INTRODUCTION.

1. Poetry [from poet, L. poeta, Gr. poiētēs, a maker-poieō, to make] is the art which has for its object the creation of intellectual pleasure by means of imaginative and passionate language, which is generally, though not necessarily, rhythmical, or marked by a regularly recurring accent or beat.

Note. That which is really poetry often finds expression in prose, e.g. the Book of Job is decidedly poetical in substance, though it is prosaic in form; and many of our so-called prose writers are often as richly imaginative as poets by profession, inasmuch as the essence of poetry lies rather in the adornment of the thoughts expressed than in the form of the composition.

2. Poetry may be considered either (a) with reference to the subject treated of and the mode of treatment, or (b) with reference to the rhythm or measure used in the poem.

(a) POETRY WITH REFERENCE TO THE SUBJECT AND MODE of TREATMENT.

3. Poetry is either subjective or objective.

(i.) Subjective, when the content of the poem is drawn from the poet himself (the subject); or in other words, where the poet directly expresses his own emotions.

(ii.) Objective, when the poet is dealing with matters outside of himself, and his own emotions are for the most part kept entirely out of view.

4. According to the subject, and the relation which the poet holds to his productions, poetry falls into the following fundamental tripartite division:

(i.) Lyric (subjective).—In this branch, the poet's own mind
and feelings are set forth. Lyric poetry was originally
accompanied by the music of the lyre (hence its name).
(ii.) Epic (objective).—In this branch, the poet narrates a story
the events of which may be wholly real, or partly real and
partly fictitious, or wholly fictitious. Here the object is

considered as past; i.e. what is happening, as having happened. [Gr. epos, a song; eipon, to speak.]

(iii.) Dramatic (objective).-In this branch, the poet represents a picture of human life, in which the object is considered as present; i.e. what has happened, as happening. [Gr. drama, draō, to do.]

5. Lyric poetry is distinguished from epic poetry, inasmuch as the characteristic of the latter is a series of actions and characters as contemplated and exhibited by the poet; and from dramatic poetry, where action and character predominate, independent of the individual emotion of the poet.

Note 1.-As it is very seldom that a poem is wholly lyric or epic in sentiment, it is classed according to which element prevails.

Note 2.-Lyric pieces from their nature are shorter than epics. 6. Lyric poetry includes:—

(i.) The Song; which strictly is a poem to be sung or uttered with musical modulations.

(ii.) The Sonnet (literally a short song); which is a poem consisting of fourteen lines. For its peculiar construction, see p. 12. [It. sonetto, dim. of suono, a song.]

(iii.) The Ode; which is a short poem, proper to be set to music or sung. The ode is of the greater or less kind; the less is characterized by sweetness and ease; the greater by sublimity, rapture, and quickness of transition. [Gr. ōdē, contracted from aoidē-aeidō, to sing.]

(iv.) The Elegy; which is a poem mournful or plaintive in character, expressive of sorrow and lamentation. [Gr. elegos, a lament.]

(v.) The Dirge; which is a funeral song or hymn similar to the elegy in sentiment. [Contracted from dirige, the first word of a Latin funeral hymn; from dirigo, to direct.]

(vi.) The Hymn; which among Christians is a short poem, composed for religious service, or a song of joy and praise to God. The word primarily expresses the tune, but it is now used for the ode or poem. [Gr. hymnos, a song.] 7. Epic poetry includes :

:

(i.) The Ballad (literally a dance song). This poem was originally a song which accompanied dancing; it now denotes a short narrative poem or popular song. [Fr. ballade, from baller, to dance.]

(ii.) The Idyll (literally a little image). This poem was originally restricted to pastoral subjects, but it now refers to a greater variety, its chief essential being a complete picture presented in a small compass. [Gr. eidyllion, dim. of eidos, image.] (iii.) The Eclogue (literally a select poem). This poem is short, highly finished, and principally of a pastoral nature. It is thus similar to the idyll in character. [Gr. eklogē―ek, out, and lego, to choose.]

(iv.) The Pastoral. This poem professes to delineate the scenery and life of the country, or "a pastoral is a poem in which any action or passion is represented by its effects on a country life." Rambler.

8. Epic poems may be classed as major and minor. The former are also called heroics, such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Eneid, in which the achievements of gods and heroes are described. Paradise Lost is an example of a sacred epic. Amongst the minor epics are the ballad, the idyll, the pastoral, &c.

(i.) Tragedy, which is a composition in dialogue, in which the deeper and stronger passions of man are displayed in the course of the action represented as proceeding, and in which the issue is generally disastrous to one or more of the chief personages represented. [Gr. tragos, a he-goat; acido, to sing. It owes its name either to the fact that in ancient Greece the performance of the oldest tragedies was accompanied by the sacrifice of a goat, or because a goat was the prize awarded for the best tragedy, or because the actors were clad in goat-skins.]

(ii.) Comedy, which is a composition in dialogue intended to represent the lighter passions and actions of mankind. Its design is amusement, and the plot usually has a happy termination. [Gr. kōmē, a village; acidō, to sing.]

Note.—Among the ancient Greeks, tragic actors wore a highheeled boot called the cothurnus or buskin; whilst comic actors strolled about from village to village, and wore a low-heeled shoe called the soccus or sock.

Cf. "Or what, though rare, of later age

Ennobled hath the buskin'd stage.”—ll Penseroso.

Cf. "Then to the well-trod stage anon,

If Jonson's learned sock be on.”—L'Allegro.