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MEii'VTLLE. Battle Pieces and Aspects otthe War. By HermanyMeivilie. New York: Harper Brothers. 12mo., pp.272.*Much like Milton’s image of sin, this book, by the author of certain voluptuous and corrupting novels, begins with many fair and well-constructed patriotic verses, but ends in a prose supplementwhich might have served for the Address of the late Convention of shamUnionists, which met two weeks ago in our city. Mr. Melville has come out as the poet-advocate of the new party, and iB putting into verse the lessons of sucheminent patriots and pure-minded menas ThurJow Weed, H, J. Raymond, and Andrew Johnson, He probably expects a Consulship on some of the South SeaIslands hot yet reached by missionary influence, as a reward.Mr, Melville’s poetry is readable, often elegant; sometimes almost' Browning-like in ingenuity, though never hopelessly intricate in thought; it is an addition to our lyrics of the war. Butthere is an affectation of neutrality about the book as a whole, a want of moral earnestness and conviction, that detracts from its value. It is neither good poetry nor good politics It is an attempt to combine pure art with very impure political designs, and it must* fairly be written down a failure. The people will never give it a place by the firm trumpet tones of Boker, although the poetry in and of itself may, in many respects, be just as meritorious.
Newspaper Details
Philadelphia American Presbyterian
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Thu, Aug 30, 1866
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Scott N.
USA 17 Dec 2019
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