mantic tale of "Axel" (1822), modelled after Byron's narrative
poems, rejoiced in a greater popularity, in spite of the carping
criticism with which it was received by the _Svensk Litteratur-Tidning,_
the organ of the Phosphorists. Though, to be sure, the merits of the
poem are largely ignored in this review, it is undeniable that the
faults which are emphasized do exist. First, the frequent violations of
probability (which, by the way, ought not to have been so offensive to a
romanticist) draw tremendous draughts upon the reader's credulity; and
secondly, the lavish magnificence of imagery rarely adds to the
vividness of the situations, but rather obscures and confuses them. It
reminds one of a certain style of barocque architecture in which the
rage for ornamentation twists every line into a scroll or spiral or
arabesque, until whatever design there originally was is lost in a riot
of decoration. The metaphors exist for their own sake, and are in nowise
subordinate to the themes which they profess to illustrate. Take, for
instance, the oft-quoted passage:

"The night drew near, and in the west
Upon its couch lay Evening dreaming,
And silent, like the priests of Egypt,
The stars pursued their radiant paths,
And earth stood in the starry eve,
As blissful as a bride who stands,
The garland in her dusky hair,
Beneath the baldaquin and blushes.
Tired of the games of day, and warm,
The Naiad rested, still and smiling,
The glow of evening shone resplendent,
A gorgeous rose upon her breast;
And merry Cupid, who had slept
When sun was high, awoke and rode
Upon the moonbeams up and down,
With bow and arrow, through the forest."

This is all very magnificent; but the images tread so close upon each
other's heels, that they come near treading each other down, and
tumbling together in a confused jumble. I claim no originality in
calling attention to the fact that it must have been a colossal Naiad
who could wear the evening glow like "a gorgeous rose upon her breast."
Likewise former critics have questioned whether the stars gain in the
least in vividness by being compared to the priests of Egypt,[31] who
were certainly far less familiar to the reader's vision.

[31] L. Dietrichson: Indledning i Studiet af Sveriges Litteratur.
Kjoebenhavn, 1862. See also Svensk Litteratur-Tidning as quoted in B.
E. Malmstroem: Grunddragen af Svenska Vitterhetens Hi