The various
descriptions of scenes, such as Shrewsbury fair, the parson's revelry and
the deserted mansions; of natural scenery, as in the beginning of the
first and last Visions; of personages, such as the portly alderman, and
the young lord and his retinue, all are evidently drawn from the Author's
own experience. He was also gifted with a lively sense of humor, which
here and there relieves the pervading gloom so naturally associated with
the subject of his Visions. The humorous and the severe, the grotesque
and the sublime, the tender and the terrible, are alike portrayed by a
master hand.
The leading feature of the Visions, namely the personal element which the
Author infuses into the recital of his distant travels, brings the reader
into a closer contact with the tale and gives continuity to the whole
work, some parts of which would otherwise appear disconnected. This
telling of the tale in propria persona with a guide of shadowy or
celestial nature who points out what the Bard is to see, and explains to
him the mystery of the things around him, is a method frequently adopted
by poets of all times.
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