quality
that greeting must be ascribed. As with Walter Scott, or Victor Hugo, or
Beranger, or Dickens, or Addison in the "Spectator," or Washington
Irving, it is a genial humanity. It is a quality, in all these
instances, independent of literary art and of genius, but which is made
known to others, and therefore becomes possible to be recognized, only
through literary forms.
Pages:
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320