I have myself collated, or
have had collated for me, every edition recorded in the British Museum
Catalogue, and where that has been deficient I have had recourse to
other public libraries, and to the libraries of private friends.
have had collated for me, every edition recorded in the British Museum
Catalogue, and where that has been deficient I have had recourse to
other public libraries, and to the libraries of private friends.
Tennyson
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? The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson, by
Alfred Lord Tennyson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson
Author: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Posting Date: October 24, 2012 [EBook #8601]
Release Date: August, 2005
First Posted: July 27, 2003
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY POEMS OF ALFRED LORD TENNYSON ***
Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Clytie Siddall, Charles Franks,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
THE EARLY POEMS
OF
ALFRED LORD TENNYSON
EDITED WITH A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION. COMMENTARIES AND NOTES,
TOGETHER WITH THE VARIOUS READINGS,
A TRANSCRIPT OF THE POEMS TEMPORARILY AND FINALLY SUPPRESSED
AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN CHURTON COLLINS
PREFACE
A Critical edition of Tennyson's poems has long been an acknowledged
want. He has taken his place among the English Classics, and as a
Classic he is, and will be, studied, seriously and minutely, by many
thousands of his countrymen, both in the present generation as well as
in future ages. As in the works of his more illustrious brethren, so in
his trifles will become subjects of curious interest, and assume an
importance of which we have no conception now. Here he will engage the
attention of the antiquary, there of the social historian. Long after
his politics, his ethics, his theology have ceased to be immediately
influential, they will be of immense historical significance. A
consummate artist and a consummate master of our language, the process
by which he achieved results so memorable can never fail to be of
interest, and of absorbing interest, to critical students.
I must, I fear, claim the indulgence due to one who attempts, for the
first time, a critical edition of a text so perplexingly voluminous in
variants as Tennyson's. I can only say that I have spared neither time
nor labour to be accurate and exhaustive.
I have myself collated, or
have had collated for me, every edition recorded in the British Museum
Catalogue, and where that has been deficient I have had recourse to
other public libraries, and to the libraries of private friends. I am
not conscious that I have left any variant unrecorded, but I should not
like to assert that this is the case. Tennyson was so restlessly
indefatigable in his corrections that there may lurk, in editions of the
poems which I have not seen, other variants; and it is also possible
that, in spite of my vigilance, some may have escaped me even in the
editions which have been collated, and some may have been made at a date
earlier than the date recorded. But I trust this has not been the case.
Of the Bibliography I can say no more than that I have done my utmost to
make it complete, and that it is very much fuller than any which has
hitherto appeared. That it is exhaustive I dare not promise.
With regard to the Notes and Commentaries, I have spared no pains to
explain everything which seemed to need explanation. There are, I think,
only two points which I have not been able to clear up, namely, the name
of the friend to whom the 'Palace of Art' was addressed, and the name
of the friend to whom the 'Verses after Reading a Life and Letters'
were addressed. I have consulted every one who would be likely to throw
light on the subject, including the poet's surviving sister, many of his
friends, and the present Lord Tennyson, but without success; so the
names, if they were not those of some imaginary person, appear to be
irrecoverable. The Prize Poem, 'Timbuctoo', as well as the poems which
were temporarily or finally suppressed in the volumes published in 1830
and 1832 have been printed in the Appendix: those which were
subsequently incorporated in his Works, in large type; those which he
never reprinted, in small.
The text here adopted is that of 1857, but Messrs. Macmillan, to whom I
beg to express my hearty thanks, have most generously allowed me to
record all the variants which are still protected by copyright. I have
to thank them, too, for assistance in the Bibliography. I have also to
thank Mr. J. T.
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
? The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson, by
Alfred Lord Tennyson
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Early Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson
Author: Alfred Lord Tennyson
Posting Date: October 24, 2012 [EBook #8601]
Release Date: August, 2005
First Posted: July 27, 2003
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY POEMS OF ALFRED LORD TENNYSON ***
Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Clytie Siddall, Charles Franks,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
THE EARLY POEMS
OF
ALFRED LORD TENNYSON
EDITED WITH A CRITICAL INTRODUCTION. COMMENTARIES AND NOTES,
TOGETHER WITH THE VARIOUS READINGS,
A TRANSCRIPT OF THE POEMS TEMPORARILY AND FINALLY SUPPRESSED
AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN CHURTON COLLINS
PREFACE
A Critical edition of Tennyson's poems has long been an acknowledged
want. He has taken his place among the English Classics, and as a
Classic he is, and will be, studied, seriously and minutely, by many
thousands of his countrymen, both in the present generation as well as
in future ages. As in the works of his more illustrious brethren, so in
his trifles will become subjects of curious interest, and assume an
importance of which we have no conception now. Here he will engage the
attention of the antiquary, there of the social historian. Long after
his politics, his ethics, his theology have ceased to be immediately
influential, they will be of immense historical significance. A
consummate artist and a consummate master of our language, the process
by which he achieved results so memorable can never fail to be of
interest, and of absorbing interest, to critical students.
I must, I fear, claim the indulgence due to one who attempts, for the
first time, a critical edition of a text so perplexingly voluminous in
variants as Tennyson's. I can only say that I have spared neither time
nor labour to be accurate and exhaustive.
I have myself collated, or
have had collated for me, every edition recorded in the British Museum
Catalogue, and where that has been deficient I have had recourse to
other public libraries, and to the libraries of private friends. I am
not conscious that I have left any variant unrecorded, but I should not
like to assert that this is the case. Tennyson was so restlessly
indefatigable in his corrections that there may lurk, in editions of the
poems which I have not seen, other variants; and it is also possible
that, in spite of my vigilance, some may have escaped me even in the
editions which have been collated, and some may have been made at a date
earlier than the date recorded. But I trust this has not been the case.
Of the Bibliography I can say no more than that I have done my utmost to
make it complete, and that it is very much fuller than any which has
hitherto appeared. That it is exhaustive I dare not promise.
With regard to the Notes and Commentaries, I have spared no pains to
explain everything which seemed to need explanation. There are, I think,
only two points which I have not been able to clear up, namely, the name
of the friend to whom the 'Palace of Art' was addressed, and the name
of the friend to whom the 'Verses after Reading a Life and Letters'
were addressed. I have consulted every one who would be likely to throw
light on the subject, including the poet's surviving sister, many of his
friends, and the present Lord Tennyson, but without success; so the
names, if they were not those of some imaginary person, appear to be
irrecoverable. The Prize Poem, 'Timbuctoo', as well as the poems which
were temporarily or finally suppressed in the volumes published in 1830
and 1832 have been printed in the Appendix: those which were
subsequently incorporated in his Works, in large type; those which he
never reprinted, in small.
The text here adopted is that of 1857, but Messrs. Macmillan, to whom I
beg to express my hearty thanks, have most generously allowed me to
record all the variants which are still protected by copyright. I have
to thank them, too, for assistance in the Bibliography. I have also to
thank Mr. J. T.
