John Keats had made two appearances, in 1817 and 1818, and the year following the publication of Crabbe's _Tales of the Hall_ was to add to them the Odes and other poems constituting the priceless volume of 1820--_Lamia and other Poems_.

Again, for the lovers of fiction--whom, as I have said, Crabbe had attracted quite as strongly as the lovers of verse--Walter Scott had produced five or six of his finest novels, and was adding to the circle of his admirers daily.

By the side of this fascinating prose, and still more fascinating metrical versatility, Crabbe's resolute and plodding couplets might often seem tame and wearisome.

Indeed, at this juncture, the rhymed heroic couplet, as a vehicle for the poetry of imagination, was tottering to its fall, though it lingered for many years as the orthodox form for university prize poems, and for occasional didactic or satirical effusions.

Crabbe, very wisely, remained faithful to the metre.