THE SILVER SERIES OF ENGLISH CLASSICS IDYLLS OF THE (SELECTIONS) BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON EDITED WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY JAMES E. THOMAS, B.A. (HARVARD) HEAD MASTER OF DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH IN THE BOYS' SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO +88.899863 Edue. T895.6157792 Harvard University, of Education Library Olt of the Publishers. July 13, 1908. TRANSFERRED TO ARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY COPYRIGHT, 1900, 1907, BY SILVER, BURDETT & COMPANY PREFACE. IN adding another to the many text-books of English poetry already published, the editor ventures to hope that the present volume may fulfil a useful purpose in bringing the student of literature into closer touch with the greatest artist-poet of the present century, and to a better understanding of the only great English epic since the days of Milton. The "Idylls of the King" have not been a favorite subject of study in secondary schools. This is unfortunate, and is due, perhaps, to a mistaken impression concerning the adaptability of the poems for school use. If the present volume shall serve in any way to efface such an impression, its primary mission will be accomplished. Are the "Idylls of the King" beyond the comprehension of pupils of secondary schools? If we attempt to follow in detail the spiritual significance of the poems, the question must be answered affirmatively. But to enjoy the beauty of the lines it is not necessary for us to seek out their allegorical meaning; this may well be left for subsequent consideration. Apart from their spiritual significance, the poems present sufficient material for pleasant and profitable study. The form and substance of these tales of wonder and woe, of chivalry and amatory devotion, their rich pictorial fancies, musical cadences, and delightful melodies, |