THE EPIC OF HADES.
BOOK II.[*]
"Fresh, picturesque, and by no means deficient in intensity; but the most conspicuous merits of the author are the judgment and moderation with which his poem is designed, his self-possession within his prescribed limits, and the unfailing elegance of his composition, which shrinks from obscurity, exuberance, and rash or painful effort as religiously as many recent poets seem to cultivate such interesting blemishes.... Perhaps the fine bursts of music in Marsyas, and the varied emotions portrayed in Andromeda, are less characteristic of the author than the prompt, yet graceful, manner in which he passes from one figure to another.... Fourteen of these pieces written in blank verse which bears comparison with the very best models make up a thoroughly enjoyable little volume...."—Pall Mall Gazette, March 10th, 1876.
[*]Book II. was issued as a separate volume prior to the publication of Books I. and III. and of the complete work.
"It is natural that the favourable reception given to his 'Songs of Two Worlds' should have led the author to continue his poetical exercises, and it is, no doubt, a true instinct which has led him to tread the classic paths of song. In his choice of subject he has not shrunk from venturing on ground occupied by at least two Victorian poets. In neither case need he shrink from comparison. His Marsyas is full of fine fancy and vivid description. His Andromeda has to us one recommendation denied to Kingsley's—a more congenial metre; another is its unstrained and natural narrative."—Saturday Review, May 20th, 1876.
"In his enterprise of connecting the Greek myth with the high and wider meaning which Christian sentiment naturally finds for it, his success has been great. The passage in which Apollo's victory over Marsyas and its effect are described is full of exquisite beauty. It is almost as fine as verse on such a subject could be.... The little volume is delightful reading. From the first line to the last, the high and delicate aroma of purity breathes through the various spiritual fables."—Spectator, May 27th, 1876.
"The blank verse is stately, yet sweet, free, graceful, and never undignified. We confidently believe that our readers will agree with us in regarding this as one of the finest and most suggestive poems recently published. We trust to have, ere long, more poetic work from his hand."—British Quarterly Review, April 1st, 1876.
"The writer has shown himself more critical than his friends, and the result is a gradual, steady progress in power, which we frankly acknowledge.... This long passage studded with graces."—Academy, April 29th, 1876.
BOOKS I. and III. and the COMPLETE WORK.
"In one sense the idea of his Epic is not only ambitious, but audacious, for it necessarily awakens reminiscences of Dante. Not unfrequently he is charmingly pathetic, as in his Helen and Psyche. There is considerable force and no small imagination in the description of some of the tortures in the 'Tartarus.' There is genuine poetical feeling in the 'Olympus.'... We might invite attention to many other passages. But it is more easy to give honest general praise than to single out particular extracts."—Times, February 9th, 1877.
"The whole of this last portion of the poem is exceedingly beautiful.... Nor will any, except critics of limited view, fail to recognize in the Epic a distinct addition to their store of those companions of whom we never grow tired."—Athenæum, March 3rd, 1877.
"We believe that the Epic will approve itself to students as one of the most considerable and original feats of recent English poetry."—Saturday Review, March 31st, 1877.
"Thought, fancy, music, and penetrating sympathy we have here, and that radiant, unnamable suggestive delicacy which enhances the attraction with each new reading."—British Quarterly Review, April, 1877.
"The present work is by far his greatest achievement; the whole tone of it is noble, and portions, more especially the concluding lines, are excessively beautiful."—Westminster Review, April, 1877.
"The work is one of which any singer might justly be proud. In fact, the Epic is in every way a remarkable poem, which to be appreciated must not only be read, but studied."—Graphic, March 10th, 1877.
"We do not hesitate to advance it as our opinion that 'The Epic of Hades' will enjoy the privilege of being classed amongst the poems in the English language which will live."—Civil Service Gazette, March 17th, 1877.
"Exquisite beauty of melodious verse.... A remarkable poem, both in conception and execution. We sincerely wish for the author a complete literary success."—Literary World, March 30th, 1877.
"Will live as a poem of permanent power and charm. It will receive high appreciation from all who can enter into its meaning, for its graphic and liquid pictures of external beauty, the depth and truth of its purgatorial ideas, and the ardour, tenderness, and exaltation of its spiritual life."—Spectator, May 5th, 1877.
"I have lately been reading a poem which has interested me very much, a poem called 'The Epic of Hades.' Many of you may never have heard of it; most of you may never have seen it. It is, as I view it, another gem added to the wealth of the poetry of our language."—Mr. Bright's speech on Cobden, at Bradford, July 25th, 1877.
"In the blank verse of the 'Epic of Hades,' apt words are so simply arranged with unbroken melody, that if the work were printed as prose, it would remain a song, and every word would still be where the sense required it; not one is set in a wrong place through stress of need for a mechanical help to the music. The poem has its sound mind housed in a sound body."—Professor Morley in the Nineteenth Century, February, 1878.
"I have read the 'Epic of Hades,' and find it truly charming. Its pictures will long remain with me, and the music of its words."—Oliver Wendell Holmes, April, 1884.