It was as a poet, however, that he first won his place in our
literature, and it is by means of certain passages in the "Biglow
Papers" and the "Commemoration Ode" that he has most moved his
countrymen. The effectiveness of The "Present Crisis" and "Sir
Launfal," and of the "Memorial Odes," particularly the "Ode to
Agassiz," is likewise due to the passion, sweetness, and splendor
of certain strophes, rather than to the perfection of these poems
as artistic wholes. Lowell's personal lyrics of sorrow, such as
"The Changeling," "The First SnowFall," "After the Burial," have
touched many hearts.
His later lyrics are more subtle, weighted with thought, tinged
with autumnal melancholy. He was a most fertile composer, and,
like all the men of his time and group, produced too much. Yet
his patriotic verse was so admirable in feeling and is still so
inspiring to his readers that one cannot wish it less in
quantity; and in the field of political satire, such as the two
series of "Biglow Papers," he had a theme and a method precisely
suited to his temperament.
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