rtificial and complicated poetic
form; but it lends itself admirably to the development of a single
poetic thought, and Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, Mrs. Browning,
Longfellow, Hayne, and many others have used it with great skill and
power. The following sonnet by Mrs. Browning will serve for
illustration:

"I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young;
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was 'ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair,
And a voice said in mastery while I strove,
'Guess now who holds thee?' 'Death,' I said. But, there,
The silver answer rang, 'Not Death but Love!'"

As will be seen on examination, the rhyme scheme is as follows: _a b b a
a b b a c d c d c d_. But the quatrains may have alternate rhymes, and
the sestet may consist of a quatrain and couplet or of interwoven
triplets, as in the following schemes: _a b a b a b a b c d c d e e_; _a
b b a a b b a c d e c d e_.

+58. Some Criteria.+ The brief lyric, above all other kinds of poetry,
should be finished in form and expression. The imperfections of diction
that might go unchallenged in a longer poem are inexcusable in a lyric.
Delicacy of thought and intensity of feeling constitute its breath of
life, and should mold for themselves a beauteous form. What is
commonplace, harsh, or unmusical in expression should be avoided, unless
such diction is wedded to the thought. Concrete and suggestive words are
to be used rather than abstract and vague expressions. There is always a
distinct gain when the poem evokes pleasing pictures.

As a rule the thought and expression should be clear; the poet should
not mystify the reader nor tax too far his efforts at comprehension.
Browning sometimes grievously offends in this particular. While
insisting on clearness, however, we should not forget that the mystical
and the musical have their place in poetry. A poem may sometimes be
pleasing through its melodious and mystical character, even when it is
not clearly intelligible.

Whether the poet has a distinct introduction,