Transcribed from the 1901 William Blackwood and Sons edition,
ALFRED TENNYSON
BY
ANDREW LANG
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
MCMI
INTRODUCTION.
In writing this brief sketch of theLife of Tennyson, and this attempt to appreciate his work, I haverested almost entirely on the Biography by Lord Tennyson (withhis kind permission) and on the text of the Poems. As tothe Life, doubtless current anecdotes, not given in theBiography, are known to me, and to most people. But as theymust also be familiar to the author of the Biography, I have notthought it desirable to include what he rejected. The worksof the “localisers” I have not read: Tennysondisliked these researches, as a rule, and they appear to beunessential, and often hazardous. The professedcommentators I have not consulted. It appeared better togive one’s own impressions of the Poems, unaffected by theimpressions of others, except in one or two cases where mattersof fact rather than of taste seemed to be in question. Thuson two or three points I have ventured to differ from adistinguished living critic, and have given the reasons for mydissent. Professor Bradley’s Commentary on InMemoriam [1] came out after this sketch was inprint. Many of the comments cited by Mr Bradley from hispredecessors appear to justify my neglect of these curiousinquirers. The “difficulties” which they raiseare not likely, as a rule, to present themselves to persons whoread poetry “for human pleasure.”
I have not often dwelt on parallels to be found in the worksof earlier poets. In many cases Tennyson deliberatelyreproduced passages from Greek, Latin, and old Italian writers,just as Virgil did in the case of Homer, Theocritus, ApolloniusRhodius, and others. There are, doubtless, instances inwhich a phrase is unconsciously reproduced by automatic memory,from an English poet. But I am less inclined than MrBradley to think that unconscious reminiscence is more common inTennyson than in the poets generally. I have not closelyexamined Keats and Shelley, for example, to see how far they wereinfluenced by unconscious memory. But Scott, confessedly,was apt to reproduce the phrases of others, and once unwittinglyborrowed from a poem by the valet of one of his friends! Ibelieve that many of the alleged borrowings in Tennyson areeither no true parallels at all or are the unavoidablecoincidences of expression which must inevitably occur. Thepoet himself stated, in a lively phrase, his opinion of thehunters after parallels, and I confess that I am much of hismind. They often remind me of Mr Punch’s parody on anunfriendly review of Alexander Smith—
“Most women have no characterat all.”—Pope.
“No character that servant womanasked.”—Smith.
I have to thank Mr Edmund Gosse and Mr Vernon Rendall fortheir kindness in reading my proof-sheets. They have savedme from some errors, but I may have occasionally retained matterwhich, for one reason or another, did not recommend itself tothem. In no case are they responsible for the opinionsexpressed, or for the critical estimates. They are those