That none can pierce the vast black veil uncertain
Because there is no light beyond the curtain;
That all is vanity and nothingness."
A poet whom one names with peculiar reverence is Thomas Aubrey de Vere1814-, the son of Sir Aubrey de Vere, who was also a poet. Aubrey de Vere, the younger, knew and loved Wordsworth, to whom in 1842 he dedicated "The Waldenses: A Lyrical Tale," and yet retains, sixty years later, the most sympathetic interest in modern literary effort. Mr de Vere is an Irishman, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He has written many volumes of poetry and prose, his dramatic poems "Alexander the Great" and "St Thomas of Canterbury" having, no doubt, been largely inspired by the successes of his friend and relative, Sir Henry Taylor, and by his father's brilliant drama, "Mary Tudor." One of his most recent books was a volume of critical essays containing a notable study of Wordsworth.
Irishmen have been fairly conspicuous in the poetry of the epoch, and the term "Celtic Renaissance" has begun to be used hopefully by lovers of Ireland who desire that country to have a literature as distinctly Irish as Scotland has a literature definitely Scottish. Thomas Moore1779-1852 was the pioneer of this movement. He had, it is true, done all his work before the Queen came to the throne, although he lived yet another fifteen years. His "Irish Melodies" began to appear in 1807, "Lalla Rookh" was published in 1817, and the "Life of Byron" in 1830. Moore was as much an inspiration to modern Ireland as Burns to modern Scotland, and the one country holds the name of its poet as reverentially in memory as does the other. Moore, however, lacked the note of passionate sincerity which pertained to Burns; although we may fairly ask what would have been the career of Burns had he been thrown early into the literary and social life of London—the London of Byron's time.
The influence of Moore was strong in Thomas Davis1814-1845 whose "National and Historical Ballads, Songs and Poems" caused so great a ferment in the heart of Young Ireland. Many other Irish writers deserve to be named, such as James Clarence Mangan (1803-1849), Sir Samuel Ferguson (1810-1886), Lady Dufferin (1807-1867) and John Banim (1798-1842), who wrote, in conjunction with his brother Michael, some twenty-four volumes of Irish stories and verses. Samuel Lover1797-1868 is best known in England by his romance "Rory O'More" and his ever popular "Handy Andy," but in Ireland he is remembered as a writer of lyrics and ballads of heart-stirring character.
An Irishman by descent, although not by birth, was Edward FitzGerald1809-1883, who was born in Suffolk and lived all his life in the neighbourhood of Woodbridge in that county. FitzGerald's "Letters and Literary Remains" fill three substantial volumes, but he lives for us by his translation or rather paraphrase of the "Rubáyát of Omar Khayyám of Naishápur," which first appeared in 1859. It is generally agreed that FitzGerald, a nineteenth century pagan, always reverently questioning the mystery of existence, superadded his own personal thoughts and feelings to the verses of the old Persian singer. In doing this he touched deeply a certain aspect of the second half of the nineteenth century and founded a cult. FitzGerald's verses, however, have been ardently admired by many who are far from accepting their pessimist view of life.
Hartley Coleridge1796-1849 wrote and published his admirable sonnets before 1837. He was a son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), whose literary remains were edited by Henry Nelson Coleridge, a nephew and son-in-law. H. N. Coleridge married the great poet's only daughter, Sara Coleridge1803-1852, who wrote one poem, "Phantasmion," and whose letters throw much light on an important chapter of literary history.
Bryan Waller Procter1787-1874, better known as "Barry Cornwall," was at school with Lord Byron at Harrow. His "Dramatic Scenes," "Marcian Colonna," and "Mirandola" were much talked of in their day. Procter was admired as a poet by Byron, Moore, and other famous contemporaries, but no one reads him now. A happier fate has befallen his daughter, Adelaide Anne Procter1825-1864, whose "Legends and Lyrics" are still widely popular.