New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-10-06
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n. X. FAiRRANK & CO.,
CHICAGO, ILL.,, and
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|
in 1893, appeared in 1850 anonymously at first,
although all the world at once knew that there
| was only one man who could nave written H.
In form IL consists OF one hundred ana thirty
lyrical pieces written at various times, often as
| linct from one another in thought Or motive, an"
expressing many phases Of feeling They arc CON
| nectcd by certain unity OF design ana students
| find in them exhibition of the struggles ot
| religious mind with doubts born OF sorrow, ana
the gradual attainment Of roSi through faith me
majestic opening stanyas may be taken as the
| key TO this Interpretation:
Strong Son Of God, immortal Love,
| Whom We that have not Thy face,
| BY faith and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where We cannot prove;
Thine are thcs" orbs Of Hight and shade;
Tho" ma&cs st Soi IL man s%s nn I'D 9'e loot
! Is on the skull which Thou hast made
But there is no obvious ddac,ic purpose in the
poem. A Characteristic of IN M'moriam.' as
ypcal expression Of the intcl ccinrl di>tuiblnccs
Of the time is that u lesson is not obvious. Tenny
son here gives full play 10 the power, OF vigorous
philosophc mind, and is carried along into all the
perplextics Of speculation which belong to our
day. His spirit is always rcvcrcnt, but he Is not
| writing improving essay, and he takes no pains
| TO make the path of dclivcrance smooth and clear.
! As poetry the work is distinguished for the uni.
| form nobility Of the sentiment. the gravity nni
statelnrss Of the STYLE and the singular beauty OF
many detached passages.
| MADE POET LAUREATE.
In the year of the publication of " In Mcmoriam
| 1850 1cnnyson received, with universal ap
prevail the appointment Of Poet Laureate in sue
cession IN Wordsworth. Five years later h. gave
| u Maud which was morc vchcmenty discussed
than any Of his previous productions. In the
management Of language ard rhythm il ranks with
his best work: some OF the lyrical passages, such
as Go not happy day. Come into the garden.
Maud See what lovely SHELL are rho quin'-
cesrncc of musical feeling: and In praise OF the
| poem ms n whole II must be said that II every
where took a strong hold Of the imagination. But
| willie Tenny son can always tell a story, he cannot
always invcn, one Maud is weak in
sfrnction, uncertain in purpose, sometimes com
monphcc in thought It's first popularity was not
| sustained, although perhaps IL never ceased -
10 favoritc with uncritical readers who could
enjoy its sensuou, srlcndorS without pcrccivns
| It's artistic defects "1hc Charge Of the Light
| Brigade and the ode on the Death of the Duke
| - wellington" contained IN the same volume,
| borrowed some OF their popularity from patrlole
| feeling The Book which accompanied them,
vas delicious addition 10 the rich collection oil
| English dyl,
| II Maud had exhausted his finest gifts, that
| fear was soon dispellcd by the appearance OF the
| FIRST four Idvls OF the King lc5g, the work
| with which the name Of Tcnnyson VIII he longest
| and most clo-cly associated. We have seen that
| he was carly attracted BY the legend OF nc
| Found
through the chronicle Of SIR Thomas Mallory. ana
IN the treatment OF this romantic subject he spcht
| 4 large share of his rrcst year. lie an not IN
tend at first the hrcc, full treatment 70 who The
| ihcne expanded under his nycc'on,'e hand. The
| title Of :" Idvlsr shows thar and Miss Fox. with
| whom he talked about the work year after the
apearance OF the first portion, represents HIM ~
| then uncertain whether il should ever be con
| rlnucd: he must wait for the vision But in
| 1909 he added three new idyl'. " The Coming Of
] Arthur" The Holy Grnil" and Pelleas and
lcai loo
! As 4" The Passing Of Arthur and rearranging the
series III 1872 he published Gareth and LSnrtic
and ." The Last Tournament and in So Balm
and Tsaan.o The poem, who.e composition thus
extended over more than forty years. reached the
proportions Of an epic, and except IN the mutual
independence OF most Of II, divisions II posse S'd
| n trnc epic character In all English poetry there
| is no more splendid storytelling, splendid In thc
| ong-eusinncd narrative ire marsha ,ung oi
| crowded events, the glowing pictures the dranntlc
| representations Of action and character ana the
lofty heroic which never loses The poetic pitch
There are great Unequal tics IN the ldylN, inc irNt
group being the best but all display the ina anna
tive touch in n marlc de grcc, and in the hundreds
Of RACES Of banl;-vcrs" there are no apSeS int
dulncss or prose. Guncvrrc' has been pro
nourccl the poets masterpiece II ls the only m
stance in which his nish; reached beyond " In
Mcmoriam'
| THE TrRVIY:: POINT " TENNYSoN'S COURSE
Guincvcrc" denotes also the turnnG-pont in
Tennyson's course. With the exception of Enoch
Arden" Il sGi). very little OF his subsequent verse
was on q level with earlier pieces of the same
| kind; MS he advanced in years manncriSrnS crcpt
| into his style and multiplied there, as such pnra-
sites are apt 20 do: a harsh note became frequent
in the line which WIS once 50 purely musical;
| ne reminded us sometimes that old age is not
the time for song But his decline was not SO
| much failing of natural powers as the consc-
ouencc of O change in the current of popular
| thought The literary movement Of his latter
DAYS was in two directions; the stronger minds
tuned toward speculative inquiries and excessive
scli-searching; the little ones took to writing
| about one another and rubbing up canzoncts
| q mighty and solitary genius. about whose feet
| fashions play unnoticcd. was caught in the meta
| rhvscal current yielding to il the more readily
perhaps out Of dislike for The opposite school Of
| small concciis and great technique Cortainly IN
| his lntr collections, although some exquisite
pieces might he picked from them, he lost HIM
| self too often in deep reflections. and loaded
his verse with burdens nndcr which it trudged
and stumbled. In 1886 he published "Iock,ley
IlalI-Sixty Years After"
IT'S DRAMATIC WORK.
His only large works after the Idyls of the
| King were in the dramatic form" Queen Mary"
us75, Harold" uS76j. "Thc Falcon" uS7e,
The Cup uesU, "Bcckct" nssI and
1.-THE Forcstcrs' usO2). These added
nothing 10 his reputation. The Falcon
and Tile Cup" were performed In London without
the closet plays were productions which most
! admirers Of the author felt that they could well
pare. The lack Of constructive skill which