V THE CLASSIFICATION OF TENNYSON'S POEMS Tennyson never attempted to arrange his works on any such formal scheme as Wordsworth used in classifying his poems for the edition of 1815 and followed in all subsequent editions. "Poems," said he, "apparently miscellaneous, may be arranged either with reference to the powers of mind predominant in the production of them; or to the mould in which they are cast; or, lastly, to the subjects to which they relate." He determined to use all three of these methods in dividing his poems into classes, and also, as far as possible, to follow "an order of time, commencing with Childhood, and terminating with Old Age, Death, and Immortality." The disadvantage, one might almost say the absurdity, of such a mixed method is obvious. The real value of classification lies in the unfolding of a single organic principle. Confusion is introduced when a compromise is made. It becomes difficult, if not impossible, to understand just which one of several reasons has been allowed to determine any particular feature of the arrangement. One might as well try to classify flowers, at one and the same time, by their structure, their colour, and the order of their appearance. Tennyson's mind was not possessed by that sharp philosophical distinction between Fancy and Imagination which played so large a part with Coleridge and Wordsworth. He had little of the analytical temper which delights in making programmes. His view of poetry was less theoretical, more practical and concrete, the view of an artist, who regards his work as the direct and vital expression of his life, - rather than the view of a philosopher, who looks back upon his work as the illustration of a formula, and endeavours to make it fit. We find, therefore, that in the various editions of his collected works the poems are given, in general, according to the chronological order, beginning with Juvenilia, and closing with those which were contained in the last-published volume. From the first, this chronological arrangement involved a certain outline of symmetrical development, following the successive impulses which came into his poetic art, and bringing together, quite naturally, poems in which a certain relation of spirit and manner may be felt. Later it was necessary, for the sake of order, to give a systematic arrangement to pieces which were written at different times, like the Idylls of the King and the Dramas. The general result of this method has been to present the longer poems, The Princess, Maud, In Memoriam, and the Idylls of the King, in the centre of Tennyson's work, preceded by the miscellaneous poems of youth and followed by the miscellaneous poems of age. The collection begins with "Claribel," a lyric of delicate artistry, and ends with "Crossing the Bar," a lyric of profound meaning. But for the purpose of the present volume I think something a little different is desirable and possible. For here we have not the full record of his life and work as poet, but a selection of poems chosen to show his chief characteristics, to represent the best that he has done in the different fields of his art, and to stand, at least approximately, as a measure of his contributions to that which is permanent in the various departments of English poetry. It is natural, therefore, and indeed almost necessary for the end which we have in view, to try to arrange these contributions in general groups. The principle which I have followed is practical rather than theoretical. The old Greek division-lyric, dramatic, epic could not well be strictly followed because so much of Tennyson's work lies in the border-lands between these three great domains. The purely chronological arrangement was impracticable because it would separate, by long distances, poems which are as closely related as "Break, break, break,” and "In the Valley of Cauteretz"; "Morte d'Arthur" and "Guinevere"; and the different sections of In Memoriam. It seems to me better to bring together the poems which are really most alike in their general purpose and effect. I. Thus, for example, there is a kind of poetry of which the first charm resides in its appeal to the sense of beauty. This is not its only quality, of course, for all verse must have a meaning in order to have a value. But the prevailing effect of the kind of poetry of which I am speaking is the feeling of pleasure in graceful form, rich colour, the clear and memorable vision of outward things, or the utterance of emotion in haunting music. Poems which have this musical and picturesque quality in predominance (whether or not they carry with them a deeper significance) are first of all Melodies and Pictures. With this kind of verse Tennyson began; in it, as his art was developed, he attained a rare mastery; and to it a great deal of his most finely finished work belongs. For this reason the present volume begins with a selection of lyrics of this general class: first, those in which the melodic element, the verbal music, is the main charm; second, those in which the chief delight comes from the pictorial element, the vivid description of things seen. I do not imagine that this distinction can be closely applied, or that all readers would draw it in the same way. But at least I hope that in both groups of this main division a certain order of advance can be seen a deeper meaning coming into the melodies, a broader human interest coming into the pictures. - II. In the next general division, Ballads, Idyls, and Character-Pieces, the significance has become more important than the form. The interest of the poems lies in the story which they tell, in the character which they reveal, in the mood of human experience which they depict. The chief value of the melody lies in its vital relation to the mood. The great charm of the bits of natural description lies in their almost invariable harmony with the central thought of the poem. The idyl is a picture coloured by an emotion and containing a human figure, or figures, in the foreground. It lies in the border-land between the lyric and the epic. The character-piece is a monologue in which a person is disclosed in utterance, mainly, if not altogether, from the side of thought, of remembrance, of reflection. It lies in the border-land between the epic and the drama. The dramatic lyric is an emotional self-disclosure, not of the poet himself, but of some chosen character, historical or imaginary. It lies in the border-land between the lyric and the drama. The ballad is a story told in song, briefly and with strong feeling. It may receive a dramatic touch by being told in character. But usually it belongs in the border land between the epic and the lyric. Turning now to the poems which are brought together in this second division, we find that their controlling purpose is to tell us something about human character and life. They are larger in every way (though not necessarily more perfect) than the Melodies and Pictures, but their theme is still confined to a single event, a single character, or a single mood. They are related to the epic as the short story is to the novel. Their dramatic element is fully expressed only in the person who is speaking; the other characters and the plot of the play are implied. Maud is, I believe, the unique example of a drama presented in successive lyrics, a lyrical Monodrama. III. The reason why selections from Tennyson's regular dramas have not been given in this volume is stated in another place. The limitations of space have prevented the use of anything more than fragments of his epics. They will be found in the third general division, Selections from Epic Poems, and are to be taken chiefly as illustrations of his manner of dealing with a broader theme. To judge how far he was able to tell a long rich story, how far he understood the architectural principles of epic poetry, one must turn directly to The Princess and Idylls of the King, and study them not in fragments but as complete poems. IV. In the fourth general division, Personal and Philosophic Poems, we hear Tennyson speaking to us more directly, delivering his personal message in regard to problems of life and destiny, giving his own answers to questions of faith and duty. I do not mean that these are the only poems in which his personal convictions are expressed; nor that these poems are always and altogether subjective and confessional. Doubtless in some of them, (as, for example, "The Ancient Sage,”) there is a dramatic element. But this is what I mean: the chief element of interest in these poems lies in what Matthew Arnold calls "the criticism of life," not abstract, impersonal, indirect criticism, but the immediate utterance of Tennyson's deepest thoughts and feelings. Here we have what he wishes to say to us, (not as preacher or philosopher or politician, but as poet,) about the right love of country, the true service of art, and the real life of the spirit. There is room for difference of opinion in regard to the place of particular poems in these general divisions. But I feel sure that the order of the divisions is that which should be followed in trying to estimate the quality and permanent value of Tennyson's work. The first object of poetry is to impart pleasure through the imagination by the expression of ideas and feelings in metrical language. But there is rank and degree in pleasures. The highest are those in which man's best powers find play: the powers of love and hope and faith which strengthen and ennoble human nature. Thus from the verbal melodies and |