SOURCE : "Alexander Smith and Alexander Pope," in Fraser's Magazine for Town & Country, Vol . XLVIII, No. CCLXXXVL , October, 1853, pp. 452-66.

In the following excerpt, Kingsley derides Smith's works by saying that the shortcomings of Poems are the fault of Smith imitating too closely the works of other writers.

On reading this little book, [Poems, by Alexander Smith] and considering all the exaggerated praise and exaggerated blame which have been lavished on it, we could not help falling into many thoughts about the history of English poetry for the last forty years, and about its future destiny. Great poets, even true poets, are becoming more and more rare among us. There are those even who say that we have none; an assertion which, as long as Mr. Tennyson lives, we shall take the liberty of denying. But were he, which Heaven forbid, taken from us, whom have we to succeed...