Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart.
George Ellis to Walter Scott, 2 May 1808
“I have,” says Ellis, “been endeavouring to divest myself of those
prejudices to which the impression on my own palate would naturally give rise,
and to discover the sentiments of those who have only tasted the general
compound, after seeing the sweetmeats picked out by my comrades and myself. I
have severely questioned all my friends whose critical discernment I could
fairly trust, and mean to give you the honest result of their collective
opinions; for which reason, inasmuch as I shall have a good deal to say,
besides which, there seems to be a natural connexion between foolscap and
criticism, I have ventured on this expanse of paper. In the first place, then,
all the world are agreed that you are like the elephant mentioned in the Spectator, who was the greatest
elephant in the world except himself, and consequently, that the only question
at issue is, whether the Lay or
Marmion shall be reputed
the most pleasing poem in our language—save and except one or two of Dryden’s fables. But,
with respect to the two rivals, I think the Lay is,
on the whole, the greatest favourite. ![]()
| 144 | LIFE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. | |
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It is admitted that
the fable of Marmion is greatly superior—that it
contains a greater diversity of character—that it inspires more interest—and
that it is by no means inferior in point of poetical expression; but it is
contended that the incident of Deloraine’s journey to Melrose surpasses any thing in
Marmion, and that the personal appearance of the
Minstrel, who, though the last, is by far the most charming of all minstrels,
is by no means compensated by the idea of an author shorn of his picturesque
beard, deprived of his harp, and writing letters to his intimate friends. These
introductory epistles, indeed, though excellent in themselves, are in fact only
interruptions to the fable; and accordingly, nine out of ten have perused them
separately, either after or before the poem and it is obvious that they cannot
have produced, in either case, the effect which was proposed—viz., of relieving
the readers’ attention, and giving variety to the whole. Perhaps,
continue these critics, it would be fair to say that Marmion delights us in spite of its introductory epistles—while the
Lay owes its principal charm to the venerable old
minstrel: the two poems may be considered as equally respectable to the talents
of the author; but the first, being a more perfect whole, will be more
constantly preferred. Now, all this may be very true—but it is no less true
that every body has already read Marmion more than once—that it is the subject of general
conversation—that it delights all ages and all tastes, and that it is
universally allowed to improve upon a second reading. My own opinion is, that
both the productions are equally good in their different ways: yet, upon the
whole, I had rather be the author of Marmion than of
the Lay, because I think its species of excellence of
much more difficult attainment. What degree of bulk may be essentially
necessary to the corporeal part of an Epic poem, I know not; but ![]()
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sure I am that the story of Marmion might have furnished twelve books as easily as
six—that the masterly character of Constance would not have been less bewitching had it been much
more minutely painted—and that De Wilton
might have been dilated with great ease, and even to considerable advantage;—in
short, that had it been your intention merely to exhibit a spirited romantic
story, instead of making that story subservient to the delineation of the
manners which prevailed at a certain period of our history, the number and
variety of your characters would have suited any scale of painting. Marmion is to Deloraine what Tom Jones is
to Joseph Andrews the varnish of high
breeding nowhere diminishes the prominence of the features—and the minion of a
king is as light and sinewy a cavalier as the Borderer, rather less ferocious,
more wicked, less fit for the hero of a ballad, and far more for the hero of a
regular poem. On the whole, I can sincerely assure you, ‘sans phrase,’ that, had I seen Marmion without knowing the author, I should have
ranked it with Theodore and
Honoria, that is to say, on the very top shelf of English poetry.
Now for faults.” . . . . . . .
George Ellis (1753-1815)
English antiquary and critic, editor of
Specimens of Early English
Poets (1790), friend of Walter Scott.
The Spectator. (1711-1714). Essays from the
Spectator, conducted by Addison and Steele, were
collected in five volumes and frequently reprinted.
