TENNYSON. 



Unreate poems are tlic OJe on the Dfith "f the Dukf 

 ,'nffttm, and Tlie Charge of thr LiffU Hr!<i<i<lf. 



In 1 vV'i ap|-ari-<i. with other IMM-IIIS. tin- BOOOOnnUI 



tin- lull-blown blossom of wiiirli tin- stanzas 



"()h. that ' I wore ]>ossihle." so rapturously alluded to 



Swinburne, liail Ix-eti (lit- i-eautilul lni'1. This 



fair flower of Tennyson's genius was eighteen 



Tho-c who feel ilu- need nt' help in arriving 

 at tin- triii- meaning of Mnml. which has IK-CM much 

 Mimdantood, may find ihtMUFOfDr. K. .). Mann nl' 

 assistance ; this essay maivM high commendation 

 from tin- 



The Jifi/llt nf thr King afford another instance of 

 the slow growth of great works of art. Tin- germ 

 from wiiirli tin-so. sprang had a very definite existence 

 in tin- niin 1 of tin- poet at an early |>eriod : tin- matur- 

 ing ol'tln- product ot that germ was well-nigh tlie work 

 of a lifetime. The first instalment of the f,lylh ap- 

 peared in 1859; four more were added in IM'.'.I. while 

 omplete was not given to the world until 

 These Arthurian poems, constituting as they 

 do in a very real scnv an epie. are liy many considered 

 the po.-t'.-* in:islcrpie<-e. Of (i'liiitfi-if Bayard Taylor 

 has said that it would die only with the language in 

 which it was written. 



Knock Anleu, with other poems, came out in Hi',4. 

 This poem, translated as it soon was into French, (rer- 

 nian, and even into Latin, has been so widely read that 

 v title has passed into a proverb. In 1870 ap- 

 peared The\\'in<l'iii; <ir the Songs of the Wrens, with 

 unisii: by Arthur Sullivan. 



Temr, -'ii's work as a dramatist comprises Queen 



Miri/ Unroll (IH77); Tlie {'ilron (1879); 



TM C\' (\^\}\ The ftomi'xe of MI,, (ISS2); and 



1 1 >sl). The dramas are often spoken of as the 



Linn-, -i successful " work. Curiously enough 



many critiei.Miis of them se. in based on the precon- 



i imtioii that Tennyson could not write a drama. 



Others have thought him, with his weight of nearly 



threes - and ten. too far advanced in age to 



attempt tlie gathering of fresh laurels in a new Meld. 



'icl.-s-i. some of the dramas arc highly regarded 



. authorities, and tlie author, it is said, 



believes them to contain his best work. 



In |s?i T'i L-rtrx Tide written in ISJ'.l. privately 

 printed in 1^;;:;, pirated and misprinted in 1875 was 

 reluctantly placed at the disposal "i' tin- public, together 

 with its sequel, Tht. Gnhlrn S,-!,/,,,-. In l the 

 richly various volume, Hult'iili ami otltrr I'm-int, came 

 out, evidencing the singular persistence of Tennyson's 

 powers. Concerning J'i-./mli. in this collection, Mr. 

 Swinburne sajs : "If alter a thousand years all trace 

 of all his poems had vanished from all human record 

 save only these eighty-six lines of Ui'-./mh, proof 

 positive and ample and overflowing would lie left in the 

 survival of th.--e that in him, if ever IIJMIII earth, a 



peat poet ha 1 IN-CII horn Never since the very 



beginning of all poetry were the twin passions of terror 

 and pity more divinely done into dttUlileM words. 



.... The | t never livi-d on earth wlio^e L-lory 



WuiilJ not )>< heightened by the attribution of this 



poi-ni lu his h.ind." This is bij;h praisi-. and it pro- 



Iroiii a hij;h source; from a rival, it might bo 



rivalry pov.il,le in tin: hiirlh-sl art. 

 it anil Ot!n r /' ', '! .I;.-..!, -d t<i Ituln 

 DruwniiiKi and also in tl. 



y> -ar / - After, a recant. ition in 



buiiitf d. .MI-. ..I the poet! early dreams of the progress 

 of the worl 1. 



Alfred 'fennysoii has heon one of the men whom 

 tlic world h i> >ho\m a growing delight to honor. His 

 career aff.ir-ls a study in the concrete of the way in 

 whi -h all tilings are ad Jed to those who seek first that 

 whi-h is hiL'hi-.t and K. -I. In 1st:, the value ol' his 

 work and influence r< urnilion from the state 



in the award of a pension, and in is.'d) in his appoint- 

 ment a* Laureate. In 1855 the University of Oxford 

 conferred upon him the decree of D. C. L In 1865 



he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. The same 

 year a baronetcy was offered him, which, however, he 

 did not accept. The offer was repeat. -d three years 

 afterwards, and was again declined. lu 1869 be w.is 

 elected honorary fellow of his nlmn >n<tt,r, Trinity 

 College, Cambridge. In 1 sso he was invited to stand 

 fir the Lord Rectorship of (Jlacjrow 1 'niversity. but, 

 the candidature involving his identifying himself with 

 a |M)litieal party, he declined the honor. In Issl he 

 was made president of the Incorporated Society of 

 Authors. In the same year he was raised to the liritish 

 peerage under the title IJaron Tennyson of Aldworth 

 and FaniiiL'ford, a fitting and graceful recognition of 

 his eminence in the world of thought and genius. 



Con erninir Tennyson's private life there is little to 

 be said. For many of the years after leaving Cain- 

 bridge he had BO Settled place of aliinle. Much of that 

 tinn- he lived iii London with poverty and his golden 

 dreams. His early married life was spent in Twicken- 

 ham, which place he has made "twice, classic." For 

 upwards of thirty years he has lived at Farrinirford, 

 Isle of Wight, anil at his summer residence. Aldworth, 

 in Surrey. Keclu.v as he has |>een. a lew congenial spirits 

 have found in him the prince of companions. Those 

 who have been admitted to this charmed circle prize 

 him as a man fully as much as they admire him as a 

 poet He is a penetrating judge of character, and 

 knows instinctively, it is said, everything that is going 

 on about him. lie is fond of reading his poetry to ap- 

 preciative listeners His rendering is described as a 

 mysterious incantation, exceedingly impressive, leaving 

 the listener with the feeling that he has for the first 

 time heard what he may have already read, perhaps, 

 a hundred times. With his personal appearance the 

 world has been familiarized by his numerous pictures. 

 That the best of these, however, fail to do justice to 

 the fine face is evident from the descriptions of those 

 who have seen that face under the play of the pas- 

 sions within. Thomas Buchanan Head describes the 

 poet's head as that of " a dilapidated .Jove." 



Of Tennyson and hi.s work it is embarrassing to try 

 to speak in general terms. The subject presents the 

 double danger of falling into extravagance and yet of 

 failing to do it justice. Disclaiming all attempt to 

 adequately discuss it here, it may 6e remarked that 

 Tennyson's poetry is pre-eminent for its beauty and for 

 its power. On the first of these heads let the poetry 

 speak for itself. Passing to the second, we charac- 

 terize Tennyson's poetry prc eminent in power because 

 none of his contemporaries has touched so deeply and 

 ii - i many points tlie hearts of the people of all ranks, 

 and conditions. Others have moved the masses; 

 -till others have been the pride of their own "re- 

 -trirted audiences." Not one. however, as this great 

 minstrel, has so won the hearts of nil. Is he, then, a 

 "popular" poet? Yes; but not in tlie disparaging 

 MOM. Is he the apostle to the aristocracy ? Yes ; to 

 the aristocracy of intelligence and virtue. Take up 



the collection of poetrj FanuutM whiefo shows 



the personal taste of that lofty inti llectual aristocrat, 



Ralph Waldo F.mcrson : in it the greatest at ig other 



living poets are accorded but about quarter the space 

 aivordcd to Tennyson ; take up any modern " fireside '' 

 collection, the proportion will be found about the 

 same. The wide influence of the iioct is further shown 

 by the Cotiiiili-ti- Ciinrnrtliiin-f to Ills works, published 

 ; by the numerous translations his works have 

 undergone into mo-i of the languages of Kuropc. and 

 b\ the willing aid which the kindred arts music, sculp- 

 ture, and painting have lent to the illustration of his 

 |KM-try. 



In conclusion let u* t>oll the jury of the poet's 

 peers. Wordsworth: " lie is decidedly the first of our 

 living poets. " Browning: " In poetrv. illustrious and 

 eon-uminato, ; in friendship, noble and sincere." Mrs. 

 Browning: "He is a divine [>oet ; if anything were 

 to happen to Tennyson the world should go into 

 mourning." Swinburne; the high tributes already 



