The most singular instance of perverted taste and unmerited eulogy is to
be found in his _Vision of Judgment_, which, as poet-laureate, he produced
to the memory of George the Third. The severest criticism upon it is Lord
Byron's _Vision of Judgment_--reckless, but clever and trenchant. The
consistency and industry of Southey's life caused him to be appointed
poet-laureate upon the death of Pye; and in 1835, having declined a
baronetcy, he received an annual pension of L300. Having lost his first
wife in 1837, he married Miss Bowles, the poetess, in 1839; but soon after
his mind began to fail, and he had reached a state of imbecility which
ended in death on the 21st of March, 1843. In 1837, at the age of
sixty-three, he collected and edited his complete poetical works, with
copious and valuable historical notes.
HISTORICAL VALUE.--It is easy to see in what manner Southey, as a literary
man, has reflected the spirit of the age. Politically, he exhibits
partisanship from Radical to Tory, which may be clearly discerned by
comparing his _Wat Tyler_ with his _Vision of Judgment_ and his _Odes_.
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