552. Modern Thought.- No other poem is so filled with the thought and feeling peculiar to our age. It rejects the seductive materialism of recent scientific thought; it is larger and less dogmatic than our creeds. With reverent heart the poet finds comfort at last in the strong Son of God": 66 66 Thou wilt not leave us in the dust: Thou madest man, he knows not why; He thinks he was not made to die; "Thou seemest human and divine, The highest, holiest manhood, thou: Our wills are ours, we know not how; 66 553. Love of Nature.- Tennyson's love of nature, which was scarcely inferior to that of Wordsworth, was associated with the prevading presence of God. "Everywhere throughout the universe," to quote from his son's "Memoir," "he saw the glory and greatness of God, and the science of nature was particularly dear to him. Every new fact which came within his range was carefully weighed. As he exulted in the wilder aspects of nature and revelled in the thunderstorm, so he felt a joy in her orderliness; he felt a rest in her steadfastness, patient progress, and hopefulness." The human soul, which mysteriously comes from the universal being of God draws "from out the boundless deep "- returns to Him in death, and thus becomes more intimately a part of nature. In this belief Tennyson sings of his departed friend in words of deep mystic beauty: 554 "Thy voice is on the rolling air; I hear thee where the waters run; And in the setting thou art fair." "Maud, and Other Poems."-In 1855 appeared Maud, and Other Poems." The principal poem in this volume has much divided critical opinion, but it is safe to say that it falls below his usual high achievement. The meaning of the poem, as explained by the poet himself, is the reclaiming power of love: "It is the story of a man who has a morbid nature, with a touch of inherited insanity, and very selfish. The poem is to show what loves does for him. The war is only an episode. You must remember that it is not I myself speaking. It is this man with the strain of madness in his blood, and the memory of a great trouble and wrong that has put him out with the world." 1 "The Brook" is a charming idyl, containing a delicious, rippling inter-lyric: "I come from haunts of coot and hern. I make a sudden sally, And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley." 555. "Idyls of the King."- Whatever doubts touching the poet's genius may have been started by "Maud," they were forever cleared away in 1859 by the appearance of the 'Idyls of the King." These poems were received with enthusiasm. Consisting at first of only four - Enid, Vivien, Elaine, and Guinevere the poet afterard wrought in the same field, until his ten idyls constitute a great epic poem. "Nave and transept, aisle after aisle," to use the language of Stedman, "the Gothic minister has extended, until, with the addition of a cloister here and a chapel yonder, the structure stands complete." These "Idyls" belong to the mountain summits of song. Brave knights, lovely women, mediæval splendor, undying devotion, and heart-breaking tragedies are all portrayed with the richest poetic art and feeling. Unlike the "Iliad or "Paradise Lost," which appeal to us largely through their grandeur, the "Idyls of the King" possess a deep human interest, leaving no tender or heroic sentiment of our nature untouched. 556. "Enoch Arden." In 1864 appeared "Enoch Arden," a work of great beauty. It depicts with deep pathos the hero 1 Century Magazine, February, 1893. ism to be found in humble life. Beauty, pathos, heroism these are qualities that give it high rank, and have made it perhaps the most popular of all Tennyson's writings. Human nature is portrayed at its best; and like all our author's poetry, Enoch Arden" unconsciously begets faith in man and makes us hopeful of the future of our race. 66 557. The Closing Scene.- Of Tennyson's other works we cannot speak. It is enough to say that they add nothing to his fame. The quiet beauty of his death formed a fitting close to his long and uneventful career. On the evening of the 6th of October, 1892, the soul of the great poet passed away. The prayer he had breathed two years before in the little poem, Crossing the Bar," was answered: 66 66 Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar 'But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep "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 bourn of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar." He was entombed by the side of Chaucer in Westminster Abbey, while two continents lamented his death. 558. Enduring Fame.- Whatever changes of taste or fashion may hereafter come in poetry, surely we are justified in believing that Tennyson will continue to hold a high rank. His work is too true in thought, feeling, and execution to pass away. It will abide as a perpetual source of pleasure and strength. While tenderly sensitive to beauty, he possessed profound ethical feeling and spiritual insight. Keenly sympathetic with the restless search after truth characteristic of our time, he avoided its vagaries and dangers, and continued a trustworthy teacher, inspiring confidence in man, hope in the future, and faith in God. In the words of Longfellow's beautiful sonnet: Not of the howling dervishes of song, Who craze the brain with their delirious dance, FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY. Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: a Memoir by his Son," Waugh, "Alfred Lord Tennyson," Jenning, "Lord Tennyson," Brooke, "Tennyson, His Art and Relation to Modern Life," Van Dyke, "Poetry of Tennyson," Horton, "Alfred Lord Tennyson," Stedman, "Victorian Poets." A study of Tennyson's diction in the selections of Part II. His treatment of nature in the same poems. A character study of Dora. The contrast between "The Lotos-Eaters" and "Ulysses." The story of "Godiva." A study of "A Dream of Fair Woman." What is the meaning of "The Palace of Art"? A review of the ballad of "Edward Gray." The story of "Enoch Arden." A comparison of "Locksley Hall" and "Locksley Hall Sixty Years After." A collection of fine passages from "In Memoriam." The story of "Elaine." 66 Break, break, break," " "The Bugle Song," "Tears, Idle Tears," "Dora," "Ulysses," and the "Morte D'Arthur" will be found among the selections of Part II. |