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into the world, and all our woe." For the full Homeric force, 

 we must look more particularly to the first two Books : all is life 

 and energy there: the language is vigorous, each word, and 

 every sentence full of strength. But hesides resemblance in 

 general effect between Homer's and Milton's work, the latter 

 imitates the former in details ; to take one instance, his similes 

 are followed out like Homer's to the completion of the picture, 

 beyond the actual resemblance. Such expressions as " the ridges 

 of grim war," " hyacinthine locks," descriptive of Adam, "his 

 tongue dropt manna," and so on, are expressions which recall 

 Homer : so do such ideas as that of the Supreme Power during 

 a combat hanging forth his scales to decide to which party the 



victory shall turn ; 



" In these he put two weights, 

 The sequel each of parting and of fight ; 

 The latter quick upflew, and kicked the beam." 



Thoroughly Homeric and Virgilian. But I must not stay so 

 long over one poet that little time is left to the others. If I were 

 asked what later author shows in his poems the closest approach 

 to the style of Homer, I should answer Tennyson. Though his 

 Idylls of tlie King cannot be reckoned an epic, because of their 

 disconnection, yet one can fancy that the mind which devised 

 them was capable of moulding these stories into as beautiful a 

 story as the episodes of Homer conspire to frame. Tennyson 

 shows the clearness of the ancient poet in his forcible passages : 

 the reader's mind is not called away by peculiarities and striking 

 inversions fi-om the narrative and the action. Possibly, like 

 Milton, Tennyson had some vision of making King Arthur's story 

 into an epic : the first portion published, his Morte d'Arthur, 

 now incorporated in the Idylls, has a prologue which seems to 

 indicate his meditations. With what an impetuous rush it opens 



" So all day long the noise of battle roll'd 

 Among the mountains by the winter sea ; 

 Until King Arthur's table, man by man, 

 Had fallen in Lyonnesse about their Lord, 

 King Arthur." 



and with what vigour is told the whole story of the passing of 

 Arthur, the hurling away of his brand Excalibur, the appearance 

 of the three queens with crowns of gold, and the parting from 

 Sii- Bedivere, the last of all his knights. Here are the bones 

 and muscles of a heroic poem, and we must regret that our 

 laureate did not feel in himself the divine impulse to make his 

 name resound through ages as an undoubted epic poet : he has 

 written epic poetry, but not an epic poem. 



Now I have dwelt long upon the epic and its transference 

 into English : next I shall speak of a kind of poetry, which 

 stands in close relationship to it, and is next in importance : 

 the epic and the dramatic may be termed brother and sister 



