 Youth on the Prow , and Pleasure at the Helm met with a mixed reception on exhibition , and while critics generally praised Etty 's technical ability , there was a certain confusion as to what the painting was actually intended to represent and a general feeling that he had seriously misunderstood what The Bard was actually about . The Library of the Fine Arts felt " in classical design , anatomical drawing , <unk> of attitude , <unk> of form , and <unk> of grouping , no doubt Mr. Etty has no superior " , and while " the representation of the ideas in the lines quoted [ from The Bard ] are beautifully and accurately expressed upon the canvas " they considered " the <unk> reference of the poet [ to the destruction of Welsh culture and the decline of the House of Plantagenet ] was entirely lost sight of , and that , if this be the nearest that Art can approach in conveying to the eye the happy <unk> of the subject which Gray intended , we fear we must give up the contest upon the merits of poetry and painting . " Similar concerns were raised in The Times , which observed that it was " Full of beauty , rich in colouring , boldly and accurately drawn , and composed with a most graceful fancy ; but the meaning of it , if it has any meaning , no man can tell " , pointing out that although it was intended to illustrate Gray it " would represent almost as well any other poet 's <unk> . " The <unk> , meanwhile , took issue with the cramped and <unk> boat , pointing out that the characters " if not exactly jammed together like <unk> in a basket , are sadly constrained for want of room " , and also complained that the boat would not in reality " float half the weight which is made to press upon it . " 
