PREFACE TO THE FIFTH VOLUME.
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he plays and poems contained in this volume were written within thespace of two years--the last two years of Byron's career as a poet. Butthat was not all. Cantos VI.-XV. of _Don Juan_, _The Vision ofJudgment_, _The Blues_, _The Irish Avatar_, and other minor poems,belong to the same period. The end was near, and, as though he hadreceived a warning, he hastened to make the roll complete. Proof is impossible, but the impression remains that the greater part ofthis volume has been passed over and left unread by at least twogenerations of readers. Old play-goers recall Macready as "Werner," andmany persons have read _Cain_; but apart from students of literature,readers of _Sardanapalus_ and of _The Two Foscari_ are rare; of _The Ageof Bronze_ and _The Island_ rarer still. A few of Byron's later poemshave shared the fate of Southey's epics; and, yet, with something ofSouthey's persistence, Byron believed that posterity would weigh his"regular dramas" in a fresh balance, and that his heedless criticswould kick the beam. But "can these bones live"? Can dramas whichexcited the wondering admiration of Goethe and Lamartine and Sir WalterScott touch or lay hold of the more adventurous reader of the presentday? It is certain that even the half-forgotten works of a great andstill popular poet, which have left their mark on the creativeimagination of the poets and playwrights of three quarters of a century,will always be studied by the few from motives of curiosity, or forpurposes of reference; but it is improbable, though not impossible, thatin the revolution of taste and sentiment, moribund or extinct poetrywill be born again into the land of the living. Poetry which has neverhad its day, such as Blake's _Songs of Innocence_, the _LyricalBallads_, or Fitzgerald's _Omar Khayyam_, may come, in due time, to berecognized at its full worth; but it is a harder matter for a poem whichhas lost its vogue to recapture the interest and enthusiasm of the many. Byron is only an instance in point. Bygone poetry has little or noattraction for modern readers. This poem or that drama may be referredto, and occasionally examined in the interests of general culture, or insupport of a particular belief or line of conduct, as a classical orquasi-scriptural authority; but, with the rarest exceptions, plays andnarrative poems are not read spontaneously or with any genuinesatisfaction or delight. An old-world poem which will not yield up itssecret to the idle _reader_ "of an empty day" is more or less "rudelydismissed," without even a show of favour or hospitality. And yet these forgotten works of the imagination are full of hiddentreasures! There is not one of Byron's "impressionist studies" ofstriking episodes of history or historical legend, flung, as it were,with a "Take it or leave it" in the face of friend or foe, which doesnot transform names and shadows into persons and substance, which doesnot contain lines and passages of unquestionable beauty and distinction. But some would have it that Byron's plays, as a whole, are dull anduninspiring, monotonous harpings on worn-out themes, which every one hasmastered or wishes to forget. A close study of the text, together withsome knowledge of the subject as it presented itself to the author andarrested _his_ attention, may compel these impatient critics to adifferent conclusion. Byron did not scruple to refer the reader to his"sources," and was at pains to publish, in the notes and appendices tohis dramas and poems, long extracts from old chronicles, from Plutarch's_Lives_, from French and Italian histories, which he had read himself,and, as he fondly believed, would be read by others, who were willing tosubmit themselves to his guidance. He expected his readers to take sometrouble and to display some intelligence. Poetry is successful only so far as it is intelligible. To a clear cryan answer comes, but not to a muffled call. The reader who comes withinspeaking distance of his author can hear him, and to bring the livingwithin speaking distance of the dead, the living must know the facts,and understand the ideas which informed and inspired the dead. Thoughtand attention are scarcely to be reckoned among necromantic arts, butthought and knowledge "can make these bones live," and stand upon theirfeet, if they do not leap and sing. I desire to renew my acknowledgments of the generous assistance of theofficials of the British Museum, and, more especially, of Mr. ErnestWallis Budge, Litt.D., M.A., _Keeper of Egyptian and AssyrianAntiquities_; of Mr. Leonard W. King, M.A., of the same department; andof Mr. George F. Barwick, _Superintendent of the Reading Room_. To Dr. Garnett, C.B., I am greatly indebted for invaluable hints andsuggestions with regard to the interpretation of some obscure passagesin _The Age of Bronze_ and other parts of the volume, and for readingthe proofs of the "Introduction" and "Note to the Introduction to_Werner_." I have also to acknowledge the assistance and advice of Mr. W. HaleWhite, and of my friend Mr. Frank E. Taylor, of Chertsey. For assistance during the preparation of the volume, and more especiallyin the revision of proofs, I desire to express my cordial thanks to Mr.John Murray.
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