Skip to main content

Full text of "The poetry and philosophy of Tennyson : a handbook of six lectures"

See other formats


The  Poetry  and  Philosophy 
of  Tennyson 

A    HANDBOOK     OF    SIX     LECTURES 


BY 


EDWARD    HOWARD    GRIQGS 


Presented  to  the 
LIBRARY  of  the 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO 

by 

Mrs.   H.   J.   Cody 


The  Poetry  and  Philosophy 

OF 

TEPSIPSIVSOIV 


A  Handbook  of  Six  Lectures  by 

Edward  Howard  Griggs 


B.  W.  HUEBSCH 

Publisher 
NEW    YORK 


Copyright,  1906,  by   ' 
EDWARD  HOWARD  GRIGGS 


THE  OUTTNG  PRESS 
DEPOSIT,  N.  Y. 


CROSSING  THE  BAR. 

"  Sunset  and  evening  star, 

And  one  clear  call  for  me! 
And  may  there  be  no  moaning  of  the  bar, 
When  I  put  out  to  sea, 

But  such  a  tide  as  moving  seems  asleep, 

Too  full  for  sound  and  foam, 
When  that  which  drew  from  out  the  boundless  deep 

Turns  again  home. 

Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell, 

When  I  embark; 

For  tho'  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  Pilot  face  to  face 

Wnen  I  have  crost  the  bar." 

— TENNYSON. 


INDEX. 

Note:    Spirit  of  the  Course    . 


I.  The  Life  and  Early  Work  of  Tennyson     ....       9 
II.  The  Idylls  of  the  King      .  14 

III.  The  Holy  Grail  and  the  Passing  of  Arthur  .         .         .         .20 

IV.  In  Memoriam:  The  Period  of  Grief  and  Struggle  .         .         .     26 
V.  In  Memoriam:  The  Cantos  of  Faith  and  Love   .         .         .30 

VI.  The  Expression  of  Tennyson's  Spiritual  Philosophy  in  Briefer 

Poems '.         .         .         .35 

Book  List  40 


SPIRIT  OF  THE  COURSE. 

THE  interest  of  this  course  is  divided  almost  equally  between  the 
appreciation  of  Tennyson's  matchless  art  and  the  study  of  his 
philosophy  and  his  message  to  the  modern  spirit.     The  work 
centers  upon  the  two  masterpieces  of  Tennyson:     The  Idylls  of  the 
King,  in  which  his  artistic  power  is  most  fully  revealed,  and  In  Memo- 
riam,  the  most  complete  expression  of  his  spiritual  message.     Certain 
of  the  more  remarkable  of  his  shorter  poems  will  also  be  studied  as 
culminating  expressions  at  once  of  his  art  and  his  philosophy. 

There  are  two  widely  different  elements  in  Tennyson's  contribution 
to  the  modern  spirit,  corresponding  to  the  motives  of  his  two  master- 
pieces. His  poetry  fulfills  for  us  something  of  the  function  of  land- 
scape painting,  relieving  us  from  the  stress  and  hurry  of  present  life. 
The  more  sordid  aspects  of  the  struggle  for  existence  shocked  Tennyson. 
The  breaking-down  of  aristocratic  forms,  the  bare,  greedy  character  of 
half-born  democracy  offended  him.  He  felt  that  the  solution  of  the 
social  problem  lay  rather  in  a  return  to  the  manners  of  an  earlier  period, 
under  the  benignant  leadership  of  the  gentleman,  than  in  the  comple- 
tion of  the  struggle  toward  democracy  in  which  we  find  ourselves 
involved.  Thus  it  was  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that  he  turned  from  the 
life  about  him  to  the  world  of  the  Arthurian  story  with  its  old  chivalric 
legends,  full  of  dim,  knightly  figures  and  fair,  unearthly  ladies,  weaving 
with  mystic  paces  and  waving  hands  the  golden  and  rainbow  web  of  a 
life  of  dreams.  That  Tennyson's  meditation  upon  the  material  of  the 
Arthurian  story  covered  a  period  of  more  than  fifty  years  is  evidence 
of  the  place  it  occupied  in  his  own  thinking;  and  the  poems  clothing  it 
form  one  of  Tennyson's  great  contributions  to  the  modern  spirit,  not 
only  through  the  gift  of  calming  and  exalting  beauty,  but  because, 
clothed  in  the  dim  forms  of  the  remote  world  of  chivalry,  the  eternal 
realities  of  the  human  spirit  are  revealed  with  an  added  beauty  and 
mystery  through  the  golden  radiance  or  the  gray  mist  of  the  years 
that  lie  between. 

The  other  gift  of  Tennyson  is  in  relation  to  the  great  problems  of 
faith.  Uniting  as  he  did  the  best  results  of  the  older  philosophy  with 
a  full,  if  sometimes  reluctant,  acceptance  of  the  conclusions  of  physical 
science,  his  poetry  answers  peculiarly  certain  needs  of  modern  life. 

7 


No  one  else  has  voiced  our  doubt  and  questioning  more  completely, 
yet  Tennyson  rises  in  In  Memoriam,  the  poem  that  reveals  the  heart 
of  his  own  experience,  to  a  calm,  exultant  faith,  including  not  ignoring 
doubt.  His  desire  that  Crossing  the  Bar  should  stand  at  the  end  of 
every  complete  edition  of  his  works  reveals  his  thought  of  it  as  a  kind 
of  last  confession  of  his  belief.  It  is  as  satisfyingly  perfect  in  its  limpid 
music  as  it  is  serene  and  exalted  in  emotion.  Like  a  benediction  at  the 
end  of  a  beautiful  service  it  rounds  the  impression  of  Tennyson's  mes- 
sage and  life,  affirming  the  accepted  basis  of  Christian  faith,  but  freed 
from  hard  dogmatism  and  stated  in  terms  of  the  highest  experience, 
voicing  the  heroic  attitude  in  the  presence  of  the  unknown  that  is 
expressed  in  King  Arthur  or  Ulysses,  but  softened  by  the  intimate 
tenderness  that  comes  from  the  sweet  and  smart  of  personal  living, 
with  an  appreciation  of  the  character  of  Christ.  Tennyson's  last  word 
it  is  and  worthy  of  all  that  goes  before.  Without  a  great  positive  con- 
tribution of  original  thought  and  new  vision  of  life,  Tennyson's  tender 
and  delicate  appreciation  of  certain  phases  of  experience,  his  unerring 
grasp  of  broad  moral  distinctions,  his  sense  of  the  unity  of  law  and  the 
fundamental  sanity  of  the  universe  at  the  heart,  his  unfailing  hold  upon 
the  great  thought  of  the  past  and  the  deeper  basis  of  Christian  faith, 
render  him  a  spiritual  teacher  of  unique  value  in  a  time  when  the  old 
barriers  and  props  have  been  shaken  down,  and  all  men  who  think 
have  been  forced  into  the  intellectual  arena  to  meet  and  conquer  the 
sphinx-problems  or  die. 


I.    THE  LIFE  AND  EARLIER  WORK  OF  TENNYSON. 

LECTURE  OUTLINE. 

Introduction. — To  study  the  art  and  message  of  the  poet  who  more 
than  any  other  dominated  the  literature  of  the  English-speaking  world 
for  more  than  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  As  such  a  leader,  pecul- 
iar significance  in  our  study  of  his  work.  Poetry  always  fulfilling 
certain  high  spiritual  functions — but  these  especially  important  in 
relation  to  modern  life,  and  nowhere  a  better  example  of  them  than 
in  Tennyson. 

Poetry  and  life. — Art  expressing  the  whole  human  spirit — intellect, 
emotion  and  will.  Contrast  philosophy  and  science.  The  two  motifs 
in  the  progress  of  the  human  spirit:  waves  of  science  and  waves  of 
religion;  extension  of  the  area  of  knowledge  and  then  the  return  to 
the  spirit  of  man.  Compare  the  Occident  and  the  orient;  scholasticism 
and  mysticism;  Aristotle  and  Plato. 

The  life  of  appreciation  as  compared  with  the  life  of  the  understand- 
ing. How  much  of  our  joy  depending  upon  the  former.  Love,  faith, 
response  to  poetry,  as  in  the  life  of  appreciation.  Expression  of  this 
life  in  art;  hence  the  spiritual  functions  of  poetry. 

Poetry  and  modern  needs. — Special  significance  in  the  service  of 
poetry  in  our  time.  The  tremendous  advance  in  science,  in  the  accu- 
mulation of  knowledge,  during  the  nineteenth  century.  Thus  vast 
widening  of  the  conception  of  the  physical  universe.  Compare  effects 
of  astronomy  and  biology.  Hence  God  seeming  vague  and  distant, 
human  life  overshadowed  and  insignificant.  All  thinking  men  forced 
into  the  arena  to  struggle  with  the  great  problems  of  life  as  only  a  rare 
philosopher  was  compelled  to  meet  them  in  past  times. 

Thus  the  significance  of  poetry  as  a  revelation  of  the  human  spirit; 
and  of  Tennyson  as  voicing  the  doubts  and  despair  of  modern  men,  as 
rising  to  a  great  spiritual  solution,  and  as  creating  a  world  of  beauty 
that  in  itself  calms  and  exalts. 

The  life  of  Tennyson  (1809-1892).— The  family  background  of  Ten- 
nyson: character  of  his  father;  of  his  mother,  as  portrayed  in  Isabel. 
Early  love  of  nature.  Effect  of  the  five  years  (from  7  to  12)  at  board- 
ing school.  Home  studies  till  19. 

9 


First  venture  in  poetry  at  18.  Character  and  promise  of  Tennyson's 
work  in  the  Poems  of  Two  Brothers.  Measure  of  justification  in  Ten- 
nyson's view  of  much  of  his  youthful  work  as  "early  rot." 

To  Cambridge  at  19.  Chief  influence  upon  him  that  of  the  circle  of 
friends  he  slowly  formed.  The  great  men  who  as  youths  were  his  asso- 
ciates. Value  of  such  comradeship  for  the  intellectual  and  artistic 
life. 

The  volume  of  1830. — At  21  Tennyson's  first  independent  volume  of 
poems.  Character  of  the  work:  chiefly  brief  songs  expressing  moods 
or  describing  nature  and  women.  Much  of  the  poetry  mainly  experi- 
ments in  developing  Tennyson's  art.  Many  touches  of  youthful  senti- 
mentality especially  in  the  moody  melancholy.  Yet  remarkable  work 
of  great  promise.  Compare  with  it  Browning's  Paracelsus  written  at 
a  similar  age. 

The  volumes  of  1833. — A  long  step  in  advance  taken  in  Tennyson's 
work  published  in  1833.  Evidence  of  his  permanent  interests:  fore- 
casting of  the  Idylls  of  the  King  in  The  Lady  of  Shalott;  of  his  idylls  of 
common  life  in  the  Miller's  Daughter;  of  his  classical  studies  in  CEnone. 
In  all,  luxuriant,  sensuous  imagery  subordinated  to  varied  wonderful 
music,  with  the  lyrical  expression  of  moods. 

Reception  of  the  volume.  Tennyson's  sensitiveness  to  the  criticism 
invited  by  certain  qualities  in  his  work.  Withdrawal  from  the  public 
for  ten  years,  spent  in  developing  his  art. 

The  one  tragedy. — Tennyson's  withdrawal  further  caused  by  the 
death  of  his  dearest  friend,  Arthur  Hallam,  in  1833.  Story  of  the  friend- 
ship. Hallam's  character  and  mind.  The  composition  during  seven- 
teen years  of  Tennyson's  monument  to  his  friend. 

The  volumes  of  1842. — Tennyson's  silence  broken  by  a  work  lifting 
him  from  being  merely  the  center  of  a  group  of  admiring  friends  to 
recognized  leadership  of  English  poetry.  Changes  in  the  early  work 
republished.  Range  of  the  new  work:  poems  of  the  Arthurian  cycle; 
English  idylls;  lyrical  expression  of  moods;  classical  studies.  Illus- 
trations. 

Ulysses. — Tennyson's  study  of  Ulysses  not  subsequently  changed. 
His  statement  regarding  the  relation  of  the  poem  to  his  own  life.  Sig- 
nificance of  the  poem  not  only  as  one  of  Tennyson's  most  masterly 
achievements  in  art,  but  as  laying  down  the  program  of  his  own  conduct. 

The  fresh  disaster. — Loss  at  35  of  Tennyson's  small  property.  Special 
bitterness,  because  crushing  his  already  long  postponed  hope  of  mar- 
riage. Story  of  the  meetings  with  Emily  Sellwood.  Significance  of 
the  twenty  years'  waiting.  Compare  Love  and  Duty. 

Reception  of  a  pension  in  1845.     Brightening  fortunes. 

Victory  in  1850. — At  41  Tennyson's  long  period  of  waiting  closed 

10 


In  that  year:  (1)  marriage;  (2)  appointment  as  poet-laureate;  (3) 
publication  of  In  Memoriam.  Consequences  of  the  three  events. 

Subsequent  life. — From  1850  to  the  end  of  Tennyson's  career  a  story 
of  steady  progress. 

His  homes;  relation  to  nature;  association  with  friends;  studies  in 
science,  philosophy,  literature;  travels;  honors;  financial  prosperity. 
The  range  of  his  work  during  this  forty  years.  The  masterpiece  upon 
which  his  effort  centered.  Significance  of  his  attempts  in  the  field  of 
drama. 

Characteristics  of  Tennyson's  life. — Tennyson's  reticence  and  exclu- 
siveness.  His  hatred  of  the  crowd  but  close  attachment  to  individuals. 
His  dwelling  in  an  inner  world  of  moods  and  reflections,  stimulated  by 
nature,  friends  and  books.  Long  waiting  and  renunciation  in  his  life 
rather  than  positive  struggle  and  tragedy.  Complete  subordination  of 
his  life  to  his  art.  Compare  Dante,  Goethe,  Browning. 

Significance  of  Tennyson's  work. — The  characteristics  of  Tennyson's 
life  as  pointing  the  significance  of  his  poetry.  His  work  everywhere 
lyrical,  even  when  dramatic  in  form,  playing  about  character  with 
atmosphere  rather  than  creating  from  within.  Contrast  the  two  ways 
of  portraying  life.  Thus  an  expression  of  subjective  moods,  voicing 
the  need  typical  of  the  time  and  singing  the  answer  Tennyson  achieved. 
Moreover,  Tennyson  turning  away  from  the  hurry  and  distress  of  mod- 
ern life  and  bringing  consolation  from  the  mystic  world  of  dreams. 

Thus  Tennyson's  catholicity  one  of  art  rather  than  of  life.  Compare 
other  masters.  His  limitations  as  well  as  his  excellencies  explaining 
his  contribution  in  beauty  and  in  thought. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  Alfred  is  one  of  the  few  British  and  foreign  figures  (a  not  increasing 
number  I  think)  who  are  and  remain  beautiful  to  me,  a  true  human 
soul,  or  some  authentic  approximation  thereto,  to  whom  your  own  soul 
can  say,  'Brother!'  However,  I  doubt  he  will  not  come  [to  see  me]; 
he  often  skips  me,  in  these  brief  visits  to  town;  skips  everybody, 
indeed;  being  a  man  solitary  and  sad,  as  certain  men  are,  dwelling  in 
an  element  of  gloom,  carrying  a  bit  of  Chaos  about  him,  in  short,  which 
he  is  manufacturing  into  Cosmos.  .  .  .  He  had  his  breeding  at  Cam- 
bridge, as  if  for  the  Law  or  Church;  being  a  master  of  a  small  annuity 
on  his  father's  decease,  he  preferred  clubbing  with  his  mother  and  some 
sisters,  to  live  unpromoted  and  write  Poems.  In  this  way  he  lives 
still,  now  here,  now  there;  the  family  always  within  reach  of  London, 
never  hi  it;  he  himself  making  rare  and  brief  visits,  lodging  in  some 

11 


old  comrade's  rooms.  I  think  he  must  be  under  forty,  not  much  under 
it.  One  of  the  finest  looking  men  in  the  world.  A  great  shock  of  rough 
dusky  dark  hair;  bright,  laughing,  hazel  eyes;  massive  aquiline  face, 
most  massive  yet  most  delicate;  of  sallow  brown  complexion,  almost 
Indian  looking,  clothes  cynically  loose,  free-and-easy,  smokes  infinite 
tobacco.  His  voice  is  musical,  metallic,  fit  for  loud  laughter  and 
piercing  wail,  and  all  that  may  lie  between;  speech  and  speculation 
free  and  plenteous;  I  do  not  meet  in  these  late  decades  such  company 
over  a  pipe!  we  shall  see  what  he  will  grow  to." — Carlyle's  description 
of  Tennyson  for  Emerson,  Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  pp. 
187,  188. 

"There  is  a  strange  earnestness  in  his  worship  of  beauty  which 
throws  a  charm  over  his  impassioned  song,  more  easily  felt  than 
described,  and  not  to  be  escaped  by  those  who  have  once  felt  it.  ... 
We  have  remarked  five  distinctive  excellencies  of  his  own  manner. 
First,  his  luxuriance  of  imagination,  and  at  the  same  time  his  control 
over  it.  Secondly,  his  power  of  embodying  himself  in  ideal  characters, 
or  rather  moods  of  character,  with  such  accuracy  of  adjustment  that 
the  circumstances  of  the  narrative  seem  to  have  a  natural  correspond- 
ence with  the  predominant  feeling  and,  as  it  were,  to  be  evolved  from 
it  by  assimilative  force.  Thirdly,  his  vivid,  picturesque  delineation  of 
objects,  and  the  peculiar  skill  with  which  he  holds  all  of  them  fused,  to 
borrow  a  metaphor  from  science,  in  a  medium  of  strong  emotion. 
Fourthly,  the  variety  of  his  lyrical  measures  and  the  exquisite  modula- 
tion of  harmonious  words  and  cadences  to  the  swell  and  fall  of  the 
feelings  expressed.  Fifthly,  the  elevated  habits  of  thought,  implied  in 
these  compositions,  and  importing  a  mellow  soberness  of  tone,  more 
impressive  to  our  minds  than  if  the  author  had  drawn  up  a  set  of 
opinions  in  verse,  and  sought  to  instruct  the  understanding  rather  than 
to  communicate  the  love  of  beauty  to  the  heart." — From  Arthur 
Hallam's  review  in  the  Englishman's  Magazine,  of  Tennyson's  vol- 
ume of  1830,  Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  pp.  49,  50. 

"  Ulysses,"  my  father  said,  "was  written  soon  after  Arthur  Hallam's 
death,  and  gave  my  feeling  about  the  need  of  going  forward,  and  brav- 
ing the  struggle  of  life  perhaps  more  simply  than  anything  in  In  Memo- 
riam." — Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  p.  196. 


12 


TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  The  range  of  metrical  forms  in  Tennyson's  volume  of  1830. 

2.  Tennyson's  nature-imagery. 

3.  The  relative  importance  of  music  and  imagery  in  Tennyson's 

early  work. 

4.  Compare  Browning's  aim  in  Paracelsus  with  Tennyson's  in  the 

poems  of  1830. 

5.  Tennyson's  method  of  portraying  character. 

6.  The  type  of  classical  interest  in  Tennyson. 

7.  Compare  in  art  and  in  thought  Tennyson's  poems  of  1830  and 

1833  with  Browning's  Paracelsus. 

8.  Compare  Ulysses  and  Canto  XXVI  of  Dante's  Inferno. 

9.  The  meaning  of  the  mood  of  vague  melancholy  expressed  in  so 

much  of  Tennyson's  work. 

10.  The  significance  of  Tennyson's  long  postponement  of  personal 

happiness  for  the  sake  of  his  art. 

11.  The  relative  significance  of  Tennyson's  great  friendship  and  of 

his  marriage,  for  his  life  and  development. 


REFERENCES. 

See  the  general  book  list,  pp.  40-44.  Books  starred  are  of  special  value  in  connec- 
tion with  this  course;  those  double-starred  are  texts  for  study  or  are  otherwise  of 
foremost  importance. 

Tennyson,  poems  published  in  1830,  especially:  **Claribel;  *  Noth- 
ing will  Die;  *All  Things  will  Die;  **Isabel;  **Mariana;  *The  Ballad 
of  Oriana;  *  Recollections  of  the  Arabian  Nights;  poems  published  in 
1833,  especially:  **The  Lady  of  Shalott;  **The  Miller's  Daughter; 
**(Enone;  *The  Lotos-Eaters;  *The  Sisters;  *The  Palace  of  Art; 
poems  published  in  1842,  especially:  **Morte  d' Arthur;  **The  Gar- 
dener's Daughter;  *Love  and  Duty;  **  Ulysses;  **Sir  Galahad;  **Sir 
Launcelot  and  Queen  Guinevere;  *Locksley  Hall;  see  also  **Early 
Poems  edited  by  Collins.  Brooke,  The  Poetry  of  Browning,  chapter  I, 
*Browning  and  Tennyson;  *  Tennyson,  pp.  1-187.  Chesterton  and 
Garnett,  Tennyson.  Corson,  Primer  of  English  Verse.  Dawson,  Makers 
of  Modern  English.  Horton,  Tennyson.  Luce,  ^Handbook,  chapters 
I- VIII.  Lyall,  Tennyson.  Ritchie,  Records  of  Tennyson,  Ruskin  and 
Browning,  pp.  1-72.  Van  Dyke,  * Poetry  of  Tennyson,  pp.  1-128; 
Tennyson.  Waugh,  Tennyson. 


13 


H.   THE  IDYLLS  OF  THE  KING. 

LECTURE  OUTLINE. 

Tennyson  and  the  Arthurian  story. — The  question  as  to  Tennyson's 
masterpiece.  Largely  a  matter  of  the  critic's  temperament  and  intel- 
lectual interest  whether  The  Idylls  of  the  King  or  In  Memoriam  is 
ranked  highest. 

Tennyson's  early  and  long  continued  interest  in  the  legends  of  King 
Arthur  and  the  knights  of  the  Round  Table.  More  than  fifty  years 
between  his  earliest  and  latest  poems  dealing  with  this  material:  thus 
a  central  interest  throughout  his  artistic  life.  Compare  Faust  in  rela- 
tion to  Goethe.  The  three  distinct  types  and  periods  of  Tennyson's 
work  dealing  with  this  body  of  legends  of  chivalry:  significance  as 
showing  the  development  of  Tennyson's  mind  and  art. 

The  Idylls  not  an  epic.  Yet  elements  of  unity  binding  the  separate 
poems  into  one  larger  work  of  art. 

Subject  of  the  Idylls. — The  cycle  of  mediaeval  legends  growing  up 
about  the  figures  in  old  and  dim  British  history.  Good  and  evil  in  the 
society  developed  by  mediaeval  chivalry. 

Chivalry  as  representing  the  adolescent  awakening  of  human  society; 
thus  appealing  particularly  to  the  similar  period  in  the  development  of 
the  individual.  Thus  value  of  the  surviving  legends  for  education. 

Further  value  of  chivalry  for  modern  life.  Especial  attractiveness 
to  Tennyson,  because  of  his  reaction  from  half-formed  democracy  and 
the  sordid  aspects  of  modern  industry.  His  love  of  aristocracy,  romance 
and  the  glamor  of  mystic  dreams.  Thus  The  Idylls  of  the  King  a  center 
of  his  thought  and  one  of  his  two  great  contributions. 

The  Coming  of  Arthur. — The  introductory  book  published  after  four 
of  the  Idylls:  this  as  indicating  the  gradual  maturing  of  Tennyson's 
plan  and  the  growth  of  the  conscious  allegory  in  his  mind. 

Arthur's  desire  for  Guinevere:  symbol  of  the  hunger  of  the  soul  for 
the  sensuous  through  which  alone  it  may  find  expression.  Mistake  if 
the  allegorical  interpretation  be  pushed  too  far. 

Forming  of  the  Order.  The  knightly  vow;  compare  the  fuller  state- 
ment in  Guinevere.  Tennyson's  view  of  the  ethical  value  for  all  time 
of  the  elements  of  the  vow. 

14 


The  Coming  of  Arthur  as  expressing  the  promise,  Guinevere  and  The 
Passing  of  Arthur  the  fulfillment. 

Gareth  and  Lynette. — The  second  Idyll  published  late  but  placed 
here  as  showing  the  making  of  a  knight.  The  test  to  which  Gareth  is 
subjected.  Tennyson's  evident  attitude  toward  humble  work.  Lyn- 
ette's  scorn  and  transformation. 

Geraint  and  Enid. — The  third  Idyll  presenting  the  womanhood  of 
chivalry  at  its  best.  The  contrasting  portrait  of  false  womanhood  in 
Vivien  coming  from  the  same  period. 

Tennyson's  method  of  beginning  in  the  middle  of  a  story.  Geraint's 
wild  quest.  Story  of  Geraint's  marriage  with  Enid;  its  narration 
hingeing  on  the  incident  of  the  faded  dress. 

Ideal  of  womanhood  portrayed  in  Enid.  Virtues  emphasized.  Value 
of  such  a  type. 

Balin  and  Balan. — The  fourth  Idyll  last  in  point  of  composition,  but 
inserted  here  to  show  the  effect  on  other  lives  of  evil  in  high  places. 
The  sin  of  Lancelot  and  Guinevere  as  a  dark  fate  that  slowly  beats  its 
way  up  to  the  surface  of  the  legends  and  spreads  its  atmosphere  of 
gloom  and  disaster  over  all  the  bright  romance  and  shining  figures  of 
the  story.  Best  illustration  of  this  in  Balin  and  Balan.  Moving  pathos 
in  its  conclusion. 

Merlin  and  Vivien. — Study  of  the  way  in  which  the  intellect  and  skill 
by  which  Arthur  controls  nature  become  the  victims  of  sensual  seduc- 
tion; thus  conquered  by  the  charm  "of  woven  places  and  of  waving 
hands."  Vivien's  hate  of  all  good.  Her  victory.  Tennyson's  skill  in 
depicting  a  certain  type  of  sensuous  appeal. 

Lancelot  and  Elaine. — This  as  the  tenderest  and  best  of  the  group  of 
Idylls  presenting  the  pure  romance  of  the  Arthurian  story. 

Lancelot's  courtesy:  how  it  all  seems  wooing  to  Elaine.  Her  doom 
in  her  own  inner  idealizing  mood.  How  she  reaches  out  to  Lancelot's 
melancholy.  Elaine  and  the  shield:  how  she  lived  in  fantasy.  Ten- 
nyson's skill  in  portraying  such  an  imaginative  maiden  type  of  woman- 
hood. 

Contrast  Elaine  with  the  earlier  Lady  of  Shalott.  Evidence  of  Ten- 
nyson's development  and  of  the  growth  of  the  Arthurian  legend  in  his 
mind. 

Significance  of  Elaine's  tragedy  as  the  involving  of  the  innocent  with 
the  guilty.  How  all  darkens  to  eclipse. 

Pelleas  and  Ettarre. — Study  of  careless  vice  and  the  marring  of 
youthful  innocence.  Ettarre  as  fitting  mate  to  Gawain.  Contrast 
her  with  Enid  and  Elaine. 

The  Last  Tournament. — The  Tournament  of  the  Dead  Innocence. 
The  victory  of  Sir  Tristram  as  representing  the  return  to  mere  lawless 

15 


nature,  yet  with  echoes  of  the  culture  that  must  soon  disappear.    The 
fate  of  Tristram.    Arthur's  return. 

Guinevere. — Conclusion  to  the  romance  of  the  Idylls  in  Guinevere. 
Significance  in  the  discovery  of  the  sin  just  at  the  moment  of  final 
parting  between  Lancelot  and  Guinevere.  Flight  of  the  Queen. 

Tennyson's  portrayal  of  Arthur.  Question  whether  his  character  is 
convincing  in  spite  of  the  way  he  is  kept  above  and  apart.  Arthur's 
preaching:  is  his  virtue  too  self-conscious? 

Similarity  in  Tennyson  to  mediaeval  ethics  in  making  woman  the 
cause  of  failure.  Is  he  just  to  Guinevere?  The  value  of  Guinevere  as 
a  presentation  of  human  life;  as  a  spiritual  allegory. 

Artistic  qualities  of  the  Idylls. — Tennyson's  blank  verse.  His  power 
in  melody  and  description.  Characteristic  imagery  of  the  Idylls.  Ten- 
nyson's power  in  character-drawing:  compare  Shakespeare.  Intan- 
gible quality  of  the  figures  of  the  Idylls.  Compare  Enid  and  Desde- 
mona;  Modred  and  lago.  Elements  giving  artistic  unity  to  the 
Idylls:  the  character  of  Arthur,  the  theme,  the  underlying  fate. 
•  Impression  of  mystery  in  the  Idylls.  Its  source:  partly  mystery  in 
the  old  legends,  but  deeper  than  this  the  mystery  of  life.  Tennyson's 
constant  brooding  over  it. 

Value  of  the  Idylls  for  modern  life. — Ethical  impressiveness.  Em- 
phasis of  courtesy,  truth,  personal  loyalty,  love  and  loyalty  in  love. 
Value  of  Tennyson's  message. 

Beauty  of  the  Idylls.  Refreshment  in  turning  away  from  the  hurry 
and  noise  of  modern  life  to  this  world  of  golden  and  gray  dreams. 
Magic  and  mystery  in  the  characters  of  the  poems,  like  the  dim  figures 
in  some  rich,  half-effaced  tapestry  of  olden  tune.  Compare  Tennyson, 
in  the  Idylls  with  the  Pre-Raphaelite  English  painters. 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"Lying,  robed  in  snowy  white 
That  loosely  flew  to  left  and  right — 
The  leaves  upon  her  falling  light — 
Thro'  the  noises  of  the  night 

She  floated  down  to  Camelot: 
And  as  the  boat-head  wound  along 
The  willowy  hills  and  fields  among, 
They  heard  her  singing  her  last  song 

The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

Under  tower  and  balcony, 
By  garden-wall  and  gallery, 
A  gleaming  shape  she  floated  by, 
Dead-pale  between  the  houses  high, 
Silent  into  Camelot. 

16 


Out  upon  the  wharfs  they  came, 
Knight  and  burgher,  lord  and  dame, 
And  round  the  prow  they  read  her  name 
The  Lady  of  Shalott. 

Who  is  this?  and  what  is  here? 
And  in  the  lighted  palace  near 
Died  the  sound  of  royal  cheer; 
And  they  cross'd  themselves  for  fear, 

All  the  knights  at  Camelot: 
But  Lancelot  mused  a  little  space; 
He  said,  'She  has  a  lovely  face; 
God  in  His  mercy  lend  her  grace, 

The  Lady  of  Shalott.'" 

—From  The  Lady  of  Shalott  (published  1833),  p.  29.* 

"Then  rose  the  dumb  old  servitor,  and  the  dead, 
Oar'd  by  the  dumb,  went  upward  with  the  flood — 
In  her  right  hand  the  lily,  in  her  left 
The  letter — all  her  bright  hair  streaming  down — 
And  all  the  coverlid  was  cloth  of  gold 
Drawn  to  her  waist,  and  she  herself  in  white 
All  but  her  face,  and  that  clear-featured  face 
Was  lovely,  for  she  did  not  seem  as  dead, 
But  fast  asleep,  and  lay  as  tho'  she  smiled. 


And  the  barge, 

On  to  the  palace-doorway  sliding,  paused. 
There  two  stood  arm'd,  and  kept  the  door;  to  whom, 
All  up  the  marble  stair,  tier  over  tier, 
Were  added  mouths  that  gaped,  and  eyes  that  ask'd 
'What  is  it?'    but  that  oarsman's  haggard  face, 
As  hard  and  still  as  is  the  face  that  men 
Shape  to  their  fancy's  eye  from  broken  rocks 
On  some  cliff-side,  appall'd  them,  and  they  said, 
'He  is  enchanted,  cannot  speak — and  she, 
Look  how  she  sleeps — the  Fairy  Queen,  so  fair! 
Yea,  but  how  pale!  what  are  they?  flesh  and  blood? 
Or  come  to  take  the  King  to  Fairyland? 
For  some  do  hold  our  Arthur  cannot  die, 
But  that  he  passes  into  Fairyland.' 

While  thus  they  babbled  of  the  King,  the  King 
Came  girt  with  knights:  then  turned  the  tongueless  man 
From  the  half-face  to  the  full  eye,  and  rose 
And  pointed  to  the  damsel,  and  the  doors. 
So  Arthur  bad  the  meek  Sir  Percivale 
And  pure  Sir  Galahad  to  uplift  the  maid; 
And  reverently  they  bore  her  into  hall. 
Then  came  the  fine  Gawain  and  wonder'd  at  her, 

*  References  to  Tennyson  are  to  the  Globe  Edition. 
17 


And  Lancelot  later  came  and  mused  at  her, 
And  last  the  Queen  herelf,  and  pitied  her: 
But  Arthur  spied  the  letter  in  her  hand, 
Stoopt,  took,  brake  seal,  and  read  it;   this  was  all: 

'Most  noble  lord,  Sir  Lancelot  of  the  Lake, 
I,  sometime  call'd  the  maid  of  Astolat, 
Come,  for  you  left  me  taking  no  farewell, 
Hither,  to  take  my  last  farewell  of  you. 
I  loved  you,  and  my  love  had  no  return, 
And  therefore  my  true  love  has  been  my  death. 
And  therefore  to  our  Lady  Guinevere, 
And  to  all  other  ladies,  I  make  moan: 
Pray  for  my  soul,  and  yield  me  burial. 
Pray  for  my  soul  thou  too,  Sir  Lancelot, 
As  thou  art  a  knight  peerless.'" 
— From  Lancelot  and  Elaine  (published  1859),  pp.  414-416. 


TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  What  different  stages  can  be  discerned  in  Tennyson's  treatment 

of  the  Arthurian  story? 

2.  In  what  respects  are  Tennyson's  Idylls  a  true  interpretation  of 

mediaeval  chivalry?    In  what  respects  are  they  distinctively 
modern? 

3.  The  character  and  variety  of  the  blank  verse  in  the  Idylls. 

4.  The  type  of  imagery  in  the  Idylls. 

5.  What  elements  unify  the  Idylls  as  a  single  work  of  art? 

6.  Compare  The  Lady  of  Shalott  with  Lancelot  and  Elaine. 

7.  Compare  the  earlier  Sir  Launcelot  and  Queen  Guinevere  with 

Guinevere. 

8.  The  types  of  womanhood  in  the  Idylls. 

9.  The  types  of  manhood  in  the  Idylls. 

10.  The  knightly  vow:   Tennyson's  view  of  the  value  for  modern 

society  of  the  virtues  it  emphasized. 

11.  Compare  Elaine  and  Ophelia. 

12.  Compare  Enid  and  Desdemona. 

13.  Compare  Modred  and  lago. 

14.  The  ethical  and  artistic  value  of  the  character  of  Arthur. 

15.  Compare  in  dramatic  reality  the  characters  in  the  Idylls  and  in 

Shakespeare. 

16.  Compare  the  treatment  of  unlawful  love  in  Guinevere  and  in 

Dante's  Francesca  da  Rimini. 

17.  Tennyson's  grasp  of  human  life  in  the  Idylls  as  compared  with 

Goethe's  in  Faust. 

18 


REFERENCES. 

Tennyson,  **  The  Lady  of  Shalott;  *Sir  Launcelot  and  Queen  Guine- 
vere; **Idylls  of  the  King:  **The  Coming  of  Arthur;  **Gareth  and 
Lynette;  **Geraint  and  Enid;  *Balin  and  Balan;  *  Merlin  and  Vivien; 
** Lancelot  and  Elaine;  *Pelleas  and  Ettarre;  *The  Last  Tournament; 
**  Guinevere.  Brooke,  Tennyson,  pp.  255-319  and  336-370.  Collins, 
*  Illustrations  of  Tennyson,  chapter  IX.  Dawson,  Makers  of  Modern 
English,  chapters  XX  and  XXIII.  Luce,  Handbook,  chapter  XI. 
Maccallum,  *  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King.  Nicoll  and  Wise,  Literary 
Anecdotes  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  volume  II,  pp.  222-272.  Van 
Dyke,  Poetry  of  Tennyson,  pp.  155-217. 


19 


HI.  THE  HOLY  GRAIL  AND  THE  PASSING  OF  ARTHUR. 
LECTURE   OUTLINE. 

The  Holy  Grail. — Throughout  the  Idylls  a  faint  spiritual  allegory 
giving  Tennyson's  philosophy  of  human  life  regarded  objectively. 
This  allegory  rising  to  clear  statement  in  only  one  of  the  Idylls — The 
Holy  Grail.  This  the  poem  giving  unity  to  the  whole  series.  Few 
characters  in  the  other  Idylls;  in  The  Holy  Grail  the  entire  order,  with 
a  study  of  the  different  types  of  knighthood. 

Legend  of  the  Grail. — The  whole  body  of  chivalrous  tradition  center- 
ing on  the  quest  of  the  Grail.  Meaning  of  the  old  legend.  Tennyson's 
use  of  the  Grail  as  a  mystic  symbol  of  Christianity,  thus  as  representing 
the  higher  call  of  the  spirit  in  opposition  to  the  duties  of  daily  life. 
Reality  of  this  conflict  throughout  Christian  history;  its  place  in  Ten- 
nyson's spiritual  philosophy. 

Percivale's  sister. — Value  of  the  conception  of  womanhood  Tennyson 
presents  in  Percivale's  sister.  Her  monastic  life.  Type  of  purity  she 
represents.  Her  vision  of  the  Grail.  Vague  notion  that  the  Grail  will 
work  the  cure  of  all  human  ills;  this  notion  inadequately  worked  out 
in  the  poems. 

Sir  Galahad. — Galahad  as  the  knight  of  the  Grail  peculiarly.  His 
quality  purity.  Contrast  the  portrayal  of  him  here  with  the  earlier 
Sir  Galahad:  remarkable  evidence  of  Tennyson's  development. 

The  vows. — Vision  of  the  knights  and  vowing  the  quest  of  the  Grail 
in  the  King's  absence.  Arthur's  regret  at  the  vows  taken.  His  state- 
ment of  the  conflict  between  the  higher  call  and  ordinary  duty.  That 
conflict  in  every-day  human  life.  Possibility  of  integrating  the  two 
calls;  compare  Browning's  philosophy.  Tennyson's  emphasis  of  the 
opposition  rather  than  the  solution.  Compare  the  conflict  in  his  own 
life.  Does  this  phase  of  his  experience  and  philosophy  furnish  one 
explanation  of  his  prevailing  gloom?  Sublimity  and  pathos  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  transcendent  ideal. 

The  five  quests. — The  tournament  before  departing;  Percivale's  vic- 
tory. His  quality  of  character;  its  corresponding  weakness — spiritual 
pride.  Hence  the  land  of  sand  and  thorns.  Percivale's  salvation 
through  his  fall. 

20 


Galahad's  quest.  Mystic  impressiveness  of  the  allegory.  Value  and 
limitations  of  Galahad  as  an  ideal  for  common  life. 

How  the  vision  was  granted  to  Sir  Bors.  Peculiar  impressiveness  in 
the  ethical  lesson  here. 

Gawain's  easy  vice  and  consequent  cynicism.  How  much  more 
completely  he  fails  of  the  truth  than  does  any  unpractical  mystic  or 
eccentric  dreamer. 

Lancelot's  story.  Dramatic  fault  in  representing  his  confession  here 
and  a  return  to  Guinevere  afterward.  Illustration  of  the  imperfect 
dramatic  unity  of  the  Idylls.  Yet,  in  the  separate  poem,  high  artistic 
and  ethical  impression  in  Lancelot's  story. 

Arthur's  summing  up:  how  following  the  higher  call  disturbs  and 
thwarts;  yet  how  imperative  is  obedience  when  the  higher  call  truly 
comes. 

The  allegory  of  sense  and  soul. — Throughout  The  Holy  Grail  shad- 
owed forth  Tennyson's  philosophy  of  an  inevitable  conflict  between 
the  soul  and  the  senses  which  reaches  its  conclusion  in  The  Passing  of 
Arthur.  Tennyson's  own  statement  of  this  allegory  in  the  epilogue 
To  the  Queen. 

Measure  of  truth  to  human  life  in  this  aspect  of  the  philosophy  of  the 
Idylls.  How  often  the  body,  which  should  be  servant,  becomes  master, 
that  which  should  be  the  means  becomes  the  end,  with  resulting  disas- 
ter. Thus  perfect  harmony  between  the  spiritual  and  the  natural  life 
possible  only  for  a  time  and  under  unusual  conditions.  Compare  the 
Greek  world;  the  Italian  renaissance;  personal  life. 

No  conception  in  Tennyson  of  growth  through  imperfections  and 
misadjustments.  His  view  of  statical  perfection,  any  change  from 
which  would  mean  decay.  Thus  realization  of  Arthur's  dream  only  for 
a  brief  time  in  the  Order;  then  rapid  degeneration.  The  only  hope 
substitution  of  one  order  of  society  for  another.  Compare  the  view  of 
the  state  in  Plato's  Republic.  Contrast  this  aspect  of  Tennyson's 
thought  with  the  views  of  Browning  and  Goethe.  Thus  the  explanation 
for  the  prevailing  gloom  and  melancholy  in  Tennyson's  portrayal  of 
life  in  the  Idylls. 

The  Passing  of  Arthur. — The  gloom  inherent  in  the  view  of  life  taken 
in  the  Idylls  as  never  having  received  more  moving  expression  than  in 
The  Passing  of  Arthur.  At  the  same  time  in  this  poem  Tennyson's 
supreme  portrayal  of  moral  heroism  in  the  presence  of  inevitable  dis- 
aster. This  poem  Tennyson's  masterpiece  in  profound  pathos. 

Story  of  the  battle.  Slightly  faulty  connection  in  the  insertion  of 
the  earlier  Morte  d'  Arthur;  yet  perfect  harmony  in  mood  and  spirit 
of  the  earlier  with  the  later  poem,  thus  showing  how  dominant  that  mood 
was  throughout  Tennyson's  life. 

21 


The  last  of  Excalibur.  Tennyson's  emphasis  of  unquestioning 
obedience.  The  barge  and  the  Queen.  The  fate  of  Arthur  as  the  fate 
of  the  ideal  of  chivalry.  Marvelous  poetry  in  the  closing  portion  of 
the  poem. 

Philosophy  of  the  poem. — Moral  heroism  of  Arthur.  How  he  fulfills 
the  teaching  to  live  well  even  within  the  gloom.  Type  of  heroism  he 
represents.  Compare  Ulysses.  Compare  the  same  spirit  in  Anglo- 
Saxon  Beowulf.  Significance  of  such  heroism  at  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  the  life  of  the  race. 

Tennyson's  view  of  life  as  environed  by  mystery.  Type  of  virtue 
demanded  here.  Summation  of  this  aspect  of  Tennyson's  philosophy 
in  the  weird  line: 

"From  the  great  deep  to  the  great  deep  he  goes." 
Universal  value  and  application  of  this  ethical  philosophy. 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"My  good  blade  carves  the  casques  of  men, 

My  tough  lance  thrusteth  sure, 
My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 

Because  my  heart  is  pure. 
The  shattering  trumpet  shrilleth  high, 

The  hard  brands  shiver  on  the  steel, 
The  splinter'd  spear-shafts  crack  and  fly, 

The  horse  and  rider  reel: 
They  reel,  they  roll  in  clanging  lists, 

And  when  the  tide  of  combat  stands, 
Perfume  and  flowers  fall  in  showers, 

That  lightly  rain  from  ladies'  hands. 

How  sweet  are  looks  that  ladies  bend 

On  whom  their  favours  fall! 
For  them  I  battle  till  the  end, 

To  save  from  shame  and  thrall: 
But  all  my  heart  is  drawn  above, 

My  knees  are  bow'd  in  crypt  and  shrine: 
I  never  felt  the  kiss  of  love, 

Nor  maiden's  hand  in  mine. 
More  bounteous  aspects  on  me  beam, 

Me  mightier  transports  move  and  thrill; 
So  keep  I  fair  thro'  faith  and  prayer 

A  virgin  heart  in  work  and  will. 


A  maiden  knight — to  me  is  given 
Such  hope,  I  know  not  fear; 

I  yearn  to  breathe  the  airs  of  heaven 
That  often  meet  me  here. 

22 


I  muse  on  joy  that  will  not  cease, 

Pure  spaces  clothed  in  living  beams, 
Pure  lilies  of  eternal  peace, 

Whose  odours  haunt  my  dreams; 
And,  stricken  by  an  angel's  hand, 

This  mortal  armour  that  I  wear, 
This  weight  and  size,  this  heart  and  eyes, 

Are  touch'd,  are  turn'd  to  finest  air." 

— From  Sir  Galahad  (published  1842),  p.  110. 

"And  one  there  was  among  us,  ever  moved 
Among  us  in  white  armour,  Galahad. 
'God  make  thee  good  as  thou  art  beautiful/ 
Said  Arthur,  when  he  dubb'd  him  knight;   and  none 
In  so  young  youth,  was  ever  made  a  knight 
Till  Galahad;   and  this  Galahad,  when  he  heard 
My  sister's  vision,  filPd  me  with  amaze; 
His  eyes  became  so  like  her  own,  they  seem'd 
Hers,  and  himself  her  brother  more  than  I. 


But  she,  the  wan  sweet  maiden,  shore  away 
Clean  from  her  forehead  all  that  wealth  of  hair 
Which  made  a  silken  mat-work  for  her  feet; 
And  out  of  this  she  plaited  broad  and  long 
A  strong  sword-belt,  and  wove  with  silver  thread 
And  crimson  in  the  belt  a  strange  device, 
A  crimson  grail  within  a  silver  beam; 
And  saw  the  bright  boy-knight,  and  bound  it  on  him 
Saying,  '  My  knight,  my  love,  my  knight  of  heaven, 
O  thou,  my  love,  whose  love  is  one  with  mine, 
I,  maiden,  round  thee,  maiden,  bind  my  belt. 
Go  forth,  for  thou  shalt  see  what  I  have  seen, 
And  break  thro'  all,  till  one  will  crown  thee  king 
Far  in  the  spiritual  city:'    and  as  she  spake 
She  sent  the  deathless  passion  in  her  eyes 
Thro'  him,  and  made  him  hers,  and  laid  her  mind 
On  him,  and  he  believed  in  her  belief. 

Then  came  a  year  of  miracle:  0  brother, 
In  our  great  hafl  there  stood  a  vacant  chair, 
Fashion'd  by  Merlin  ere  he  past  away, 
And  carven  with  strange  figures;   and  in  and  out 
The  figures,  like  a  serpent,  ran  a  scroll 
Of  letters  in  a  tongue  no  man  could  read. 
And  Merlin  call'd  it  'The  Siege  perilous,' 
Perilous  for  good  and  ill;   'for  there,'  he  said, 
'No  man  could  sit  but  he  should  lose  himself:' 
And  once  by  misadvertence  Merlin  sat 
In  his  own  chair,  and  so  was  lost;  but  he, 
Galahad,  when  he  heard  of  Merlin's  doom, 
Cried,  'If  I  lose  myself,  I  save  myself! '  " 

—From  The  Holy  Grail  (published  1869),  pp.  420-421. 

23 


"  Of  all  the  Idylls  of  the  King,  The  Holy  Grail  seems  to  me  to  express 
most  my  father's  highest  self.  Perhaps  this  is  because  I  saw  him,  in 
the  writing  of  this  poem  more  than  in  the  writing  of  any  other,  with 
that  far  away  rapt  look  on  his  face,  which  he  had  whenever  he  worked 
at  a  story  that  touched  him  greatly,  or  because  I  vividly  recall  the 
inspired  way  hi  which  he  chanted  to  us  the  different  parts  of  the  poem 
as  they  were  composed." — Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  II,  p.  92. 

"Poetry  is  like  shot-silk  with  many  glancing  colours.  Every  reader 
must  find  his  own  interpretation  according  to  his  ability,  and  according 
to  his  sympathy  with  the  poet.  The  whole  is  the  dream  of  man  coming 
into  practical  life  and  ruined  by  one  sin.  Birth  is  a  mystery  and  death 
is  a  mystery,  and  in  the  midst  lies  the  tableland  of  life,  and  its  struggles 
and  performances.  It  is  not  the  history  of  one  man  or  of  one  genera- 
tion but  of  a  whole  cycle  of  generations." — Tennyson,  in  conversation 
on  the  Idylls  of  the  King,  Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  II,  p.  127. 


TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Compare  in  music  and  imagery  the  earlier  studies  of  the  Arthurian 

story  with  The  Holy  Grail  and  The  Passing  of  Arthur. 

2.  Compare  the  study  of  Sir  Galahad  in  the  earlier  poem  of  that 

name  and  in  The  Holy  Grail. 

3.  Compare  the  Morte  d'  Arthur  and  The  Passing  of  Arthur. 

4.  What  is  the  relative  value  of  the  ethical  and  artistic  elements 

in  the  Idylls? 

5.  What  are  the  causes  of  the  prevailing  melancholy  in  Tennyson's 

view  of  life? 

6.  Which  of  the  Idytts  has  the  highest  artistic  value,  and  why? 

7.  Which  of  the  Idylls  has  the  highest  ethical  value,  and  why? 

8.  Is  Tennyson's  teaching  regarding  the  opposition  between  the 

higher  call  and  ordinary  duties  true  to  life? 

9.  How  far  are  the  lessons  of  The  Holy  Grail  of  universal  application? 

10.  Compare  The  Holy  Grail  and  Lowell's  Sir  Launfal's  Vision. 

11.  Compare  The  Holy  Grail  and  Wagner's  Parsifal. 

12.  Compare  The  Passing  of  Arthur  and  the  death  of  Beowulf  in 

Beowulf,  chapter  XI. 

13.  The  ethical  value  of  Tennyson's  philosophy  of  sense  and  soul. 

14.  In  what  ways  does  Tennyson's  ethical  view  resemble  that  of 

Dante  and  the  middle  ages? 

15.  Compare  Tennyson  and  Browning  in  the  view  of  the  senses  in 

relation  to  the  soul. 

24 


REFERENCES. 

Tennyson,  **Sir  Galahad;  **Morte  d'  Arthur;  **Idylls  of  the  King: 
*  Dedication;  **The  Holy  Grail;  **The  Passing  of  Arthur;  **To  the 
Queen.  Brooke,  Tennyson,  pp.  319-336  and  370-391.  Garnett, 
*Beowulf,  chapter  XI,  pp.  71-86.  Horton,  Tennyson,  chapter  VI. 
Luce,  Handbook,  chapter  XI.  Maccallum,  *  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the 
King.  Tainsh,  Study  of  Tennyson,  chapter  XII. 


25 


IV.    IN  MEMORIAM:    THE  PERIOD  OF  GRIEF  AND 
STRUGGLE. 

LECTURE  OUTLINE. 

Introduction. — To  turn  now  to  the  most  autobiographic  of  Tennyson's 
poems,  the  one  in  which  he  gives  his  deepest  spiritual  thought  in  answer 
to  the  needs  at  once  of  his  own  life  and  of  modern  times.  In  The 
Idylls  of  the  King  Tennyson's  objective  ethical  philosophy  dealing  with 
problems  of  the  family,  the  state,  and  the  growth  and  decay  of  society; 
in  In  Memoriam  his  subjective  philosophy  dealing  with  the  problem 
of  faith  as  a  basis  of  conduct  and  with  what  we  may  dare  to  believe 
concerning  God,  freedom  and  immortality. 

Occasion  of  In  Memoriam. — History  of  the  friendship  between  Ten- 
nyson and  Arthur  Henry  Hallam.  Character  and  genius  of  Hallam; 
his  literary  remains;  opinions  of  his  contemporaries  regarding  him. 

Sudden  death  of  Hallam  hi  1833.  Sincerity  of  Tennyson's  grief. 
The  seventeen  years  of  writing  and  thinking  (ten  of  which  Tennyson 
spent  in  complete  retirement)  from  the  death  of  Hallam  to  the  publi- 
cation of  In  Memoriam.  Thus  the  experience  the  heart  of  Tennyson's 
own  development,  and  the  poem  representing  it  a  kind  of  Divine 
Comedy  of  personal  life.  Compare  Tennyson's  own  statement. 

In  Memoriam  as  a  literary  masterpiece. — Significance  of  the  personal 
subject  of  In  Memoriam.  Contrast  other  masterpieces:  the  poem  of 
Job,  The  Agamemnon  Trilogy,  Faust,  The  Divine  Comedy,  The  Ring 
and  the  Book.  Expression  of  the  spirit  of  modern  times  by  Tennyson 
and  Browning  in  making  personal  life  the  subject  of  a  great  work  of 
art.  Browning  pre-eminently  the  poet  of  love,  Tennyson  of  friend- 
ship. 

The  literature  of  friendship. — Studies  of  friendship  in  the  Greek 
world:  compare  Homer,  .ffischylus,  Plato,  Aristotle.  Relation  of  Ten- 
nyson to  the  classical  spirit.  Comparison  of  In  Memoriam  to  other 
works  hi  the  literature  of  friendship:  Shakespeare's  Sonnets;  Milton's 
Lyddas;  Shelley's  Adonais. 

Stanza  form  of  In  Memoriam. — Peculiar  poetic  value  of  the  stanza 
'•  used  in  In  Memoriam;  significance  that  Tennyson  believed  he  had 

26 


invented  it.    Adaptation  of  this  stanza  to  the  different  moods  of  the 
poem. 

Composition  of  the  poem. — In  Memoriam  not  simply  a  direct  expres- 
sion of  personal  feeling.     Lyrics  written  at  different  tunes  and  loosely 
bound  together.     Relation  of  lyrical  to  dramatic  elements.    Tennyson 
studying  "the  working  out  of  a  spiritual  fact."     Compare  the  direct 
expression  of  personal  feeling  in  such  a  lyric  as  Break,  break,  break. 
-      Imagery  of  the  poem. — Tennyson's  wonderful  skill  in  using  the  same 
symbol  in  different  parts  of  the  poem  to  give  unity  and  at  the  same  time 
point  the  contrasting  moods.     Compare  the  house  described  in  cantos 
VII  and  CXIX.    Compare  the  Yew;    the  repeated  descriptions  of 
Christmas  and  other  significant  anniversaries.     Extreme  care  with ; 
which  Tennyson  works  out  every  image.     Unity  of  music  and  imagery. 
The  initial  attitude  of  grief. — The  blind  clinging  to  sorrow  as  the  only 
remaining  bond  with  love.     Expression  of  the  demand  for  permanence  , 
that  is  one  of  the  two  fundamental  hungers  of  the  human  soul  (cantos 
I-IV). 

Grief  in  words  (V).  Question  as  to  the  personal  sincerity  of  In 
Memoriam.  The  false  comfort  of  those  who  tell  us  grief  is  common 
(VI). 

The  ship  (IX-XIX).  Calm  and  storm  on  the  sea  and  in  the  moods 
of  the  poet.  Tennyson's  use  of  nature  to  express  human  experience. 

The  first  Christmas  (XXVIII-XXX). — Pain  in  an  anniversary  return- 
ing with  the  absence  of  those  whose  presence  made  it  joyous.  Yet 
what  Christmas  suggests  and  symbolizes;  thus  serving  to  introduce 
the  first  series  of  spiritual  problems. 

First  cycle  of  spiritual  reflections  (XXXI-XXXVT). — Story  of  Lazarus. 
The  Christian  tradition  not  abrogating  the  mystery  of  death.  Value 
of  the  attitude  of  unreasoning  acceptance  in  Mary.  Tennyson's  view 
of  the  blessedness  of  such  faith  and  the  need  to  leave  it  undisturbed. 
The  personal  argument  for  immortality.  The  cycle  closing  with  the 
return  of  the  mood  of  doubt.  The  series  followed  by  an  interlude  of 
poems  expressing  the  more  personal  relation  to  the  friend. 

Second  cycle  of  spiritual  reflections  (XLV-XLVII). — The  mystery  of 
personality.  Turning  from  the  question  what  death  is  to  what  life  is. 
Again  the  hunger  for  permanence;  a  vague  pantheism  giving  no  satis- 
factory answer. 

Another  interlude  of  more  personal  songs.  How  these  lays  are  to  be 
taken  (XL VIII).  Need  of  the  friend  in  the  mood  when  faith  is  dry 
(L).  Effect  of  sin  on  the  relation  to  the  friend  (LI,  LII). 

Third  cycle  of  spiritual  reflections  (LHI-LVI). — Is  growth  possible 
through  sin?  Tennyson's  view  of  good  and  evil:  compare  Goethe. 
Significance  of  what  Tennyson  emphasizes. 

27 


Tennyson's  wonderful  expression,  in  cantos  LIV-LVI,  of  the  cry  of 
despairing  longing,  typical  of  the  modern  spirit  in  the  presence  of  the 
mystery  of  the  universe  and  temporarily  overwhelmed  by  the  discov- 
eries and  generalizations  of  physical  science.  The  mood  Tennyson 
expresses  as  culminating  during  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Service  of  Tennyson  in  bringing  the  deeps  of  doubt  and  questioning, 
characteristic  of  his  epoch,  to  conscious  expression  in  exquisite  melody 
and  marvelous  imagery. 

Close  of  the  first  movement  of  In  Memoriam. — Following  Tennyson's 
comparison  of  his  poem  to  The  Divine  Comedy,  its  first  portion  the 
"  Inferno."  Yet  contrast  with  Dante.  Range  of  problems  Tennyson  con- 
siders; yet  all  immediately  connected  with  his  personal  experience. 
Mood  with  which  the  first  movement  of  the  poem  closes:  the  recurring 
question;  no  answer;  impossible  to  wring  faith  from  the  spiritual 
universe  by  struggle;  so  in  half-benumbed  condition  we  must  wait  in 
the  dark. 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"It  must  be  remembered  that  this  is  a  poem,  not  an  actual 
biography.  It  is  founded  on  our  friendship,  on  the  engagement  of 
Arthur  Hallam  to  my  sister,  on  his  sudden  death  at  Vienna,  just  before 
the  time  fixed  for  their  marriage,  and  on  his  burial  at  Clevedon  Church. 
The  poem  concludes  with  the  marriage  of  my  youngest  sister  Cecilia. 
It  was  meant  to  be  a  kind  of  Divina  Commedia,  ending  with  happiness. 
The  sections  were  written  at  many  different  places,  and  as  the  phases 
of  our  intercourse  came  to  my  memory  and  suggested  them.  I  did  not 
write  them  with  any  view  of  weaving  them  into  a  whole,  or  for  publica- 
tion, until  I  found  that  I  had  written  so  many.  The  different  moods 
of  sorrow  as  in  a  drama  are  dramatically  given,  and  my  conviction  that 
fear,  doubts,  and  suffering  will  find  answer  and  relief  only  through 
Faith  in  a  God  of  Love." — Note  of  Tennyson's  concerning  In  Memo- 
riam, Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  pp.  304,  305. 

"I  know  not  how  to  express  what  I  have  felt.  My  first  sentiment 
was  surprise,  for,  though  I  now  find  that  you  had  mentioned  the  inten- 
tion to  my  daughter,  Julia,  she  had  never  told  me  of  the  poems.  I  do 
not  speak  as  another  would  to  praise  and  admire:  few  of  them  indeed 
I  have  as  yet  been  capable  of  reading,  the  grief  they  express  is  too  much 
akin  to  that  they  revive.  It  is  better  than  any  monument  which  could 
be  raised  to  the  memory  of  my  beloved  son,  it  is  a  more  lively  and 
enduring  testimony  to  his  great  virtues  and  talents  that  the  world 
should  know  the  friendship  which  existed  between  you,  that  posterity 

28 


should  associate  his  name  with  that  of  Alfred  Tennyson." — From  a 
letter  of  Henry  Hallam  to  Tennyson  in  1850,  concerning  In  Memoriam, 
Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  p.  327. 


TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Compare  the  stanza  Tennyson  uses  in  In  Memoriam  with  the 

ordinary  quatrain;  with  the  stanza  used  in  Fitzgerald's  Omar 
Khayyam. 

2.  Characteristics  of  the  imagery  in  the  first  third  of  In  Memoriam. 

3.  What  methods  does  Tennyson  employ  to  give  unity  to  In  Memo- 

riaml 

4.  Compare  the  descriptions  of  the  house  in  cantos  VII  and  CXIX. 

5.  Compare  the  treatment  of  friendship  in  In  Memoriam  and  hi 

Greek  literature  and  philosophy. 

6.  Compare  the  treatment  of  friendship  in  In  Memoriam  and  in  the 

Sonnets  of  Shakespeare. 

7.  The  life  and  literary  remains  of  Arthur  Henry  Hallam. 

8.  The  relation  of  lyrical  to  dramatic  elements  in  In  Memoriam. 

9.  The  personal  sincerity  of  the  grief  expressed  in  In  Memoriam. 

10.  Compare  the  lyric  "Break,  break,  break,"  with  the  opening  cantos 

of  In  Memoriam. 

11.  The  moral  significance  of  the  clinging  to  sorrow  expressed  in  the 

early  cantos  of  In  Memoriam. 

12.  Compare  In  Memoriam  and  Milton's  Lycidas. 

13.  Compare  In  Memoriam  and  Shelley's  Adonais. 

14.  What  is  the  value  in  the  artistic  expression  of  moods  of  doubt 

and  questioning? 

15.  Compare  Tennyson,  Goethe  and  Dante  in  their  view  of  good 

and  evil. 

REFERENCES. 

Tennyson,  **" Break,  break,  break,  on  thy  cold  gray  stones  0  sea.'," 
**In  Memoriam,  cantos  I-LVI,  inclusive.  Azarias,  Brother,  *  Phases 
of  Thought  and  Criticism,  pp.  183-215.  Bradley,  ^Commentary  on  In 
Memoriam.  Brooke,  Tennyson,  pp.  188-228.  Chapman,  Companion 
to  In  Memoriam.  Corson,  Primer  of  English  Verse,  pp.  69-77.  David- 
son, *  Prolegomena  to  In  Memoriam,  chapters  I-IX.  Dawson,  Makers 
of  Modern  English,  chapter  XXV.  Genung,  *  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam. 
Luce,  Handbook,  chapter  IX.  Masterman,  Tennyson  as  a  Religious 
Teacher.  Van  Dyke,  Poetry  of  Tennyson,  pp.  131-151. 

29 


V.  IN  MEMORIAM:  THE  CANTOS  OF  FAITH  AND  LOVE. 
LECTURE  OUTLINE. 

Second  movement  of  the  poem. — The  "  Purgatorio  "  beginning  with  the 
song  "Peace,  come  away!"  (LVII).  The  sense  of  the  uselessness  of 
crying  out,  so  dumb  acceptance.  Sorrow  now  an  abiding  companion 
instead  of  being  the  cause  of  a  spiritual  crisis. 

The  new  series  dealing  with  the  poet's  relation  to  the  friend.  His 
love  compared  to  that  of  a  girl  loving  above  her  rank  (LX) .  Yet  love 
absolute  (LXI).  Love  is  perfect  enough  to  give  up  even  its  own  desire 
for  an  answer  if  that  would  hold  the  friend  back  (LXII).  Love  will 
look  back  upon  the  one  left  behind  as  a  great  man  upon  his  childhood's 
comrade  (LXIV).  The  reflections  now  all  dealing  with  life  rather  than 
death. 

The  blossoming  of  the  crown  of  thorns. — Canto  LXIX  expressing 
perfectly  the  spirit  of  the  second  division  of  the  poem.  Contrast  the 
crown  of  thorns  blossoming,  with  reaching  "a  hand  through  time  to 
catch  the  far-off  interest  of  tears."  How  sorrow  does  refine  and  edu- 
cate in  compensation  for  the -death  it  may  bring  to  other  aspects  of 
life.  Nature  of  the  good  coming  through  the  ministry  of  suffering. 
The  good  coming  not  because  anticipated,  but  because  of  the  spirit  in 
which  the  sorrow  was  accepted. 

The  second  Christmas. — Contrast  the  mood  in  cantos  LXXVIII  and 
LXXXIII  with  that  in  cantos  XXVIII-XXX.  Clearer  acceptance  of 
immortality:  compare  canto  LXXXII.  The  tender  personal  dream  of 
what  might  have  been  (LXXXIV). 

The  second  friendship  (LXXXV). — Close  of  the  second  division  of  the 
poem  with  the  acceptance  of  the  new  friendship.  Relation  of  the  new 
to  the  old.  Spirit  in  which  this  "primrose  of  the  later  year"  is  offered 
and  accepted. 

Third  movement  of  the  poem. — Beginning  of  the  "Paradise"  with 
the  exultant  song  of  joy  and  peace  in  canto  LXXXVI.  Significance 
that  the  whole  song  is  a  single  sentence.  This  canto  an  admirable 
example  of  Tennyson's  power  to  make  the  stanza-form  of  In  Memoriam 
respond  to  his  more  positive  and  exultant  emotions  as  well  as  to  voice 
the  minor  music  of  the  sad  moods. 

30 


Possible  now  to  brood  tenderly,  with  a  sad  joy,  over  the  memories 
of  the  past. 

The  new  relation  to  the  past. — Reflections  over  the  measure  of  union 
with  the  friend  possible  now.  Heart-hunger  for  the  lost  human  touch 
(XCI).  Desire  that  the  friend's  spirit  might  come  (XCIII).  Ten- 
nyson rising  in  canto  XCV  to  the  dream  of  spiritual  union.  This  as 
representing  the  taking  of  the  past  up  into  his  own  soul.  Acceptance 
not  by  forgetting  but  by  remembering.  Compare  this  experience  with 
Dante's  Lethe  and  Eunoe. 

Solution  of  the  problem  of  doubt. — Canto  XCVI  complementary  to 
canto  XXXIII.  Need  to  leave  simple  faith  undisturbed;  yet  once  it 
is  broken,  need  to  press  on  through  doubt  to  the  larger  faith  that  in- 
cludes it.  Mistake  in  pulling  the  chrysalis  off  from  a  half-formed 
butterfly;  yet  once  the  chrysalis  is  broken,  the  only  hope  to  go  on  and 
grow  wings. 

The  third  Christmas. — Preparation  for  leaving  the  home  with  its 
loved  associations  (CI).  The  dream  of  reunion  that  comforts  in  break- 
nig  the  associations  of  youth  and  friendship  (CHI).  The  new  Christ- 
mas in  strange  surroundings  (CIV,  CV).  Compare  in  mood  in  cantos 
XXX  and  LXXVIII. 

The  New  Year  and  the  new  ideals  (CVI).  Ability  to  look  forward 
instead  of  backward,  to  take  the  past  up  into  the  soul  and  face  the 
future. 

Hallam's  character  (CIX-CXIII). — Tennyson's  pleasure  in  portraying 
the  character  of  his  friend.  Influence  of  Hallam's  spirit  upon  others 
(CX).  Ideal  of  the  gentleman  exemplified  in  Hallam  (CXI).  The 
career  the  friend  might  have  had  (CXIII) . 

Knowledge  versus  wisdom. — Tennyson's  view  of  the  life  of  apprecia- 
tion in  relation  to  the  life  of  the  understanding.  Thus  conception  of 
religion  in  relation  to  science.  Value  of  this  aspect  of  Tennyson's 
philosophy  in  connection  with  his  whole  spiritual  contribution. 

Closing  cycle  of  spiritual  reflections  (CXVU-CXXXI). — Absolute 
acceptance  of  personal  immortality  and  belief  that  Time  is  the  sphere 
for  the  evolution  of  the  soul.  This  changed  attitude  due  less  to  intel- 
lectual reasoning  than  to  change  in  mood  and  development  of  inner 
experience:  significance.  View  of  science  and  the  hypothesis  of  physical 
evolution  (CXX).  Tennyson's  acceptance  of  the  results  of  modern 
science,  though  with  some  measure  of  reluctance.  Value  of  his  inte- 
gration of  the  results  of  science  with  the  best  teachings  of  religion  and 
of  the  older  philosophy. 

Recognition  of  ceaseless  change  in  the  material  universe  with  a  reality 
in  the  spirit  to  which  he  can  trust.  Statement  of  his  highest  thought 
of  the  Divine  (CXXIV).  Compare  canto  LIV. 

31 


Tennyson's  social  philosophy  (CXXVII). — Conservatism  of  Tennyson 
in  his  view  of  society  as  in  his  attitude  toward  science.  Yet  in  both 
acceptance  of  the  new.  Recognition  of  the  promise  of  peace  and  har- 
mony issuing  from  the  storms  of  social  revolution. 

Concluding  song. — The  long  canto  celebrating  the  marriage  of  Ten- 
nyson's sister  a  fitting  conclusion  to  the  whole  poem.  Perfect  spirit- 
ual faith  and  glad  acceptance  of  life  that  breathes  through  it.  Joy  in 
the  present  with  full  memory  of  the  past.  The  ideal  and  dream  of 
nobler  life  that  is  to  be,  and  connection  of  this  with  the  broken  promise 
of  the  life  that  was. 

Closing  stanza  as  "gathering  up  Aristotle's  four  causes,"  and  affirm- 
ing Tennyson's  faith  in  answer  to  the  great  problems  of  philosophy. 

The  Prelude. — The  Prelude  presenting  a  more  complete  summary  of 
Tennyson's  spiritual  philosophy  than  even  the  closing  song.  Remark- 
able inclusiveness  of  the  Prelude  in  reference  to  the  theses  and  prob- 
lems of  philosophy.  The  faith  Tennyson  affirms  in  answer  to  these: 
its  source;  its  significance  in  relation  to  modern  life. 

Conclusion. — Value  of  the  poem:  (1)  As  a  beautiful  creation;  (2) 
As  a  revelation  of  personal  experience;  (3)  As  a  study  of  education 
through  suffering;  (4)  As  a  study  of  the  deeper  problems  of  philosophy 
and  religion. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  If  a  man  is  merely  to  be  a  bundle  of  sensations,  he  had  better  not 
exist  at  all.  He  should  embark  on  his  career  in  the  spirit  of  selfless  and 
adventurous  heroism;  should  develop  his  true  self  by  not  shirking 
responsibility,  by  casting  aside  all  maudlin  and  introspective  morbid- 
ities, and  by  using  his  powers  cheerfully  in  accordance  with  the  obvious 
dictates  of  his  moral  consciousness,  and  so,  as  far  as  possible,  in  har- 
mony with  what  he  feels  to  be  the  Absolute  Right.  .... 

It  is  motive,  it  is  the  great  purpose  which  consecrates  life.  The  real 
test  of  a  man  is  not  what  he  knows,  but  what  he  is  in  himself  and  in  his 
relation  to  others.  For  instance,  can  he  battle  against  his  own  bad 
inherited  instincts,  or  brave  public  opinion  in  the  cause  of  truth?  The 
love  of  God  is  the  true  basis  of  duty,  truth,  reverence,  loyalty,  love, 
virtue  and  work.  I  believe  in  these  although  I  feel  the  emptiness  and 
hollowness  of  much  of  life.  'Be  ye  perfect  as  your  Father  in  heaven 
is  perfect.'  But  don't  be  a  prig.  Most  young  men  with  anything  in 
them  make  fools  of  themselves  at  some  time  or  other." — Tennyson,  in 
conversation  with  a  young  man  about  to  enter  the  University,  Hallam 
Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  pp.  317,  318. 

32 


"Yet  God  is  love,  transcendent,  all-pervading!  We  do  not  get  this 
faith  from  Nature  or  the  world.  If  we  look  at  Nature  alone,  full  of 
perfection  and  imperfection,  she  tells  us  that  God  is  disease,  murder 
and  rapine.  We  get  this  faith  from  ourselves,  from  what  is  highest 
within  us,  which  recognizes  that  there  is  not  one  fruitless  pang,  just  as 
there  is  not  one  lost  good." — Tennyson,  in  conversation  with  Hallam 
Tennyson  in  1892,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  p.  314. 

"He  had  no  kind  of  sympathy  with  the  theory  which  would  divorce 
art  from  morals,  and  I  have  known  no  literary  man  who  had  a  more 
uniformly  high  sense  of  duty  in  connection  with  his  work.  It  was  a 
sense  of  duty  not  only  to  the  living  and  the  unborn,  but  also,  and  in  a 
very  marked  degree,  to  the  dead.  In  speaking  of  the  character  of 
Becket,  I  remember  his  expressing  the  dread  he  always  felt,  lest  he 
should  do  some  injustice  to  the  actions  or  motives  of  those  who  are  in 
their  graves.  He  hated  with  an  intense  hatred  all  literary  quarrels, 
and  rivalries,  and  jealousies,  and  his  literary  judgment  seemed  to  me 
not  only  singularly  sane  and  unexaggerated,  but  also  singularly  unbi- 
assed by  his  personal  likings.  ..... 

Your  father  thought  much  about  religious  matters  and  often  dwelt 
with  great  force  on  his  intuitive  conviction  of  immortality,  with  its 
corollaries  of  Theism  and  Providence.  These  beliefs  he  held  very 
strongly,  but  they  were,  I  think,  wholly  detached  in  his  mind  from  the 
dogmas  of  particular  creeds.  ...  As  all  attentive  readers  of  his 
poetry  will  have  perceived,  he  was  much  occupied  with,  and  disturbed 
by,  the  subversive  theories  that  were  abroad,  but  chiefly  I  think  on 
account  of  their  bearing  on  the  great  primal  beliefs  which  I  have  men- 
tioned, which  he  believed  to  be  the  main  pillars  on  which  the  goodness, 
happiness  and  dignity  of  man  must  ultimately  rest." — From  recollec- 
tions of  Tennyson  by  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  written  for  Hallam  Tennyson, 
Memoir,  vol.  II,  pp  203,  206. 

TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  How  far  may  In  Memoriam  be  regarded  as  a  direct  expression  of 

Tennyson's  personal  feelings  and  experience? 

2.  Compare  Tennyson  and  Browning  in  their  expression  and  inter- 

pretation of  personal  life. 

3.  Compare  Tennyson  and  Browning  in  their  treatment  of  the  reli- 

gious problem  in  modern  times. 

4.  The  range  of  Tennyson's  studies  as  revealed  in  In  Memoriam. 

5.  Tennyson's  attitude  toward  modern  science. 

6.  Tennyson's  relation  to  ancient  philosophy. 

33 


7.  The  relation  of  Tennyson  to  Christianity  as  revealed  in  In 

Memoriam. 

8.  What  grounds  are  given  in  the  poem  for  the  change  in  Tenny- 

son's attitude  toward  the  problem  of  immortality? 

9.  Tennyson's  view  of  the  relation  of  knowledge  to  wisdom. 

10.  Tennyson's  social  philosophy  as  given  in  In  Memoriam. 

11.  Sources  of  the  faith  Tennyson  affirms  in  the  closing  portion  of 

In  Memoriam. 

12.  The  range  of  problems  included  in  the  Prelude  to  In  Memoriam. 

13.  Compare  In  Memoriam  and  The  Ring  and  the  Book  as  literary 

masterpieces. 

14.  Compare  In  Memoriam,  Faust  and  The  Divine  Comedy  as  literary 

masterpieces. 


REFERENCES. 

Tennyson,  **In  Memoriam,  Prelude,  and  from  canto  LVTI  to  the 
end.  Azarias,  Brother,  *  Phases  of  Thought  and  Criticism,  pp.  215-264. 
Bradley,  *  Commentary  on  In  Memoriam.  Brooke,  Tennyson,  pp. 
188-228.  Carpenter,  The  Religious  Spirit  in  the  Poets,  chapter  IX. 
Chapman,  Companion  to  In  Memoriam.  Davidson,  *  Prolegomena  to 
In  Memoriam,  Introduction  and  chapters  X-XVI.  Dawson,  Makers 
of  Modern  English,  chapters  XXIV,  XXV.  Genung,  *  Tennyson's  In 
Memoriam.  Kingsley,  Literary  and  General  Lectures,  pp.  101-124. 
Lindsay,  Essays,  pp.  79-119.  Luce,  Handbook,  chapter  IX.  Master- 
man,  *  Tennyson  as  a  Religious  Teacher.  Sneath,  The  Mind  of  Ten- 
nyson. 


34 


VI.    THE   EXPRESSION   OF   TENNYSON'S   SPIRITUAL 
PHILOSOPHY  IN  BRIEFER  POEMS. 

LECTURE   OUTLINE. 

Tennyson's  highest  self-expression. —  The  Idylls  of  the  King  and  In 
Memoriam  distinctly  Tennyson's  masterpieces.  Yet  both  composed  of 
exquisite  separate  poems  only  loosely  bound  together  in  the  whole  work 
of  art.  Tennyson  distinctively  the  lyric  poet,  at  his  best  in  the  brief 
poems  expressing  a  single  mood  or  phase  of  thought.  Thus  any  study 
of  Tennyson  incomplete  without  a  consideration  of  the  wonderful  brief 
poems  in  which  his  philosophy  and  his  artistic  power  receive  culminat- 
ing expression. 

The  Wreck  (published  1885). — The  Wreck  one  of  the  best  illustrations 
of  the  dramatic  type  among  Tennyson's  shorter  poems.  Metrical 
power  and  pathetic  impressiveness  of  the  poem.  Tennyson  as  the  poet 
of  law.  Thus  here  emphasis  of  the  usual  view  of  life,  giving  the  hell 
of  expiation  as  in  Dante,  but  with  no  suggestion  of  the  power  of  recov- 
ery of  the  human  spirit  as  in  Goethe  and  Browning.  Significance  of  the 
view  of  life  presented. 

Romney's  Remorse  (published  1889). — A  further  illustration  of  Ten- 
nyson's brief  dramatic  poems  and  of  his  philosophy  of  personal  life  in 
Romney's  Remorse.  This  poem  presenting  the  complementary  prob- 
lem to  Andrea  del  Sarto,  and  reading  as  if  written  in  conscious  answer  to 
Browning's  poem.  One  of  the  best  examples  of  Tennyson's  use  of  the 
dramatic  monologue.  Moving  pathos  of  the  poem.  Beauty  of  the 
inserted  lyric.  In  this  study  again  a  strong  affirmation  of  the  conven- 
tional view  of  life  with  its  essential  rightness. 

Tennyson's  view  of  society. — Tennyson's  social  philosophy  similar  in 
spirit  to  his  view  of  personal  life.  Compare  the  Beautiful  City;  the 
cantos  of  In  Memoriam  speaking  of  the  "Red  fool  fury  of  the  Seine" 
and  the  "School  boy  heat  and  blind  hysterics  of  the  Celt."  Tenny- 
son's view  thoroughly  English,  never  cosmopolitan.  Contrast  Goethe. 
The  strength  of  Tennyson  the  strength  of  what  is  best  in  conservative 
English  aristocracy.  His  view  of  the  common  people  always  that  of 
the  artist  who  looks  on  sympathetically  from  the  outside,  never  that  of 
one  warmly  identified  with  the  life  of  the  people  themselves. 

35 


By  an  Evolutionist  (published  1889). — The  same  spirit  in  Tennyson's 
cosmic  as  in  his  social  philosophy.  His  acceptance  of  the  results  of 
physical  science,  yet  combining  these  with  conservatism  in  religion  and 
ethics.  Compare  the  view  of  old  age  hi  By  an  Evolutionist  with  that 
in  Browning's  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra.  Remarkable  metrical  structure  hi 
By  an  Evolutionist. 

The  general  view  of  human  progress  Tennyson  takes  in  The  Dawn. 
Significance  that  most  of  these  brief  expressions  of  Tennyson's  phil- 
osophy come  so  late  in  his  life. 

The  Ancient  Sage  (published  1885). —  The  Ancient  Sage  as  summing 
up  most  consciously  and  completely  Tennyson's  attitude  toward  the 
mystery  of  life  and  his  philosophy  of  faith  in  relation  to  conduct.  Sig- 
nificance in  the  introductory  poem  to  Fitzgerald.  The  Ancient  Sage 
as  in  conscious  answer  to  Fitzgerald's  translation  of  Omar  Khayyam. 
No  recognition  in  Tennyson's  poem  of  the  grave  dignity  of  Omar,  but 
answer  to  the  picturesque  pessimism  of  youth  that  takes  sentimental 
delight  in  its  own  melancholy.  Significant  that  Tennyson  had  some- 
thing of  the  same  spirit  in  his  own  youth;  thus  the  poem  showing  how 
completely  his  later  thought  rises  above  such  sentimental  pessimism. 

Tennyson's  emphasis  of  "the  will  to  believe."  Cleaving  to  the 
"sunnier  side  of  doubt."  His  teaching  regarding  what  we  may  dare  to 
believe,  and  act  on  as  if  it  were  true.  Value  of  the  lesson  not  to 

"Take  thy  dial  for  thy  deity," 
but 

"Make  the  passing  shadow  serve  thy  will." 

Compare  the  emphasis  of  this  lesson  in  the  early  Ulysses,  in  In  Memo- 
riam,  in  The  Passing  of  Arthur.  Thus  central  import  of  Tennyson's 
teaching  regarding  moral  heroism. 

Further  summing  up  of  the  mystery  and  unity  of  life  in  "  Flower  in 
the  Crannied  Wall"  and  The  Higher  Pantheism.  Relation  of  this 
thought  to  Christianity. 

Merlin  and  the  Gleam  (published  1889).  One  poem  in  which  Ten- 
nyson has  given  a  brief  spiritual  autobiography.  Significance  of  the 
unusual  metrical  form  in  Merlin  and  the  Gleam.  The  motive  principle 
of  Tennyson's  life  as  revealed  in  this  poem.  Range  of  his  artistic 
experience.  His  own  view  of  his  life  and  work. 

Wages  (published  1869). — Another  summing  up  of  the  fundamental 
attitude  of  Tennyson's  life  in  the  wonderful  two-stanza  poem  Wages. 
Sonorous  sweep  of  the  verse.  Perfect  union  of  thought  and  form.  An 
excellent  example  of  his  artistic  power  at  its  best. 

Crossing  the  Bar  (published  1889). — The  poem  Tennyson  desired  to 
have  placed  at  the  end  of  every  complete  edition  of  his  works.  Limpid 
music,  perfect  imagery,  marvelous  art  in  the  utter  simplicity  of  this 

36 


poem.  Illustrating  the  highest  point  of  Tennyson's  art  as  well  as 
giving  the  most  direct  statement  of  his  religious  faith.  Compare  in 
form  and  content  Browning's  Epilogue  to  Asolando. 

Conclusion. — Summary  of  Tennyson's  art:  in  music,  imagery, 
lyrical  beauty.  Exquisite  simplicity  with  careful  adornment.  Ex- 
pression always  adequate  and  harmonious  to  thought  and  mood  and 
almost  monotonously  melodious. 

Summary  of  Tennyson's  philosophy:  in  reference  to  personal  life, 
social  progress,  science  and  cosmic  law,  the  problems  of  religion.  Ten- 
nyson's acceptance  of  evolution;  his  belief  in  the  unity  of  life  and  law; 
his  faith  in  God,  freedom,  immortality  and  duty;  his  emphasis  of 
heroism  in  the  presence  of  the  mystery  of  life. 

Sources  of  Tennyson's  message:  in  experience,  in  the  common  con- 
sciousness and  religious  tradition,  in  science  harmonized  with  the  great 
spiritual  thinking  of  the  past. 

Special  value  of  Tennyson's  poetry  and  philosophy  for  the  age  to 
which  he  sang.  Permanent  worth  in  his  art  and  message  for  all  time. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"I  have  just  been  reading  your  Poems;  I  have  read  certain  of  them 
over  again,  and  mean  to  read  them  over  and  over  till  they  become  my 
poems:  this  fact,  with  the  inferences  that  lie  in  it,  is  of  such  emphasis 
in  me,  I  cannot  keep  it  to  myself,  but  must  needs  acquaint  you  too  with 
it.  If  you  knew  what  my  relation  has  been  to  the  thing  call'd  English 
'Poetry'  for  many  years  back,  you  would  think  such  fact  almost  sur- 
prising! Truly  it  is  long  since  in  any  English  Book,  Poetry  or  Prose,  I 
have  felt  the  pulse  of  a  real  man's  heart  as  I  do  in  this  same.  A  right 
valiant,  true  fighting,  victorious  heart;  strong  as  a  lion's,  yet  gentle, 
loving  and  full  of  music:  what  I  call  a  genuine  singer's  heart!  there 
are  tones  as  of  the  nightingale;  low  murmurs  as  of  wood-doves  at  sum- 
mer noon;  everywhere  a  noble  sound  as  of  the  free  winds  and  leafy 
woods.  The  sunniest  glow  of  Life  dwells  in  that  soul,  chequered  duly 
with  dark  streaks  from  night  and  Hades:  everywhere  one  feels  as  if  all 
were  fill'd  with  yellow  glowing  sunlight,  some  glorious  golden  Vapour; 
from  which  form  after  form  bodies  itself;  naturally,  golden  forms.  In 
one  word,  there  seems  to  be  a  note  of  'The  Eternal  Melodies'  in  this 
man;  for  which  let  all  other  men  be  thankful  and  joyful!" — From  a 
letter  of  Thomas  Carlyle  to  Tennyson,  dated  7th  Dec.,  1842,  Hallum 
Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  I,  p.  213. 

"Everyone  will  have  seen  men,  distinguished  in  some  line  of  work, 
whose  conversation  (to  take  the  old  figure)  either  'smelt  too  strongly 

37 


of  the  lamp,'  or  lay  quite  apart  from  their  art  or  craft.  What,  through 
all  these  years,  struck  me  about  Tennyson,  was  that  whilst  he  never 
deviated  into  poetical  language  as  such,  whether  in  rhetoric  or  highly 
coloured  phrase,  yet  throughout  the  substance  of  his  talk  the  same 
mode  of  thought,  the  same  imaginative  grasp  of  nature,  the  same  fine- 
ness and  gentleness  in  his  view  of  character,  the  same  forbearance  and 
toleration,  the  aurea  mediocritas  despised  by  fools  and  fanatics,  which 
are  stamped  on  his  poetry,  were  constantly  perceptible:  whilst  hi  the 
easy  and  as  it  were  unsought  choiceness,  the  conscientious  and  truth- 
loving  precision  of  his  words,  the  same  personal  identity  revealed  itself. 
What  a  strange  charm  lay  here;  how  deeply  illuminating  the  whole 
character,  as  in  prolonged  intercourse  it  gradually  revealed  itself! 
Artist  and  man,  Tennyson  was  invariably  true  to  himself,  or  rather,  in 
Wordsworth's  phrase,  he  'moved  altogether';  his  nature  and  his 
poetry  being  harmonious  aspects  of  the  same  soul." — From  recollections 
of  Tennyson  by  F.  T.  Palgrave,  Hallam  Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  II, 
p.  492. 

"  Crossing  the  Bar  was  written  in  my  father's  eighty-first  year,  on  a 
day  in  October  when  we  came  from  Aldworth  to  Farringford.  Before 
reaching  Farringford  he  had  the  Moaning  of  the  Bar  in  his  mind,  and 
after  dinner  he  showed  me  this  poem  written  out. 

I  said,  'That  is  the  crown  of  your  life's  work.'  He  answered,  'It 
came  in  a  moment.'  He  explained  the  'Pilot'  as  'That  Divine  and 
Unseen  Who  is  always  guiding  us.' 

A  few  days  before  my  father's  death  he  said  to  me:  'Mind  you  put 
Crossing  the  Bar  at  the  end  of  all  editions  of  my  poems.'" — Hallam 
Tennyson,  Memoir,  vol.  II,  pp.  366,  367. 


TOPICS  FOR  STUDY  AND  DISCUSSION. 

1.  Compare  carefully  in  metrical  structure  the  brief  poems  studied. 

2.  Merlin  and  the  Gleam  as  a  brief  personal  autobiography  of  Ten- 

nyson. 

3.  Compare  The  Wreck  and  the  cathedral  scene  in  the  first  part  of 

Goethe's  Faust. 

4.  Compare  Romney's  Remorse  and  Browning's  Andrea  del  Sarto. 

5.  Why  is  there  so  much  more  consideration  of  the  problems  of  the 

development  and  readjustment  of  society  in  Tennyson  than  in 
Browning? 

6.  Compare  the  view  of  old  age  in  By  an  Evolutionist  and  in  Brown- 

ing's Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 

38 


7.  The  ethical  lesson  emphasized  in  The  Ancient  Sage. 

8.  The  relative  value  of  the  study  of  Epicureanism  and  its  failure 

as  given  in  The  Ancient  Sage  and  in  Browning's  Cleon. 

9.  The  relation  of  Tennyson's  art  to  his  life. 

10.  Compare  Crossing  the  Bar  and  Browning's  Epilogue  to  Asolando. 

11.  In  what  respects  is  Tennyson  the  poet  of  law  and  order? 

12.  Compare  Tennyson  and  Goethe  in  cosmopolitanism  of  view. 

13.  The  different  relations  of  Tennyson  and  Browning  to  Christianity. 

14.  Tennyson's  gospel  of  moral  heroism. 

15.  The  relative  value  of  ethical  and  artistic  elements  in  Tennyson's 

poetry. 

16.  The  permanent  value  of  Tennyson's  spiritual  philosophy  as  com- 

pared with  its  helpfulness  for  the  nineteenth  century. 


REFERENCES. 

Tennyson,  *The  Wreck;  **Romney's  Remorse;  **By  an  Evolutionist; 
*Beautiful  City;  *Dawn;  **The  Ancient  Sage;  **Flower  in  the  Cran- 
nied WaU;  *The  Higher  Pantheism;  *De  Profundis;  *The  Human  Cry; 
**  Merlin  and  The  Gleam;  **Wages;  **  Crossing  the  Bar.  Brooke, 
*  Tennyson,  pp.  392-509.  Dawson,  Makers  of  Modern  English,  chap- 
ters XXI  and  XXII.  Dowden,  *Studies  in  Literature,  pp.  191-239. 
Dowden,  Transcripts  and  Studies,  pp.  153-236.  Luce,  Handbook, 
chapters  XII-XVI.  Masterman,  *  Tennyson  as  a  Religious  Teacher. 
Moulton,  Library  of  Literary  Criticism,  volume  VIII,  pp.  64-111.  Peck, 
What  is  Good  English,  pp.  167-194,  The  Human  Side  of  Tennyson. 
Royce,  Studies  of  Good  and  Evil,  chapter  III,  Tennyson  and  Pessimism. 
Sneath,  *  The  Mind  of  Tennyson.  Stedman,  Victorian  Poets,  chapters 
V  and  VI.  Stephen,  Studies  of  a  Biographer,  volume  II,  pp.  196-240. 
Van  Dyke,  Poetry  of  Tennyson,  pp.  221-347. 


BOOK  LIST. 

Books  starred  are  of  special  value  in  connection  with  this  course;  those  double- 
starred  are  texts  for  study  and  discussion,  or  are  otherwise  of  first  importance. 

Tennyson,  **Works,  Globe  Edition,  complete  in  one  volume.     Pp.  viii  + 

896.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1893. 
The    Cambridge    Edition,   by   W.     J.    Rolfe,    pp.    xvii  +  887, 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1898,  is  also  a  good  edition  in 

one  volume,  but  does  not  contain  some  of  the  latest  poems. 
Tennyson,  *Early  Poems,  edited  by  John  Churton  Collins.     Pp.  xlvi  4- 

317.     Methuen  &  Co.,  London,  1900. 
Tennyson,   **In  Memoriam,  with  Arthur  Henry  Hallam's  Poetical 

Remains.     Pp.  202.     Temple  Classics,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 

York,  1899. 
Tennyson,    **In   Memoriam,   annotated   by    the   author.     Pp.    265. 

Golden  Treasury  Series,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1906. 


Azarias,  Brother,  Phases  of  Thought  and  Criticism,  pp.  183-264,  Spirit- 
ual Sense  of  In  Memoriam.    Houghton,  Mifflin   &  Co.,  Boston, 

1892. 
Bayne,  Peter,  Lessons  from  my  Masters,  Carlyle,  Tennyson  and  Ruskin, 

pp.  201-364,  Alfred  Tennyson.     Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York, 

1879. 
Benson,  Arthur  Christopher  (Christopher  Carr,  pseudonym),  Alfred 

Tennyson.   Pp.  x  +  243.     Little  Biographies,  E.  P.  Dutton  &  Co., 

New  York,  1904. 
Bolton,  Sarah  K.,  Famous  English  Authors  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 

pp.  256-310,  Tennyson.    T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  New  York,  c!890. 
Bradley,  A.  C.,  A  Commentary  on  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam.    Pp.  xii  + 

223.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1901. 
Brightwell,  D.  Barren,  A  Concordance  to  the  Entire  Works  of  Alfred 

Tennyson.   Pp.  xiv  +  477.     E.  Moxon,  Son,  &  Co.,  London,  1869. 
Brooke,  Stopford  A.,  The  Poetry  of  Robert  Browning,  chapter  I,  pp.  1-56, 

*Browning  and  Tennyson.    T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  New  York,  1902. 
Brooke,  Stopford  A.,  *  Tennyson,  His  Art  and  Relation  to  Modern  Life. 

Pp.  iv  +  516.    G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1894. 

40 


Carpenter,  W.  Boyd,   The  Religious  Spirit  in  the  Poets,  chapter  IX, 

Tennyson,  chapter  X,  Tennyson — In  Memoriam,  pp.  162-201.     T. 

Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  New  York,  1901. 
Cary,  Elisabeth  L.,  Tennyson,  His  Homes,  His  Friends  and  His  Work. 

Pp.  viii  +  312.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1898. 
Chapman,  Elizabeth  Rachel,  A  Companion  to  In  Memoriam.     Pp.  72. 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1888. 
Chesterton,    G.    K.,   and   Garaett,   Richard,    Tennyson.    Pp.  iv  +  40. 

Bookman  Biographies.  James  Pott  &  Co.,  New  York,  1904. 
Clark,   J.  Scott,  A  Study  of  English  and  American   Poets,  pp.   755- 

804,    Alfred    Tennyson.      Charles    Scribner's   Sons,   New   York, 

1900. 
Collins,  John  Churton,  Illustrations  of  Tennyson.    Pp.  ix  +  186.    Chatto 

&  Windus,  London,  1891. 
Cooke,   George  Willis,    Poets  and   Problems,  pp.   55-169,  Tennyson. 

Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1893. 
Corson,  Hiram,  A  Primer  of  English  Verse.    Pp.  iv  +  232.    Ginn  &  Co., 

Boston,  1892. 
Davidson,  Thomas,  Prolegomena  to  In  Memoriam.     Pp.  vi  +  177.     D. 

C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston,  1897. 
Dawson,  W.  J.,   Literary  Leaders  of  Modern  England,  pp.  61-142, 

Tennyson.    Chautauqua  Press,  Chautauqua,  N.  Y.,  1902. 
Dawson,  W.  J.,  The  Makers  of  Modern  English:  A  Popular  Handbook 

to  the  Greater  Poets  of  the  Century,  pp.   169-269,  Tennyson. 

Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London,  1890. 
Devey,  Joseph,  A  Comparative  Estimate  of  Modern  English  Poets,  pp. 

275-336,  Tennyson.     E.  Moxon,  Son,  &  Co.,  London,  1873. 
Dizon,  William  Macneile,  A  Primer  of  Tennyson  with  a  Critical  Essay. 

Pp.  189.     Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  1896. 
Dowden,  Edward,  Studies  in  Literature,  1789-1877,  pp.  191-239,  Mr. 

Tennyson  and  Mr.  Browning.     Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  & 

Co.,  London,  1887. 
Dowden,   Edward,    Transcripts  and  Studies,  pp.    153-236,   Victorian 

Literature.     Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Co.,  London,  1888. 
Farrar,  Frederick  W.,  Men  I  Have  Known,  pp.  1—41,  Lord  Tennyson. 

T.  Y.  Crowell  &  Co.,  New  York,  c!897. 
Garnett,  James  M.,  translator,  Beowulf.    Pp.  lii  +  110.     Ginn  &  Co., 

Boston,  1892. 
Gates,  Lewis  E.,  Studies  and  Appreciations,  pp.  60-91,  Tennyson.    The 

Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1900. 

Genung,  John  F.,  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam,  Its  Purpose  and  Its  Struct- 
ure.    A  Study.    Pp.  vi  +  199.    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston, 

1896. 

41 


Griggs,  Edward  Howard,  The  Poetry  and  Philosophy  of  Tennyson.  In 
Primary  Education,  vol.  VII,  nos.  7-10;  vol.  VIII,  nos.  1-6. 
September  1899— June  1900. 

Gwynn,  Stephen,  Tennyson :  A  Critical  Study.  Pp.  viii  +  234.  Blackie 
&  Son,  London,  1899. 

Hallam,  Arthur  Henry,  *  Remains  in  Verse  and  Prose.  Pp.  441. 
Ticknor  &  Fields,  Boston,  1863. 

Harrison,  Frederic,  Tennyson,  Ruskin,  Mitt,  and  Other  Literary  Esti- 
mates, chapter  I,  pp.  1—47,  Tennyson.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 
York,  1900. 

Horton,  Robert  F.,  Alfred  Tennyson.  A  Saintly  Life.  Pp.  xi  +  323. 
E.  P.  Button  &  Co.,  New  York,  1900. 

Hubbard,  Elbert,  Little  Journeys,  vol.  VI,  pp.  51-72,  Tennyson.  The 
Roycrofters,  East  Aurora,  N.  Y.,  1900. 

Button,  Richard  Holt,  Literary  Essays,  pp.  361-436,  Tennyson.  The 
Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1888. 

Innes,  A.  D.,  Seers  and  Singers;  A  Study  of  Five  English  Poets.  Pp. 
223.  A.  D.  Innes  &  Co.,  London,  1893. 

Kingsley,  Charles,  Literary  and  General  Lectures  and  Essays,  pp.  101- 
124,  Tennyson.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1890. 

Lang,  Andrew,  *  Alfred  Tennyson.  Pp.  viii +  233.  Modern  English 
Writers,  William  Blackwood  &  Sons,  London,  1901. 

Lindsay,  James,  Essays,  Literary  and  Philosophical,  pp.  79-119,  Phil- 
osophy of  Tennyson.  William  Blackwood  &  Sons,  London,  1896. 

Luce,  Morton,  A  Handbook  to  the  Works  of  Alfred  Lord  Tennyson.  Pp. 
vi  +  454.  The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1895. 

Lyall,  Alfred,  *  Tennyson.  Pp.  200.  English  Men  of  Letters,  The  Mac- 
millan Co.,  New  York,  1902. 

Maccallum,  M.  W.,  *  Tennyson's  Idylls  of  the  King  and  Arthurian  Story 
from  the  XVIth  Century.  Pp.  xiv  +  435.  The  Macmillan  Co., 
New  York,  1894. 

Masterman,  Charles  F.  G.,  *Tennyson  as  a  Religious  Teacher.  Pp. 
xi  +  253.  Methuen  &  Co.,  London,  1900. 

Moulton,  Charles  Wells,  editor,  *The  Library  of  Literary  Criticism 
of  English  and  American  Authors,  vol.  VIII,  pp.  64-111,  Alfred 
Lord  Tennyson.  The  Moulton  Publishing  Co.,  Buffalo,  1904. 

Ificoll,  W.  Robertson,  and  Wise,  Thomas  J.,  editors,  Literary  Anecdotes 
of  the  Nineteenth  Century:  Contributions  towards  a  Literary  History 
of  the  Period,  vol.  I,  pp.  21-27,  Arthur  Henry  Hallam  as  Advocate 
of  Alfred  and  Charles  Tennyson;  vol.  I,  pp.  35-41,  An  Opinion  on 
Tennyson  by  Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning;  vol.  II,  pp.  222-272, 
The  Building  of  the  Idylls:  A  Study  in  Tennyson;  vol.  II,  pp. 
421-441,  Tennysoniana.  Hodder  &  Stoughton,  London,  1895. 

42 


Oliphant,  Mrs.  M.  0.  W.,  and  Oliphant,  F.  R.,  The   Victorian  Age  of 

Literature,  vol.  I,  pp.  212-226,  Tennyson.     Percival  &  Co.,  Lon- 
don, 1892. 
Fallen,  Conde"  Benoist,  Meaning  of  the  Idylls  of  the  King:    An  Essay 

in  Interpretation.     Pp.  115.    The  American  Book  Co.,  New  York, 

1904. 
Peck,  Harry  Thurston,  What  is  Good  English?  and  Other  Essays,  pp. 

167-194,  The  Human  Side  of  Tennyson.     Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New 

York,  1899. 
Ritchie,  Anne  Isabella  Thackeray,  Records  of  Tennyson,  Ruskin  and 

Browning,  pp.  1-72,  Tennyson.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York, 

1893. 
Robertson,  John  M.,  Essays  towards  a  Critical  Method,  pp.  233-282,  The 

Art  of  Tennyson.    T.  Fisher  Unwin,  London,  1889. 
Royce,  Josiah,  Studies  of  Good  and  Evil,  chapter  III,  pp.  76-88,  Tenny- 
son and  Pessimism.     D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1898. 
Saintsbury,    George,     Corrected    Impressions.     Essays    on     Victorian 

Writers,  pp.  21-40,  Tennyson.    Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  New  York,  1899. 
Scudder,  Vida  D.,  The  Life  of  The  Spirit  in  the  Modern  English  Poets. 

Pp.  v+349.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1895. 
Sharp,  Amy,   Victorian  Poets,  pp.  1-39,  Alfred  Tennyson.     Methuen  & 

Co.,  London,  1891. 
Sneath,  E.  Hershey,  The  Mind  of  Tennyson.    His  Thoughts  on  God, 

Freedom,    and   Immortality.     Pp.    viii+193.     Charles    Scribner's 

Sons,  New  York,  1900. 
Stedman,   Edmund  Clarence,    Victorian   Poets,  chapters  V,  VI,  pp. 

150-233,  Tennyson.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1893. 
Stephen,  Leslie,  Studies  of  a  Biographer,  vol.  II,  pp.  196-240,  The  Life 

of  Tennyson.     G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons,  New  York,  1898. 
Strong,  Augustus  Hopkins,  The  Great  Poets  and  Their  Theology,  pp. 

449-524,  Tennyson.     The  American  Baptist  Publication  Society, 

Philadelphia,  1897. 
Swinburne,  Algernon  Charles,  Miscellanies,  pp.  219-259,  Tennyson 

and  Musset.     Chatto  &  Windus,  London,  1886. 
Symonds,  John  Addington,  Essays  Speculative  and  Suggestive,  vol.  II, 

pp.  225-277,  A  Comparison  of  Elizabethan  with  Victorian  Poetry. 

Chapman  &  Hall,  London,  1890. 
Taine,  H.  A.,  History  of  English  Literature,  translated  by  H.  Van  Laun, 

chapter  VI,  pp.  518-541,  Tennyson.     Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  New 

York,  1886. 

Tainsh,  Edward  Campbell,  A  Study  of  the  Works  of  Alfred  Lord  Tenny- 
son, Poet  Laureate.    Pp.  xi  +  312.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York, 

189a 

43 


Tennyson,  Hallam,  ** Alfred  Lord  Tennyson.     A  Memoir  by  His  Son. 

2  vols.     Pp.  xxii-t-516  and  vii  +  551.     The  Macmillan  Co.,  New 

York,  1897.    Also  in  new  edition,  2  vols.  in  one,  The  Macmillan 

Co.,  1905. 
VanDyke,  Henry,  Alfred  Tennyson.     In  Warner's  Ijibrary  of  the  World's 

Best  Literature,  vol.  25,  pp.  14581-14587.     R.  S.  Peale  &  J.  A. 

Hill,  New  York,  c!897.     Reprinted  in  Studies  of  Great  Authors: 

Poets  (Warner  Classics),  pp.  113-130.     Doubleday,  McClure  Co., 

New  York,  1899. 
VanDyke,  Henry,  *The  Poetry  of  Tennyson.     Pp.  xvi+437.    Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1898. 
Wace,  Walter  E.,  Alfred  Tennyson,  His  Life  and  Works.     Pp.  vii+203. 

Macniven  &  Wallace,  Edinburgh,  1881. 
Walker,  Hugh,   The  Age  of  Tennyson.     Pp.  x+309.    Handbooks  of 

English  Literature,  edited  by  Professor  Hales,  George  Bell  &  Sons, 

London,  1900. 
Walker,  Hugh,  The  Greater  Victorian  Poets.    Pp.  332.    The  Macmillan 

Co.,  New  York,  1895. 
Walters,  J.   Cuming,    Tennyson:    Poet,   Philosopher,  Idealist.     Studies 

of  the  Life,  Work,  and  Teaching  of  the  Poet  Laureate.     Pp.  viii+ 

370.     Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triibner  &  Co.,  London,  1893. 
Ward,  William  G.,  Tennyson's  Debt  to  Environment.     A  Study  of  Ten- 
nyson's England  as  an  Introduction  to  His  Poems.     Pp.   100. 

Roberts  Brothers,  Boston,  1898. 
Waugh,  Arthur,  Alfred  Lord  Tennyson,  A  Study  of  His  Life  and  WorK. 

Pp.  x+332.    The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York,  1893. 


44 


Books     by    Edward     Howard     Grlggs 

THIRD  EDITION. 

MORAL  EDUCATION 

A  discussion  of  the  whole  problem  of  moral  education  :  its 
aim  in  relation  to  our  society  and  all  the  means  through 
which  that  aim  can  be  attained. 

"  It  is  easily  the  best  book  of  its  kind  yet  written  in  America." 

— The  Literary  Digest. 

"  Edward  Howard  Griggs  has  written  a  notable  book  on  '  Moral  Education,' 
easily  the  most  profound,  searching  and  practical  that  has  been  written  in 
this  country,  ana  which,  from  the  same  qualities,  will  not  be  easily  displaced 
in  its  primacy." — The  Cleveland  Leader. 

352  pages,  including  full  bibliography  and  index. 

Cloth  ;    1 2  mo  ;  gilt  top. 
Price,  $2.00  net ;  postage,  120. 

FIFTH   EDITION. 

THE  NEW  HUMANISM 

Studies  in  Personal  and  Social  Development. 

"  No  man  or  woman  of  fair  intelligence  and  sincere  interest  in  studies  of 
personal  and  social  development  need  fear  that  this  book  will  prove  too  hard 
reading.  Its  style  is  everywhere  lucid  and  agreeable,  its  range  of  illustration 
rich  and  picturesque,  and  its  writer's  powerful  mastery  of  the  whole  field  of 
his  survey  at  once  steadies  the  reader's  mind  and  perpetually  enlarges  his 
horizon.'' — Boston  Herald. 

Cloth  ;   240  pages  ;  i2mo  ;  gilt  top. 
Price,  $1.50  net ;  postage,  xoc. 

FOURTH    EDITION. 

A  BOOK  OF  MEDITATIONS 

A  Volume  of  Personal  Reflections,  Sketches  and  Poems  Dealing  with  Life  and  Art ;  an 
Autobiography,  not  of  Events  and  Accidents,  but  of  Thoughts  and  Impressions. 

Including  a  newly  prepared  index.  Frontispiece,  portrait  by  Albert  Sterner. 
"  In  this  volume  we  have  at  once  the  inspiration  of  the  prophet  and  the 
aspiration  of  the  humanistic  lover  of  truth.  It  is  a  work  of  exceptional 
merit  that  we  can  heartily  recommend  to  all  our  readers,  in  the  conviction 
that  no  one  will  be  able  to  peruse  its  pages  without  having  been  made  better 
and  stronger  for  the  reading." — B.  O.  FLOWER,  in  The  Arena. 

Cloth  ;    226  pages  ;  xarno  ;  gilt  top. 
Price,  $1.50  net ;  postage,  IQC. 

HANDBOOKS  TO  COURSES  OF  LECTURES 

The  Divine  Comedy  of  Dante.    Six  lectures. 
The  Poetry  and  Philosophy  of  Browning.    Eight  lectures. 
Shakespeare.     Twelve  lectures. 
Moral  Leaders.    Twelve  lectures. 
The  Poetry  and  Philosophy  of  Tennyson.     Six  lectures. 
Goethe's  Faust.     Ten  lectures.     (Ready  Oct.  i,  1906.) 
The  Ethics  of  Personal  Life.    Six  lectures.    (Ready  Oct.  i,  1906.) 
Paper  covers  ;  price,  each,  250.  net  ;   postage,  20. 

B.  W.  Hucbsch,  Publisher,  New  York 


Other    Valuable    Publications 
CHRISTIAN   ORIGINS 

BY  OTTO  PFLEIDERER,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Theology  at  the 

University  of  Berlin. 

Translated  by  Daniel  A.  Huebsch,  Ph.D. 

izrno.     Price,  $1.75  net;  postage  120. 

"  The  author  *  *  *  here  offers  neither  an  attack  upon  dogma  nor  a  de- 
fense of  it,  but  an  attempt,  unbiassed  by  any  desire  but  a  reverent  and 
earnest  wish  for  the  truth,  to  outline  a  history  of  the  moral  forces  that  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  Christian  religion,  the  events  that  gave  it  birth  and 
the  intellectual  influences  that  effected  its  crystallization.  The  author's 
clearness,  his  sincerity  and  his  ability  are  equally  striking." — Life. 

IN  PERIL  OF   CHANGE 

Essays  Written  in  Time  of  Tranquillity 

By  C.  F.  G.  MASTERMAN,  M.  P. 
Fellow  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge 
izrno.     Price,  $1.50  net ;  postage,  120. 

"  The  author  of  this  series  of  brilliant  essays  is  the  literary  editor  of  the 
London  Daily  News  *  *  *  The  thoughtful  man  will,  first  of  all,  be  in- 
terested in  the  theme  running  through  several  of  the  essays,  the  inner  mean- 
ing of  the  great  movements  that  are  now  taking  place  in  English  social  and 
political  life.  *  *  *  His  characterizations  of  modern  literature  are  striking 
and  convincing  and  his  analyses  illuminating." — Tht  World  To-Day. 

BEETHOVEN 

The  Man  and  the  Artist ;  as  Revealed  in  His  Own  Words 

MOZART 

The  Man  and  the  Artist ;  as  Revealed  in  His  Own  Words 

Both  books  compiled  and  annotated  by  FRIEDRICH  KERST. 
Translated  and  edited,  with  additional  notes  by 

HENRY  EDWARD  KREHBIEL. 

izmo,  uncut  edges,  gilt  top,  decorated  cover. 

Price,  each,  $1.00  net ;  postage,  ice. 

"  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  whole  music  libraries  any  more  graphic 
presentation  of  Mozart's  or  Beethoven's  personality  than  in  these  few  fines 
drawn  from  their  letters  and  notebooks,  their  biographers  and  even  their 
favorite  authors.  The  style  is  the  man  himself.  The  text,  in  numbered 
paragraphs,  is  a  moving  flashlight  on  the  life  and  environment  of  each, 
while  the  missing  context  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  editor  and  com- 
piler."— The  Evening  Sun,  (New  York). 

THE   CITY  THAT  WAS 

A  Requiem  of  Old  San  Francisco 

By  WILL  IRWIN. 
izmo,  uncut  edges,  board  covers,  500.  net ;  postage,  40. 

A  vivid  pen  picture  of  the  city  with  "its  flavor  of  the  Arabian  Nights" 
as  it  was  before  the  earthquake.  The  book  presents  a  picture  as  true  to  its 
subject  as  a  photograph,  but  with  all  the  charm  of  an  impressionistic  paint- 
ing. It  will  occupy  a  high  place  in  the  literature  of  the  San  Francisco  of 
the  past. 

Descriptive  Circulars  of  the  Above  Books  Sent  on  Application 

B.  W.    Huebsch,  Publisher,  New  York 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 

UNIVERSITY  OF  TORONTO  LIBRARY