Research source

The verse-forms of Celtic poetry have probably played the main part in determining the structure of all modern…

Date of account: Published 1911
Source: Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race
Reference: Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race · selected passage 7
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

The verse-forms of Celtic poetry have probably played the main part in determining the structure of all modern verse

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

The verse-forms of Celtic poetry have probably played the main part in determining the structure of all modern verse. The myths and legends of the Gaelic and Cymric peoples kindled the imagination of a host of Continental poets. True, the Celt did not himself create any great architectural work of literature, just as he did not create a stable or imposing national polity. His thinking and feeling were essentially lyrical and concrete. Each object or aspect of life impressed him vividly and stirred him profoundly; he was sensitive, impressionable to the last degree, but did not see things in their larger and more far-reaching relations. He had little gift for the establishment or institutions, for the service of principles; but he was, and is, an indispensable and never-failing assertor of humanity as against the tyranny of principles, the coldness and barrenness of institutions. The institutions of royalty and of civic patriotism are both very capable of being fossilised into barren formulae, and thus of fettering instead of inspiring the soul.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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