Cleone Reviews

— The Corvey Poets Project at the University of Nebraska —

British Poetry of the later Eighteenth and Earlier Nineteenth Centuries

Bibliographical and Contextual Apparatus

[Grimstone, Mary Lemon], pseud. “Oscar”

Cleone, Summer's Sunset Vision. The Confession: with Other Poems. London: Whittaker, 1821.

Contemporary Reviews of this Volume

Following are several of the contemporary reviews of Mary Leman Grimstone's work. The punctuation and spelling are transcribed as they appear in the original articles, including some hanging semi-colons which are sometimes a surprise! There was only one review of Cleone, but I have included reviews written on her earliest work, which offer an additional perspective on her work, in general, from different periodicals and reviewers:

---On Cleone, and other Poems:

New Monthly Review: Vol. 3, 1821. (355) Cleone, and other Poems. By Oscar London, 1821

The young writer of these poems is improving -- putting more sense and more feeling into his harmonious stanzas, and dropping some of the fine drapery of words in which his thoughts were sometimes hidden in his former volume. His first poem, entitled "Cleone" is pleasingly wrought from a very slight plot, and touches of real pathos are scattered through it. We wish he would drop the sickly and unmeaning fancy of calling himself "Oscar", and addressing a lady by the name of Malvina; for, whatever resemblance there may be between his personal character and that of the hero whose name he has chosen, there is certainly no likeness, either in the merits or defects of his poetry, to those of Ossian

---On "Oscar's" first Volume - Zayda: A Spanish Tale in Three Cantos; and Other Poems, Stanzas and Conzonets:

Gentleman's Magazine, Vol 90 Part 2, July-December, 1820. (150). Zayda: A Spanish Tale, in Three Cantos; and other Poems, Stanzas and Canzonets. By Oscar. Small 8vo. pp.163. Whittaker.

THIS Collection consists of Poems uniformly sweet, of equable tone; though some of the forced ideas betray the hot-bed; and there is occasionally exhibited a propensity to alliteration. We speak thus, not in censure, but that the Author may in future prefer the simple suggestions of nature; for we do not think that it was any improvement of the Venus de Medicis, that her hair was gilded. The model which this author has chosen is chiefly Moore.
We select the following lines on Grief, as being, of high merit:
     "Yet 'tis a strange deceitful thing
     That feels, denotes misfortune's sting;
     And, as the timid blush of youth,
     It tells, and still denies the truth.
     And thus the feeling heart can hide
     Its love, its fondness, by its pride;
     Such is the tender smile of grief
     That fain would wear, yet mocks relief.
     Alas! it is a painful sneer,
     That laughs at Destiny's career;
     Dissembles what no power can steal,
     Disguises what it e'er must feel,
     Despises fate, derides despair,
     And speak them all without a tear."
     "Thus can expression oft impart
     The feelings of a broken heart;
     And in the placid smile express,
     The loveliest beam of tenderness;
     Speak in the sweet repose that's there
     Hope, disappointment, and despair;
     And on the brow and lip pourtray [sic]
     The painful look of memory." p. 140

In these lines we see the merits and faults of the Author, genius united with point and concetto : but perhaps we go too far, for it is our opinion that Petrach is too subtle and artificial : and if we are correct, it is a fault, which, even if it can command admiration, is a death-blow to sympathy ; because none can feel it, who have not twin minds cast in the same mould. It is not a copy of Nature's drawings ; but taken from the man's own private view."

Monthly Catalogue, Vol. 93, October, 1820. (215-16) "Art. 19. Zayda ; a Spanish Tale, in Three Cantos; and other Poems, Stanzas, and Canzonets. By Oscar. 18 mo. 58. Boards. Whittaker. 1820.

If this little volume possesses any merit, it is of a very equivocal kind. The son of Ossain informs us that ` few perhaps have had less excuse to offer, for intruding upon the notice of the public the effusious of a few leisure hours, than the author of the subsequent pages : who at a period, than in which the display and competition of yet living and productive poetic genius never before so justly and so, exclusively commanded the interest and admiration of the world, has ventured to open for the inspection of the general reader his little volume, which like an early secluded flower, is most haply destined to remain unnoticed, and to feel the cold gaze of indifference eclipsed by the charms of maturer plants, or to fade beneath the more chilly blight of contempt, by being contrasted with the surrounding beauties; beauties that grow more beautiful the oftener they are observed, and whose perfume leaves a charm on the senses which no after-time can ever efface !' Though this long-winded ungrammatical sentence does not form an integral portion of the poems, its nature is highly poetical, and by it resemblance to the style of Ossain, discovers that kindred genius for which we should have been at a loss to account from the mere mention of genealogy!
"Simili frondescit virga metallo."
Some of the least incorrect of these poems are of a light and erotic cast: but the Spanish story of Zayda is too inflated, irregular, and over-wrought, both in sentiment and expression, to be considered as a favorable specimen of the author's powers. The following portion of it gives perhaps some of its best lines:
     "The thought of years already fled,
     Of pleasures and of sorrows past,
     Of friends that were, but now are dead,
     Of joys that are, but cannot last,
     Of scenes that charmed, but soon stole by,
     Of hopes that soothed, but told not why:
     Broke on her silence with a sigh:
     Fears for the future, too, then stole
     O'er the soft slumber of her soul,
     And though a joy, like glad-hope stealing,
     Had mingled expectation's smart, --
     But those are tinctured more by feeling,
     From which remembrance cannot part."

The character and incidents of the poem of Zayda, however, are too trite and common-place to allow us to dwell on them ; and we can speak of the miscellaneous pieces with more approbation : for in these at least the writer manifests a ray of taste and feeling.
"Stanzas to ________________
` " Piaga per allentar d'arco non sana." - Petrarch.

     `They tell me that thy youthful cheek,
     And late so lively soft dark eye,
     Are changed, -- and often seem to speak
     The language of a sympathy; --
     They say thou look'st no longer glad!
     But thoughtful oft appear'st to be;
     And that the thought which makes thee sad,
     They ween, is ah ! -- a thought of me !

     `Though selfish ; 'tis a kind relief --
     Such secret solace life can gladden,
     To know, like mine, a mutual grief
     Thy softer heart does also sadden,' &c.&c."

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Contemporary critics seem to agree that there is much said about little plot in over-written lines by a pleasing, but unexceptional writer. However, I hesitate to criticize anyone too harshly who has displayed the fortitude required to write and have her works published. She at least accomplished the dream and goal of being a published writer...no matter what the critics might have said.