English Literature in the Nineteenth Century by Laurie MagnusReview by: G. E. HadowThe Modern Language Review, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul., 1910), pp. 376-377Published by: Modern Humanities Research AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3713378 .

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Reviews

English Literature in the Nineteenth Century. By LAURIE MAGNUS. London: Andrew Melrose. 1909. 8vo. 418 pp.

Critics of literature belong to one of two classes; in Mr Magnus's words, either they are 'commentators, not creators,' or they affect 'for art what art itself affects for nature, a new medium of interpretation.' To the latter class of creative critics belong such teachers as Coleridge and Hegel, men whose words have come as a revelation, who have given their hearers a vision not only of the thought of this poet or of that, but of life itself, who have laid down laws of general application and universal interest. Such men share to no small extent the poetic gift of those whose work they are analysing, they rank with the pro- phets and see, when the eyes of common men are holden. Mr Magnus lays no claim to a place among these seers of criticism; his object is to provide a sketch map of nineteenth century literature, a guide which the beginner will find of real assistance, which will point out the principal landmarks and show the great highways, and in this he has succeeded admirably. He has dealt clearly and succinctly with a difficult and complex period, and his book will prove extremely helpful to those who wish for some introduction to nineteenth century prose and poetry. Its criticisms are not profound, and it has an occasional flippancy of style which jars-to speak of Leigh Hunt as the 'cock of the Cockneys,' or to refer to De Quincey's less happy witticisms as 'stuffed Lamb' is to descend to the level of the comic paper-but it does not profess to appeal to scholars, it aims at initiating readers into the methods of the great authors of the last century. Mr Magnus remarks with some naivety that he has criticised no book which he has not read, and this possibly accounts for the somewhat cursory treatment of certain authors. He is not attempting, as he says, to write a history of literature, and he has therefore a perfect right to omit any works which do not illustrate the particular points which he wishes to make; but it seems hardly worth while to mention Peacock at all, if he is to be dismissed in half a page, with no reference to Nightmare Abbey, or Gryll Grange, or Maid Marian; and we fail to see what light is thrown upon Rogers's place in literature by the unadorned statement 'that he was a banker by trade, and a kindly host in middle life to younger men.' There are too many strings of names; the section devoted to 'the Higher Journalism' consists of little else. But it is an ungrateful task to dwell upon the blemishes in a book which has so much to recommend it. Mr Magnus has the teacher's gift of making a complex subject clear without making it dull. His comparison of Ainsworth with Scott sums up tersely and vigorously the essential difference between them as historical novelists: Ainsworth's are 'novels with a historical background, not history re- incarnated in romance.' His treatment of Charles Lamb is sympathetic and appreciative, and a single sentence suggests the strength and weakness of Macaulay: 'He had a genius for generalisation, for bird's- eye views of tracts of territory, and sometimes employed this faculty to prove conclusions not supported by the ordnance survey.' The

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author's analysis of the verse of Tennyson and Swinburne draws attention to an interesting subject, though unfortunately he cannot stay to work it out fully. The book is furnished with excellent chronological tables showing what authors were contemporaries, and also what great movements in scientific and religious thought were taking place.

G. E. HADOW. CIRENCESTER.

The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue. By H. C. WYLD. London:

Murray. 1906. 8vo. ix + 412 pp. The Growth of English. By H. C. WYLD. London: Murray. 1907.

8vo. viii + 199 pp. The first of these works, The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue,

is certainly one of the most important contributions of recent years to the study of English. In fact it represents what is probably the clearest and most practical introduction to the higher reaches of the subject that has yet been written, and it should do much in the way of setting the study on a more intelligent basis. Within the last thirty years or so the scientific study of English has made rapid and sound progress- at least in the hands of the pioneers. The importance of the bearing of

phonetics on the formal side of language, and of psychology on the

logical side, has received increasing attention, while a vast number of invaluable facts has been collected from old texts, decaying dialects and the spoken language of to-day. Yet in spite of all this positive advance, it has to be confessed that the subject remains far from satisfactory, from the point of view of academic study; and as for the plain man, it strikes him either as an awful mystery to which the Germans somehow have the key, or else as a collection of dogmatic statements which he as an Englishman is bound to accept. If any one cause more than another may be adduced for this state of things, it is that the methods pursued by investigators and the general principles underlying those methods, have not hitherto been clearly set out. In concerning itself

primarily with masses of unrelated, and often unexplained, facts, and

neglecting that training in systematic method without which those facts are more or less futile, the study of English has thus been robbed not only of much of its interest, but, what is more important, of much of its educational value.

It is therefore because Professor Wyld seeks to remedy this state of affairs by deliberately concentrating upon philological method as applied to English study, that his work seems to be of such outstanding value and promises to be so extremely useful to teacher and student alike. The methods and principles presented, are those which have been evolved by earlier workers, both English and German; and the bringing together of this mass of information, otherwise not easily accessible nor

author's analysis of the verse of Tennyson and Swinburne draws attention to an interesting subject, though unfortunately he cannot stay to work it out fully. The book is furnished with excellent chronological tables showing what authors were contemporaries, and also what great movements in scientific and religious thought were taking place.

G. E. HADOW. CIRENCESTER.

The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue. By H. C. WYLD. London:

Murray. 1906. 8vo. ix + 412 pp. The Growth of English. By H. C. WYLD. London: Murray. 1907.

8vo. viii + 199 pp. The first of these works, The Historical Study of the Mother Tongue,

is certainly one of the most important contributions of recent years to the study of English. In fact it represents what is probably the clearest and most practical introduction to the higher reaches of the subject that has yet been written, and it should do much in the way of setting the study on a more intelligent basis. Within the last thirty years or so the scientific study of English has made rapid and sound progress- at least in the hands of the pioneers. The importance of the bearing of

phonetics on the formal side of language, and of psychology on the

logical side, has received increasing attention, while a vast number of invaluable facts has been collected from old texts, decaying dialects and the spoken language of to-day. Yet in spite of all this positive advance, it has to be confessed that the subject remains far from satisfactory, from the point of view of academic study; and as for the plain man, it strikes him either as an awful mystery to which the Germans somehow have the key, or else as a collection of dogmatic statements which he as an Englishman is bound to accept. If any one cause more than another may be adduced for this state of things, it is that the methods pursued by investigators and the general principles underlying those methods, have not hitherto been clearly set out. In concerning itself

primarily with masses of unrelated, and often unexplained, facts, and

neglecting that training in systematic method without which those facts are more or less futile, the study of English has thus been robbed not only of much of its interest, but, what is more important, of much of its educational value.

It is therefore because Professor Wyld seeks to remedy this state of affairs by deliberately concentrating upon philological method as applied to English study, that his work seems to be of such outstanding value and promises to be so extremely useful to teacher and student alike. The methods and principles presented, are those which have been evolved by earlier workers, both English and German; and the bringing together of this mass of information, otherwise not easily accessible nor

Reviews Reviews 377 377

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