Part 1 (1/2)

Alfred Tennyson

by Andrew Lang

INTRODUCTION

In writing this brief sketch of the Life of Tennyson, and this attempt to appreciate his work, I have rested alraphy by Lord Tennyson (with his kind permission) and on the text of the Poeiven in the Biography, are known to me, and to most people But as they raphy, I have not thought it desirable to include what he rejected The works of the ”localisers” I have not read: Tennyson disliked these researches, as a rule, and they appear to be unessential, and often hazardous The professed coive one's own impressions of the Poems, unaffected by the impressions of others, except in one or two cases where matters of fact rather than of taste seemed to be in question Thus on two or three points I have ventured to differ froiven the reasons for my dissent Professor Bradley's Commentary on In Memoriam {1} came out after this sketch was in print Many of the comments cited by Mr Bradley frolect of these curious inquirers

The ”difficulties” which they raise are not likely, as a rule, to present themselves to persons who read poetry ”for human pleasure”

I have not often dwelt on parallels to be found in the works of earlier poets In es froil did in the case of Homer, Theocritus, Apollonius Rhodius, and others

There are, doubtless, instances in which a phrase is unconsciously reproduced by autolish poet But I am less inclined than Mr Bradley to think that unconscious reenerally I have not closely examined Keats and Shelley, for example, to see how far they were influenced by unconscious memory But Scott, confessedly, was apt to reproduce the phrases of others, and once unwittingly borrowed from a poem by the valet of one of his friends! I believe that s in Tennyson are either no true parallels at all or are the unavoidable coincidences of expression which must inevitably occur The poet himself stated, in a lively phrase, his opinion of the hunters after parallels, and I confess that I am much of his mind They often remind me of Mr Punch's parody on an unfriendly review of Alexander Smith -

”Most WOMEN have NO CHARACTER at all” --POPE

”No CHARACTER that servant WOMAN asked” --SMITH

I have to thank Mr Ed my proof-sheets They have saved me from some errors, but I may have occasionally retained matter which, for one reason or another, did not recommend itself to them In no case are they responsible for the opinions expressed, or for the critical estimates They are those of a Tennysonian, and, no doubt, would be other than they are if the writer were younger than he is It does not follow that they would necessarily be ue The point of view eneration of readers, as ideas or beliefs go in or out of fashi+on, are accepted, rejected, or rehabilitated To one age Tennyson may seem weakly superstitious; to another needlessly sceptical After all, what he must live by is, not his opinions, but his poetry The poetry of Milton survives his ideas; whatever may be the fate of the ideas of Tennyson his poetry must endure

CHAPTER I--BOYHOOD--CAMBRIDGE--EARLY POEMS

The life and work of Tennyson present so like the normal type of what, in circumstances as fortunate as ht to be A modern poet, one says, because even poetry is now affected by the division of labour We do not look to the poet for a large share in the practical activities of existence: we do not expect hinis and Alcaeus, to take a conspicuous part in politics and war; or even, as in the Age of Anne, to shi+ne a wits and in society

Life has become, perhaps, too specialised for such multifarious activities Indeed, even in ancient days, as a Celtic proverb and as the picture of life in the Homeric epics prove, the poet was already astatesree with a not unpopular opinion, the poet ought to be a kind of ”titanic” force, wrecking his, as did Byron, Burns, Marlowe, and Musset But Tennyson's career followed lines really more normal, the lines of the life of Wordsworth, wisdo, sane, sound, and fortunate existence The great physical strength which is coour was not ruined in Tennyson by poverty and passion, as in the case of Burns, nor in forced literary labour, as in those of Scott and dickens For long he was poor, like Wordsworth and Southey, but never destitute He reat sorrow, and trial, and apparent failure With practical wisdom he conquered circuainst his genius; he died in the fulness of a happy age and of renown This full-orbed life, with not a few years of sorrow and stress, is what Nature seems to intend for the career of a divine lorious life,” he had not to be content in ”an age without a name”

It was not Tennyson's lot to illustrate any enius Born in 1809 of a Lincolnshi+re fa connected with the soil but inconspicuous in history, Tennyson had nothing Celtic in his blood, as far as pedigrees prove This is unfortunate for one school of theorists His enius ion She is described in the poem of Isabel, and was ”a remarkable and saintly woman” In the ht to be) brief of life and unhealthy ”The Tennysons never die,” said the sister as betrothed to Arthur Hallarandson, ”a reat ability,” and his ”excellent library” was an element in the education of his family ”My father was a poet,”

Tennyson said, ”and could write regular verse very skilfully” In physical type the sons were tall, strong, and unusually dark: Tennyson, when abroad, was not taken for an Englishn” Most of the children had the temperament, and several of the sons had soenius: whence derived by way of heredity is a question beyond conjecture, for the father's accomplishler, they ”were born to be so”: we know no ion in which the paternal hae fields, grey hillsides, and noble tall-towered churches, on the lower slope of a Lincolnshi+re wold,” does not appear to have been rich in roend and tradition The folk-lore of Lincolnshi+re, of which examples have been published, does seem to have a peculiar poetry of its own, but it was rather the humorous than the poetical aspect of the country-people that Tennyson appears to have known In brief, we have nothing to inforeneration of Tennysons which was born between 1807 and 1819 A source and a cause there s are hidden, except froenius, but genius is perhaps always accompanied by precocity This is especially notable in the cases of painting, enius may chiefly show itself in acquisition, as in Sir Walter Scott, hen a boy knew much, but did little that would attract notice As a child and a boy young Tennyson was remarked both for acquisition and performance His own reminiscences of his childhood varied soht he covered a slate with blank verse in the manner of Jamie Thomson, the only poet hoe he says, ”The first poetry that ht I rerander than Campbell, or Byron, or Scott I rolled it out, it was this -

'With slaughterous sons of thunder rolled the flood' -

great nonsense, of course, but I thought it fine!”

It WAS fine, and was thoroughly Tennysonian Scott, Campbell, and Byron probably never produced a line with the qualities of this nonsense verse ”Before I could read I was in the habit on a stor out, 'I hear a voice that's speaking in the wind,' and the words 'far, far away' had always a strange charm for me” A late lyric has this overword, FAR, FAR AWAY!