New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-26
LOCKSLEY HALL AND TENNYSON
AN OLD MANS PESSIMTsM.


AN OLD MANS PEssIMIsM.
LOCKsLEY HALL SIXTY YEARS AFTER, etc. BY
ALyRRD, LORD TENsYsoN. Crown svo, PIP. 2ol Mac
milan Il Co.
The tendency which has been observable IN. all
Tennyson's recent poetry and which was marked
in his last previous volume Iireslas is now
irrev ocably determined. English poetry, since he
reached his climax in the first volume OF "ldyis
of the King" has apparently been divided be-
tween two contrary courses, one In the direcuon
of intellectual abstrscness and severity, tho 9th
or towards the highest elaboration of art. With
q strange perversity Tennyson. whose strength
lay in the latter way chose philosophy ana d.
dacticsm the sermon rather than the song and
year by year he has put off more and more Of the
old charm without gaining the force and majesty
which he expected 10 take its place 1t Is OF CON-
paratively little consequence that in the new
"LocSsley Hall" he Aouts the expectations Of his
ardent YOUTH and heaps the reproaches of dis
appointed old man upon the world which seemed
full Of hope and progress when he wrote, in the
earlier poem,
Not in vain the distance bcacons Forward. for
ward let us range
Let the great world spin forever down the ring
ny grooves Of change;
or when he sang his generous aspirations in The
Golden Year" Other poets, too, have misrcad
their time. The vision Of the Inspired seer does
not always take in the relations of things that
lie next at hand Rather it stretches beyond the
accidents of society and politics. in search of the
fixed and universal. Our valuation of Words
worth is not affected by the change in his senti-
ments on public affairs neither will it make
much difference in Tennysons fame ten years
from now that in his inpatient decline he has lost
his old confidence in the progress of mankind.
sl,.t 90 ,,arft hoh ban
Hope took WINS the Muse fed with her. We
could pooh-pooh the political pessimism Of Locks
ley Hall Sixty Years After if its poetica quality
were not as disappointing as its philosophy. 1t
has hardly any of the traits which made the charm
of its predecessor; worse than that, ii has hardly
any OF the traits which made TennysOn one OF the
foremost figures Of his time. Whatever differ
cnces might declare themselves in the discussion
Of his poetry, all agreed that it was one Of the
most exquisite al tproducts in the whole range OF
Fnglish literature. Symmetry Of form. perfection
of melody, variety Of sound and metre, delicious
harmones Of Words the dexterous use of sensuous
effects 10 heighten the suggestions OF fancy the
incompatible adaptation of the body of the poem
to its spirit-these qualities in Tennyson used DO
be the delight of every reader and in these quail
| tiles notwithstanding the length to which the art
movement has been carried by the younger writ
ers the Tennyson Of forty years ago has not yet
| been surpassed But we listen in vain for the old
music in this unfortunate palinode, where bhc
| Grabbed verse crawls after the sour thought and
rough unshapen phrases heaped on enc an
other like riprap wall. There are sentences
which tell by their vehemence, and some that are
forcible by sheer ugliness; there are none that
shine by their beauty. "LOc<sley Hall spaTkled
with lines which have haunted the world ever
since they were first read "Loclxsley Hall Sixty
o,p fl,oh vuin vich
to remember The absolute decay of poetic power
is most painfully shown in passages which recall
the love story of the earlier piece and attempt to
reproduce the poets sentiment toward his "Cousn
Amy" We have the words but all the light
grace and heart have gone out Of them. Here
is sad line:
christian conqucrors took and flung the CON
quered Christian into flames"
Alas, that the author of "The Princess should
live to write "toolx and flung"
OF the two short pieces which follow the re-
vised @Locksley" there is not much to be said
The verses for the Opening Of the Indian AMI
Colonial Exhibition by the Queen belong to a
class Of perfunctory compositions in which the
laureate has never been especially happy. The
stanzas entitled "Ihe Fleet were provoked by q
recent speech on the alleged decay of the Navy
and PERHAPS the last lines will be enough to show
their character:
You You that have the ordering of her feet,
JfyOu should only COMPASS her disgrace,
When oil men starve, the wild mob's million feet
Will kick you from your place,
But then too late, too late.
This is not poetry it is only scolding, and not
very impressive scolding either. The volume is
comp leted by a threeact drama "1he Promise
OF May in which it is the poets intention as we
are warned by the motto, 10 exhibit "a surface
man of theories true to none" Philip Edgar.
however, is believer in the evolution Of new
standards Of coniuct and the practice Of new
rule OF scientific morals The ethics of atheism
are held up to scorn in the treatment of this per-
sonage, who brings tragedy to a peaceful village
but while we may applaud the poets purpose it is
impossible to be satisfied with his manner of put
ting it into effect The instructive passages are
dull and unimaginatiTe, and Edgar is selfish
scamp Of a very common type, familiar through
all fiction and not the especial product of modern
views Of the universe. For the rest the story is
badly inartfcial, the actors little more than
names, and the catastrophe is not developed but
simply reported. "1he Promise of May IL by far
the weakest Of Tennyson's dramas It's most in
teresting scenes are studies Of rustic speech and
manners, In which the poet repeats through the
medium OF his farm characters the experiments
in dialect for which he has long shown passion.
There are two songs, one of which gives the name
10 the play The other Is the following haymalk-
en songi
What did ye do. and what did 70 ssay,
.swf ths wid white rose. and TIE voodbns e sasy,
When - tSo~s there we're nsssSdy sssean' You,
For the la last LOAD hoxmi
What did We DO and what did NO saay.
w s he 9 misG. - :Sa ana M a :y :: =