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Thus far I spoke of the direct influence of Blake on Rossetti, in one case at least I could clearly trace an indirect influence. Rossetti's prose tales "Hand and Soul" and "Saint Agnes of Intercession" show, especially in their style, the influence of Charles Wells[1].
Rossetti cherished at a time an exaggerated admiration for the works of this author. He even proposes to have his scriptural drama "Joseph and his Brethren" acted, but is kept back, from this purpose by Ruskin, who judges this drama to be not without some good descriptive parts, but as a whole finds it "wrong" (Letter of Ruskin to Rossetti, Denmark Hill, 1854). And indeed this drama full of incongruities and quite Blakean in its exalted and primeval poetry, would have been a decided failure on the stage.—This same admiration Rossetti had for the prose tales of Wells, collected under the title "Stories after Nature". These stories possess a sort of incongruous beauty, a savour of impossibility which baffles us and more or less spoils our delight in them. But nevertheless their beauties are undeniable, beauties of a subtle etherealised style as we also find in "Hand and Soul" and "Saint Agnes of Intercession"; beauties consisting in a great wealth of imagery, subtly chosen, in order to show forth the mysticism which underlies all of these stories. I need hardly say, that the prose tales of Rossetti abound in this kind of imagery, though Rossetti for all the melody of his style never absolutely sacrifices sense to melody as happens occasionally to Wells. Another quality which both authors have in common, is that, perhaps owing to the dimness of the plots, the stories are not carried to a satisfactory end. "Saint Agnes of Intercession" breaks off in the middle, as is also the case with the most poetical story{{float center|
- ↑ Charles Wells, † 1878, wrote under the name of H. L. Howard. He wrote "Stories after Nature", printed in 1822 and reprinted in 1891. London. In 1824 appeared his scriptural drama "Joseph and his Brethren" reprinted in London 1876. Wells is an author of great skill and excepting J. J. Garth Wilkinson the author of an obscure book "Inprovisiations of the Spirit", seems to be one of the few direct poetical imitators of Blake, using the same phraseology and having the same mystical faith as his great predecessor.
