DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61290#0097
ROSSETTI’S EARLY POEMS
73
Philistine, and after the April number the issue
was reluctantly given up ; but not until its pages
had glowed with the first fires, at least, of Rossetti’s
noblest poetic inspiration. Here first appeared
“ The Blessed Damozel,” for which we might surely
paraphrase the words of Holman Hunt on Millais,
and call it “ the most wonderful poem that any
youth still under twenty years of age ever did in
the world.” Here, too, were the lyric first-fruits of
his continental tour (if sonnets may, by elasticity
of definition, be included in lyric poetry), “ The
Carillon,” “From the Cliffs—Noon,” afterwards
called “ Sea-Limits,” “ Pax Vobis,” largely re-
written later and entitled “ World’s Worth,” and
the sonnets on “ A Virgin and Child,” “ A Marriage
of St. Katherine,” “ A Dance of Nymphs ” (from
Andrea Mantegna, in the Louvre), “A Venetian
Pastoral ” (from Giorgione, in the Louvre), and
Ruggiero and Angelica ” (from the picture by
Ingres).
Among other contents of “ The Germ ” and
“ Art and Poetry ” may be mentioned Ford Madox
Brown’s paper on “ The Structure of an Historical
Picture,” John Orchard’s “ Dialogue on Art,” and
Coventry Patmore’s “ Criticism of Macbeth.” Mr.
F. G. Stephens wrote under the pseudonym of
“ John Seward,” and the publication was edited by
W. M. Rossetti, then twenty years of age. Yet
one more poet remains in the list of contributors,
73
Philistine, and after the April number the issue
was reluctantly given up ; but not until its pages
had glowed with the first fires, at least, of Rossetti’s
noblest poetic inspiration. Here first appeared
“ The Blessed Damozel,” for which we might surely
paraphrase the words of Holman Hunt on Millais,
and call it “ the most wonderful poem that any
youth still under twenty years of age ever did in
the world.” Here, too, were the lyric first-fruits of
his continental tour (if sonnets may, by elasticity
of definition, be included in lyric poetry), “ The
Carillon,” “From the Cliffs—Noon,” afterwards
called “ Sea-Limits,” “ Pax Vobis,” largely re-
written later and entitled “ World’s Worth,” and
the sonnets on “ A Virgin and Child,” “ A Marriage
of St. Katherine,” “ A Dance of Nymphs ” (from
Andrea Mantegna, in the Louvre), “A Venetian
Pastoral ” (from Giorgione, in the Louvre), and
Ruggiero and Angelica ” (from the picture by
Ingres).
Among other contents of “ The Germ ” and
“ Art and Poetry ” may be mentioned Ford Madox
Brown’s paper on “ The Structure of an Historical
Picture,” John Orchard’s “ Dialogue on Art,” and
Coventry Patmore’s “ Criticism of Macbeth.” Mr.
F. G. Stephens wrote under the pseudonym of
“ John Seward,” and the publication was edited by
W. M. Rossetti, then twenty years of age. Yet
one more poet remains in the list of contributors,