Wordsworth，andtheotherpoetsIhavenamed，Byron，Shelley，Keats，andColeridge，madesuchaprotestagainstauthorityinpoetryashadbeenmadeinthe16thcenturyagainstauthorityinreligion；
andforthisauthorityweresubstitutedthesoul-experiencesoftheindividualpoet，whosethisversetothesongthatwaswithinhim，andchosesuchsubjectsaswouldbestembodyandarticulatethatsong。
Butbytheendofthefirstquarterofthepresentcentury，thegreatpoeticalbillow，whichwasnotindeedcausedby，butreceivedanimpulsefrom，thegreatpoliticalbillow，theFrenchRevolutionfortheywerecognateorco-radicalmovements，hadquitespentitself，andEnglishpoetrywasatacomparativelylowebb。ThePoeticalRevolutionhaddoneitswork。
Apoeticalinterregnumofafewyears’durationfollowed，inwhichthereappearedtobeagreatreductionofthespirituallifeofwhichpoetryistheoutgrowth。
Mr。EdmundW。Gosse，inhisarticle`OntheEarlyWritingsofRobertBrowning’，inthe`Century’forDecember，1881，hascharacterizedthisinterregnumalittletoocontemptuously，perhaps。Therewas，indeed，agreatfallinthespiritualtide；