Blair Collection > Gaelic bards

There was something very coarse about Mac
Mhaighstir Alasdir's moral nature. lie could use
the foulest language. His Di-moladh Moraig and
Marbhrann na h-Aigeannich are of an utterly dis-
graceful character. It was wrong to compose
such pieces, but it was outrageous to publish them,
especially for a man who had been teaching
school for years, and who at the time of publica-
tion must have been about fifty years of age. It
is right, however, to mention that the statement
has been made, and probably upon good authority,
that he came to regret his improper course in
publishing such unbecoming poems.
As a poet Mac Mhaighstir Alasdir occupies a
very high place. He had a powerful intellect, a
strong imagination, and an astonishing command
of words. In reading his poems we cannot help
feeling that we are in the presence of a man of
mighty brain power. His intellect was almost of
Miltonic order. There was nothing feeble aboutit.
With all his ability there were some defects
about Mac Mhaigstir Alasdir as a poet. Whilst
all his poems display intellectual power there are
only a few of them that are polished and finished
as they should be. He has sometimes lines that
are too short or too long, an utterly inexcusable
thing in a man of his poetic gifts and education.
He had descriptive powers of a high order ; yet
he allowed himself to fall into the childish and
absurd practice of stringing together a number of
useless adjectives. He had a masterly knowledge
of his native tongue ; yet contrary to all laws of
propriety he introduces such English words as
pomp, sign, standard. He has frequently the
same thought more than once in the same poem,
only in different words. He has good ideas in all
his poems, but then he has occasionally unim-
portant, if not absurd ideas, which should have
been omitted.