, precisely, not a quality, as is supposed, but an effect--they
refer, in short, just to that intense and pure elevation of _soul_
--_not_ of intellect, or of heart--upon which I have commented, and
which is experienced in consequence of contemplating "the beautiful."
Now I designate Beauty as the province of the poem, merely because it is
an obvious rule of Art that effects should be made to spring from direct
causes--that objects should be attained through means best adapted for
their attainment--no one as yet having been weak enough to deny that the
peculiar elevation alluded to is _most readily_ attained in the poem.
Now the object Truth, or the satisfaction of the intellect, and the
object Passion, or the excitement of the heart, are, although attainable
to a certain extent in poetry, far more readily attainable in prose.
Truth, in fact, demands a precision, and Passion a _homeliness_ (the
truly passionate will comprehend me) which are absolutely antagonistic
to that Beauty which, I maintain, is the excitement, or pleasurable
elevation, of the soul. It by no means follows from anything here said
that passion, or even truth, may not be introduced, and even profitably
introduced, into a poem--for they may serve in elucidation, or aid the
general effect, as do discords in music, by contrast--but the true
artist will always contrive, first, to tone them into proper
subservience to the predominant aim, and secondly, to enveil them, as
far as possible, in that Beauty which is the atmosphere and the essence
of the poem.

Regarding, then, Beauty as my province, my next question referred to the
_tone_ of its highest manifestation--and all experience has shown that
this tone is one of _sadness_. Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme
development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears. Melancholy
is thus the most legitimate of all the poetical tones.

The length, the province, and the tone being thus determined, I betook
myself to ordinary induction, with the view of obtaining some artistic
piquancy which might serve me as a key-note in the construction of the
poem--some pivot upon which the whole structure might turn. In carefully
thinking over all the usual artistic effects--or more properly _points_,
in the theatrical sense--I did not fail to perceive immediately that no
one had been so universally employed as that of the _refrain_. The
universality of its employment sufficed to assure me of its intrinsic
value,