THOMAS WARTON (1728-1790).

Historians[10] of Romanticism have marked Warton's _History of English
Poetry_ as one of the forces that made for the new idea in literature.
This record of a past which, though out of favor, was immeasurably
superior to the time of its historian, spread new views concerning the
poetic art among the rising generation, and suggested new subjects as
well as new treatments of old subjects. We have mentioned the fact that
Gray handed over to Warton his notes for a contemplated history of
poetry, and that Warton found no place in his work for Gray's
adaptations from the Old Norse. Warton was not blind to the beauties of
Gray's poems, nor did he fail to appreciate the merits of the literature
which they illustrated. His scheme relegated his remarks concerning that
poetry to the introductory dissertation, "Of the Origin of Romantic
Fiction in Europe." What he had to say was in support of a theory which
is not accepted to-day, and of course his statements concerning the
origin of the Scandinavian people were as wrong as those that we found
in Mallet and Temple. But with all his misinformation, Warton managed to
get at many truths about Icelandic poetry, and his presentation of them
was fresh and stimulating. Already the Old Norse mythology was well
known, even down to Valhalla and the mistletoe. Old Norse poetry was
well enough known to call forth this remark:

"They (the 'Runic' odes) have a certain sublime and figurative cast of
diction, which is indeed one of their predominant characteristics....
When obvious terms and phrases evidently occurred, the Runic poets are
fond of departing from the common and established diction. They appear
to use circumlocution and comparisons not as a matter of necessity, but
of choice and skill: nor are these metaphorical colourings so much the
result of want of words, as of warmth of fancy." The note gives these