SOURCE: Courthope, W. J. “An English View of the Limitations of Morris's Poetry.” In William Morris: The Critical Heritage, edited by Peter Faulkner, pp. 182-88. London: Routledge & Kegan Ltd., 1973.

In the following essay, which initially appeared in the Quarterly Review in 1872, Courthope delineates the major flaws in Morris's Earthly Paradise.

Without in any way affecting the character of a mystic, Mr. Morris withdraws himself, perhaps, even farther than Mr. Rossetti from all sympathy with the life and interests of his time:—

Of Heaven and Hell I have no power to sing, I cannot ease the burden of your fears, Or make quick-coming death a little thing. Or bring again the pleasures of past years, Nor for my words shall ye forget your tears, Or hope again for aught that I can say, The idle singer of an empty day. 

[quotes next two stanzas]

Such is Mr. Morris's apology...