Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/678

658 dramatic poetry, three names appear most prominent; namely, Manuel Eduardo de Gorostiza, ranking with the foremost of his time, Fernando de Calderon, and Ignacio Rodriguez Galvan, who produced the first national historic drama.

The strength of Mexican poets lies above all in amatory poems, to which should be added a tendency toward elegiac strains, which was so marked among the aboriginal ancestry. It is not deep, for the Mexican is after all a sprightly individual, inclined to frivolity, and little intent on the cares of to-morrow. He is fond of the Castilian proverb and epigram, united to the native bent for satire. He affects a suggestive humor of a picaresque order, which to a foreigner smacks of puerility. It is innocent, however, for it attacks classes and traits rather than individuals. The ode is with him a favorite form of verse, but his efforts generally fail of their aim; the will is there, but not the power. Exceptions only sustain the rule. Patriotic lines are usually pitched too high. In philosophic themes, the shallow treatment is either broken in upon by rash utterance, or left unfinished. Incompleteness marks the portrayal of character or individuals, and the description of scenery. The old national redondilla and the ottava rima measures may be regarded as the favorite, notably the latter. The leaning toward versos de arte mayor, or longer lines, is greatly due to affectation. With all the study of models, the laws of prosody and euphony are so frequently invaded as to confirm the opinion regarding the impetuous temperament of the Creoles, impatient under sustained regulations. However, the wide and choice range of words, strikingly manifested in comparing the vocabulary of the lower classes with that of corresponding Anglo-Saxon ranks, and this facility combined with easy rhythmic How and natural vivacity, impart an undeniable attraction.