Selected Poems of Sidney Lanier | Page 7

above-mentioned bust, the gift also of Mr. Charles
Lanier, was unveiled at the poet's birthplace, Macon, Ga., on October
17, 1890; on which occasion tender tributes*4* were again poured forth
in prose and verse, by Messrs. W. B. Hill, Hugh V. Washington,
Charles Lanier, Clifford Lanier, Wm. Hand Browne, Charles G. D.
Roberts, John B. Tabb, H. S. Edwards, Wm. H. Hayne, Charles W.
Hubner, Joel Chandler Harris, Charles Dudley Warner, and Daniel C.
Gilman. But more significant than these demonstrations, perhaps,
is
the steadily growing study devoted to Lanier's works.
Mr.
Higginson*5* tells us, for instance, that, when he wrote his tribute in
1887, Lanier's `Science of English Verse' had been put
upon the list
of Harvard books to be kept only a fortnight, and that, according to the
librarian, it was out "literally all the time." Moreover, it would not be
difficult to cite various poems
that have been more or less modeled
upon Lanier's; it is sufficient, perhaps, to point out that the marsh, a
theme almost unknown to poetry before Lanier immortalized it, is not
infrequently the subject of poetic treatment now, as in the works of
Charles G. D. Roberts,*6* Clinton Scollard,*7* and Maurice
Thompson.*8* It is noteworthy, too, that many of the younger poets of
the day, both in Canada and the United States, have sung Lanier's
praise. A complete list is given in the `Bibliography'. Still further, a
devoted admirer, Mrs. Lawrence Turnbull, of Baltimore, in `The
Catholic Man', has in the person of Paul, the poet, given us an
imaginative study of the character of Mr. Lanier. Finally, only a few
months ago the Chautauquans of the class of 1898 determined to call
themselves "The Laniers", in honor of
the poet and his brother.
--
*1* See the `Bibliography'.
*2* `Memorial', p. xi.
*3* Gilman's
`A Memorial of Sidney Lanier', pp. 5-6.
*4* Published in `The
Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution' of October 19, 1890. *5* See `The
Chautauquan', as cited in the `Bibliography'.
*6* See recent files of

`The Independent' (New York).
*7* See his `Pictures in Song' (New
York, 1884), pp. 45-49. *8* See his `Songs of Fair Weather' (Boston,
1883), pp. 27-28. --
II. Lanier's Prose Works
With this brief sketch of his life, let us turn to Lanier's works, and first
to those in prose. At the head of the list comes `Tiger-lilies', a novel
written within three weeks and published immediately thereafter, in
1867. Under the figure of "a strange, enormous, terrible flower," the
seed of which he hopes may perish beyond resurrection, the author
pictures the horror of war in general and of the Civil War in particular.
An entertaining love-story runs through the book, the plot of which
space does not allow me to detail. In execution the novel has grave
defects: it lacks unity; the characters talk as learnedly as Lanier
afterward wrote of music; and at times, as in the oft-quoted picture of
the war,*1* the style is grandiloquent; owing to which blemishes the
author wisely discouraged its republication. But, in spite of these
defects, the book has one very strongly put scene,*2* the interview

between Smallin and his deserter brother, and several beautiful
passages*3* that distinctly proclaim the high-souled poet.
--
*1* `Tiger-lilies', p. 115 ff.
*2* `Tiger-lilies', p. 149 ff.
*3*
That on "love" (p. 26) is quoted later.
--
Lanier's next publication, `Florida: Its Scenery, Climate, and History',
was written by commission of the Atlantic Coast Line, and appeared in
1876. To use the author's own epithet, `Florida' is "a spiritualized
guide-book".
Exclusive of the 1877 volume of `Poems', Lanier's next original work
was `The Science of English Verse', which in lecture-form
was
delivered to the students of the Johns Hopkins in the winter of 1879
and was published in 1880. According to competent critics, the book
gives as searching an investigation of the science of verse on its formal
side as is to be had in any language. Since the treatise is so evidently an
epoch-making one, I regret that the technicality of the subject forbids

my attempting in this connection even a brief exposition* of its
principles. I can say only that Lanier treats verse in the terms of music;
that, according to the promise of the preface, he gives
"an account of
the true relations of music and verse"; and that in so doing he has given
us the best working theory for English verse
from Caedmon to
Tennyson. This is a high estimate, but it is by no means so high as that
of the lamented poet-professor, Edmund Rowland Sill, who said of
`The Science of English Verse', "It is the only work that has ever made
any approach to a rational view of the subject. Nor are the standard
ones overlooked in making this assertion."**
--
* This may be found in Professor Tolman's article,
cited in the
`Bibliography'.
** Quoted by Tolman.
--
Lanier's second course of lectures at the Johns