This striving after practically impossible effects
sometimes gives the feeling of artificiality and strain to his verse. It is
not always simple, and sometimes one overcharged stanza will mar an
otherwise exquisite poem.
On the other hand, Lanier never gives voice to anything that is merely
trivial or pretty. He is always in earnest, and the feeling most often
aroused by him is a passionate exaltation. He is a nature poet. The color,
the sunshine, the cornfields, the hills, and the marshes of the South are
found in his work. But more than their outer aspect, he likes to interpret
their spirit,--the peace of the marsh, the joy of the bird, the mystery of
the forest, and the evidences of love everywhere.
The music of his lines varies with his subjects. It is light and
delicate in _Tampa Robins_, rippling and gurgling in _The Song of the
Chattahoochee_, and deeply sonorous in _The Marshes of Glynn_. Few
surpass him in the long, swinging, grave harmonies of his most highly
inspired verse. In individual lines, in selected stanzas, Lanier has few
rivals in America. His poetical endowment was rich, his passion for
music was a rare gift, his love of beauty was intense, and his soul was
on fire with ideals.
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