The secular class includes the following:

Amatory songs. One of the best examples of these is Ben Jonson's "Drink to me only with thine eyes."

One kind of amatory song is called the madrigal, which is always short and in the iambic metre.

War songs, as,
National songs, as, "God save the Queen."
Political songs, as the "Marseillaise."

"Scots wha hae wi' Wallace bled."

Convivial songs, as, “Sparkling and bright.”
Domestic songs, as, "John Anderson, my Jo."

To these may be added satirical and humorous songs.
The religious class includes hymns, psalms, and canticles.
The hymn is a religious song.

The psalm is a hymn, but the term is restricted to those of the Bible, as the Psalms of David.

The canticle is a religious song without metre, including especially those of the New Testament, such as the "Magnificat."

2. The ode. This is a lyric poem, not designed for singing. It may express quiet thought or the most impassioned feeling; and while its structure is often simple, at other times it employs the most elaborate versification. Wordsworth's Cuckoo and Ode on Immortality exhibit the two extremes, both of form and sentiment.

3. The elegy. This is a poem devoted to mournful subjects, and has been called a memorial song of regret or lamentation. Milton's Lycidas and Gray's Elegy are well-known examples. Tennyson's In Memoriam is a collection of elegiac poems.

4. The sonnet. This is a poem of fourteen lines, in the iambic metre of five or five and a half feet, containing the unfolding of one thought or idea.

§ 600. DRAMATIC POETRY.

Dramatic poetry is devoted to tragedy and comedy.

Tragedy has been called the struggle of individuals against destiny; comedy, the portrayal of the ludicrous elements which enter into existence. These have already been considered at sufficient length.

The metre of dramatic poetry in English is the same as that which is employed in epic, namely, the heroic line, or the

iambic line of five or five and a half feet. Lyrical poetry enters largely into the drama, and tragedy and comedy are often intermingled. The lyrical drama is that kind of dramatic poetry which is designed to be sung with a musical accompaniment, as the Italian opera.

§ 601. DESCRIPTIVE POETRY.

Descriptive poetry consists chiefly of description, although narrative may be intermingled. Examples of this may be found in Thomson's Seasons, Cowper's Task, and Byron's Childe Harold.

§ 602. DIDACTIC POETRY.

Didactic poetry comprehends that which is written for the purpose of conveying instruction. It may be scientific, as the De Rerum Natura of Lucretius; philosophical, as the Excursion of Wordsworth; critical, as Pope's Essay on Criticism; moral or religious, as Young's Night Thoughts and Tennyson's In Memoriam.

§ 603. PASTORAL POETRY.

Pastoral poetry is devoted to the expression of tender sentiments, especially the amatory passion, intermingled with passages of description. These most frequently assume the form of dialogue. Theocritus is the father of pastoral poetry. The Bucolics of Virgil are familiar to every schoolboy. The best example in English literature is Allan Ramsay's Gentle Shepherd. The taste for this class of poetry is extinct at the present day.

§ 604. SATIRICAL POETRY.

Satirical poetry includes all which is devoted to purposes of satire, and has already been sufficiently discussed.

§ 605. HUMOROUS POETRY.

Humorous poetry includes all which is devoted to the ridiculous without satire.

§ 606. MANY POEMS SHARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SEVERAL

CLASSES.

There are many poems which cannot be assigned strictly to

any one of the above classes, but share the characteristics of several. Thus Childe Harold is descriptive and didactic, with a slight thread of narrative. In Memoriam is didactic and lyrical. The Princess is narrative and didactic. Maud is narrative and lyrical.

§ 607. NEW DEVELOPMENT IN VERSIFICATION.

The present age of English poetry has been distinguished for the development of its versification. Several metres, formerly used for lyrical purposes only, have been successfully applied to long narrative themes, such as the dactylic and trochaic by Longfellow in his Evangeline and Hiawatha, and the anapæstic by Tennyson in his Maud. In addition to this, new rhythmical effects have been introduced into lyrical poetry, with greater freedom and flexibility in the manipulation of syllables. In this pursuit Tennyson has led the way, and Swinburne has carried it farther than any other. These and others have disclosed fresh resources in our language, and their works indicate an advance into new departments of metrical harmony by which the poetry of the future will be enriched.

INDEX.

[The figures denote sections.]