Word: byronical
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...with a feeling of great humility that I venture to express myself on the subject of Byron's dramas, and to beg my readers' forgiveness for differing in some points from Mr. Taine. I mention Mr. Taine, as his works have already assumed a very high position, and are probably among the most generally read histories of English literature. Byron is one of the few for whom Mr. Taine does not find a superior or even an equal in French literature, and is called by him, with genuine feeling, "le plus grand des artistes Anglais...
...tragedy which Mr. Taine particularly dwells on as a masterpiece of Byron's productions is "Manfred"; he even likens it to Goethe's "Faust." It is, however, fortunate for the poet, that he mentions his having heard "Faust" but once, or he might be accused of plagiarism. And yet "Manfred" is not an English idea; its conception is foreign to the spirit of English poetry, and like "Werner," which we know to be an imitation, shows its German origin. Manfred has, like Faust, control over the spirit-world; like Faust, he summons them to do his bidding; but their efforts...
Compare these with his more thoroughly original work, and though I yield a place to "Manfred," his imitations sink into insignificance. "Sardanapalus" can vie in many points with "Manfred." In the one a remorseful, despairing man speaks; in the other, an Eastern voluptuary. Though Byron excels in both, - and it may be objected that the comparison is not fair, - yet Sardanapalus, his own creation, allows him a latitude of development which Manfred does not. In "Manfred" there is no woman. "Sardanapalus," on the contrary, has one of the fairest types of Byronic poetry. Here his true spirit shows itself; that...
...Heaven and Earth" and "Cain," again, seem to me truer expressions of Byron's ideas than Manfred. There is that peculiar irreverence in both, especially in "Cain," with which he was so often stigmatized. They both abound in fine verses, both show deep thought. "Cain," I believe, develops some peculiar ideas on religion, some very fair reasoning, and curious statements, which, amongst all the grand imagery and marked characters, are apt to somewhat disturb the mind of a cursory reader. The object of these remarks is to suggest that Mr. Taine, in doing Byron's "Manfred" full justice, might have...
...from quarter-deck, we weigh anchor (4000 lbs., more or less). We lend a hand, which is blistered. Observe mysterious stranger sorting papers in the shadow of a warehouse. Freshman fires, does not drop his man, - no cap, and proper position of cartridge reversed. Our native land, good night! (Byron...