NOTE THE year 1849 was a notable one in Lowell's life, and it may not unfairly be said in American literature, since it saw the publication of three such varied and enduring works as The Vision of Sir Launfal, The Biglow Papers, and A Fable for Critics. His idealism and romantic passion and his moral earnestness all find expression in the first of these poems, and the second shows the moral earnestness of the first and the wit of the third, while the third involves also that penetration and critical insight which later made his prose essays such admirable accompaniments to the writings they discuss. Indignation at a great national errancy prompted the satire and shrewd political sense of The Biglow Papers and supplied that moral ardor without which satire crumbles into petty malice. The war for the Union brought an opportunity for a second series of Biglow Papers, but though the wit and humor were still there, more than once the flame of a great passion burnt with a scorching heat which left tears and not laughter in the voice. When the author of these homely diatribes was called on to commemorate the heroes of the war and to join with his fellow scholars in honoring the men whom the University had sent to die in a cause whose failure would have meant the loss of what makes scholarship a joy, he used a loftier strain and took a wider range of song. The Ode which crowns Lowell's poetic career will long be read and recited for its impassioned note, not of scorn for dishonor but of high praise for great human ideals. The three poems thus included show Lowell not indeed in the whole range of his poetic activity but in the most impressive and most characteristic manifestations. A poet of so spontaneous a nature is sure to break out unexpectedly in his song, so that to know Lowell really well one needs to acquaint himself with all that has been gathered; but surely his fine sentiment, his shrewd wit, and his noble ideals are discoverable in this little volume. The introductory notes are drawn mainly from references to the poems which occur in the poet's correspondence. |