HEAVEN AND EARTH: A MYSTERY. FOUNDED ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE IN GENESIS, CHAP. VI. "And it came to pass. . . that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." "And woman wailing for her demon lover."-COLERIDGE. INTRODUCTION TO HEAVEN AND EARTH. THE composition of "Cain" fixed Lord Byron's mind upon the early scripture history, and in the following month (October, 1821) a second subject from the same source suggested "Heaven and Earth." "Enclosed," he wrote to Mr. Murray, "is a lyrical drama. You will find it pious enough, I trust; at least some of the chorus might have been written by Sternhold and Hopkins themselves for that, and perhaps for melody. As it is longer, and more lyrical and Greek, than I intended at first, I have not divided it into acts, but called what I have sent Part I., as there is a suspension of the action; which may either close there without impropriety, or be continued in a way that I have in view. I wish the first part to be published before the second, because if it don't succeed, it is better to stop there than to go on in a fruitless experiment." "Heaven and Earth" was revised by Mr. Gifford, and immediately printed, but remained unpublished till it appeared (1822) in the second number of "The Liberal." Though received with favour by the critics, and replete with the richest language, harmony, and feeling, its beauties, on the whole, were too severe to dazzle the meretricious minds of the public, and the poet was not encouraged to complete his plan. An attempt was made to set upon it the brand of profanity with very short-lived success. Japhet speaks of the ultimate redemption of the demons themselves, and there are one or two other questionable opinions, but the general sentiments and the entire tone are in the highest strain of sacred solemnity. The verse from Genesis, on which the piece is founded, properly signifies that holy men ("The sons of God") were beguiled by the beauty of unbelieving women ("the daughters of men") into corrupting marriages. The exploded notion that the " sons of God" were angels, is revolting to reverence; yet the passion, lofty if unhallowed, of the seraphs and the earthly maidens, is represented here with such wonderful refinement, and is made so entirely subservient to the terrible catastrophe which ensues, that the objection is scarcely felt. The obvious idea would have been to describe the thoughtless and unmeasured riot of the world before the flood; Lord Byron, rejecting from his picture the slaves of vulgar license, has adopted a more chaste and original conception. He selects two sisters, Aholibamah and Anah—the first haughty and imperious, the second gentle and submissive, both beautiful and winning,—and flings over their aspirations a sombre tint, which we feel from the outset will continue to deepen till it becomes their pall. The direct prophecies of the approaching deluge which succeed, breathe the grandeur of desolation; and the lyrical chants, in which the larger portion is conveyed, are most musical and melancholy, though here and there the verse is out of tune and harsh. Japhet, at the close, sinks below his lineage, and his repining for Anah amounts to rebellion; while Anah herself is gifted with a spirit so bright and lovely, so tender and devout, that she was fitter to have found a refuge in the ark than a tomb in the waves. HEAVEN AND EARTH.' PART I. SCENE I.-A woody and mountainous district near Mount Ararat,- Enter ANAH and AHOLIBAMAH. Anah. OUR father sleeps: it is the hour when they Who love us are accustom'd to descend Through the deep clouds o'er rocky Ararat :- How my heart beats! 1 [This poem carries with it the peculiar impress of the writer's genius. It displays great vigour, and even a severity of style, throughout; which is another proof, if proof were needed, that elevation of writing is to be obtained only by a rigid regard to simplicity. Lord Byron has evidently endeavoured to sustain the interest of this poem, by depicting natural but deep drawn thoughts, in all their freshness and intensity, with as little fictitious aid as possible. Nothing is circumlocutory: there is no going about and about to enter at length upon his object, but he impetuously rushes into it at once. All over the poem there is a gloom cast suitable to the subject an ominous fearful hue, like that which Poussin has flung over his inimitable picture of the Deluge. We see much evil, but we dread more. All is out of earthly keeping, as the events of the time are out of the course of nature. That it has faults is obvious: prosaic passages and too much tedious soliloquising: but there is much of the sublime in description, and the beautiful in poetry, and while true poetical feeling exists amongst us, it will be pronounced not unworthy of its distinguished author.-CAMPBELL. It appears that this is but the first part of a poem; but it is likewise a poem, and a fine one too, within itself. We confess that we see little or nothing objectionable in it, either as to theological orthodoxy, or general human feeling. It is solemn, lofty, fearful, wild, tumultuous, and shadowed all over with the darkness of a dreadful disaster. Of the angels who love the daughters of men we see little, and know less and not too much of the love and passion of the fair lost mortals. The inconsolable despair preceding and accompanying an incomprehensible catastrophe, pervades the whole composition; and its expression is made sublime by the noble strain of poetry in which it is said or sung.-WILSON.] |