Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By Critical and Biographical Essay by Alfred H. MilesChristopher Wordsworth (18071885)
C
Christopher Wordsworth was a voluminous writer upon classical and ecclesiastical subjects, and among other works of a more general character wrote the “Memoirs of William Wordsworth” (his Uncle), published in 1851, and “A Commentary on the whole Bible” (1856–70). In the “Holy Year,” published in 1862, he wrote hymns for all the Christian seasons, dealing with the many phases of the various seasons as enumerated in the Book of Common Prayer. The value of hymns as a means of teaching and impressing on the memory Christian doctrines was recognised by him, and he wrote them avowedly for the purpose of inculcating religious truth, with the result that poetic excellence was often lost in the pursuit of a didactic aim. Some of his hymns, however, are of high excellence, and some have become widely popular. Among the more successful, as well as the better known of these are “O Day of Rest and Gladness,” “Hark the sound of Holy Voices,” “Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost,” and “See the Conqueror mounts in Triumph,” the first three of which are given here.