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ENGLISH LITERATURE

BY H. A. TAINE, D.C. L.

Translated from the French by H. Van Laun
One of the Masters at the Edinburgh Academy

ILLUSTRATED WITH 25 PORTRAITS, PHOTOGRAVURES ON STEEL

VOLUME IV.

London

CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1890

CONTENTS.

L

II.

III.

BOOK IV.-MODERN LIFE.

CHAPTER II.

Lord Byron.

The Man-Family-Impassioned character-Pre-

cocious loves-Life of excess-Combative charac-

ter-Revolt against opinion-English Bards

and Scotch Reviewers-Bravado and rashness-

Marriage-Extravagance of adverse opinion-

Departure-Political life in Italy-Sorrows and

The poet-Reasons for writing-Manner of writing
-How his poetry is personal-Classical taste-
How this gift served him-Childe Harold-The
hero-The scenery-The style

His short poems-Oratorical manner-Melodramatic

effects-Truth of his descriptions of scenery—

Sincerity of sentiments-Pictures of sad and

extreme emotions-Dominant idea of death and

despair-Mazeppa, The Prisoner of Chillon, The

Siege of Corinth, The Corsair, Lara-Analogy of

this conception with the Edda and Shakspeare-

Darkness

PAGE

1

13

22

.

IV. Manfred-Comparison of Manfred and Faust-Con-

ception of legend and life in Goethe-Symbolical

and philosophical character of Faust-Wherein

Byron is inferior to Goethe-Wherein he is

superior-Conception of character and action in

Byron-Dramatic character of his poem-Con-

trast between the universal and the personal

poet

Scandal in England-Constraint and hypocrisy of

manners-How and by what law moral con-

ceptions vary-Life and morals of the south-

Beppo-Don Juan-Transformation of Byron's

talent and style-Picture of sensuous beauty and

happiness-Haidée-How he combats British

cant-Human hypocrisy-His idea of man-Of

woman-Donna Julia-The shipwreck-The

capture of Ismail-Naturalness and variety of

his style-Excess and wearing out of his poetic

vein-His drama-Departure for Greece, and

death.

vi. Position of Byron in his age-Disease of the age-

Divine conceptions of happiness and life-The

conception of such happiness by literature-By

the sciences-Future stability of reason-Modern

conception of nature

PAGE

34

47

65

CHAPTER III.

The Past and the Present.

$ 1.

The past-The Saxon invasion-How it established

the race and determined the character-The

Norman Conquest-How it modified the charac-

ter and established the Constitution

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