Page:Pleasant Memories.pdf/345
Not with a song! Oh, no! The minstrel plies
His sounding harp, of tuneful bards to tell,
Or red crusader 'neath the Syrian skies,
Till loud in lordly halls his numbers swell,
And this is meet. But other praise is thine,
A silent tear-drop from the humbled eye,
A voiceless prayer beside this hallowed shrine,
Thy life to follow, and thy death to die.
London, Tuesday, March 30, 1841.
"Father of English verse."
Gower is styled by Dr. Johnson the first of our poets who may be said to have written English. The title of "father of English poetry" has been accorded by some critics to him, and by others to Chaucer. Gower was the most ancient writer, but Chaucer did more to emancipate the British muse from the trammels of French diction, which the fashion of the times had fastened upon her. The poetry of Gower is generally of a grave, sententious turn, exhibiting good sense, solid reflection, and useful observation. He was the personal friend of Chaucer, and partook, in some degree, of his spirit, imagination, and elegance. His natural taste being rather serious and didactic, he is characterized in "Troilus and Cressida," as the "moral Gower." The last of his works is said to have owed its origin to king Richard the Second, who, meet-