Ferment (1863-1870)
Her Definition, written in the summer of 1866, and included in Time's Laughingstocks, is one of the few pure lyrics among the early poems. Here the lover finds that the simple expression "That maiden mine!" applied to his mistress means more to him than any other imaginable epithet, however extravagant. This simple and innocuous idea is expressed in a perfect sonnet. Another sonnet, written at the same time and place and included in the same collection, is From Her in the Country, in which the speaker vainly attempts to feel the appeal of nature, but longs for the din and distraction of the city in spite of herself. The parallel to Eustacia Vye of The Return of the Native is obvious.
A Young Man's Epigram on Existence, which closes Time's Laughingstocks may be bracketed with the sonnet on Hap, as it strikes the note of youthful disillusionment common to nearly all of the early verses:
Our lives, that we may learn to live!
A dolt is he who memorizes
Lessons that leave no time for prizes.
This bit of verse-philosophy is the last of the poems of this memorable year which were chosen for preservation. The great variety of styles and subjects, and the finish shown in their treatment, seem to indicate that these are but the scanty remains of an intense and very productive poetic activity of the young architect.
The poetical reliques of the next year (1867) are rather scanty, but include a few memorable pieces, chief among which is the curious and vivid Neutral Tones, ex-
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