Nothing indeed can be more interesting than to note the touches, the
substitution of which measured the whole distance between mediocrity and
excellence.
substitution of which measured the whole distance between mediocrity and
excellence.
Tennyson
In 1843
appeared the second edition of these poems, which is merely a reprint
with a few unimportant alterations, and which was followed in 1845 and
in 1846 by a third and fourth edition equally unimportant in their
variants, but in the fourth 'The Golden Year' was added. In the next
edition, the fifth, 1848, 'The Deserted House' was included from the
poems of 1830. In the sixth edition, 1850, was included another poem,
'To--, after reading a Life and Letters', reprinted, with some
alterations, from the 'Examiner' of 24th March, 1849.
The seventh edition, 1851, contained important additions. First the
Dedication to the Queen, then 'Edwin Morris,' the fragment of 'The
Eagle,' and the stanzas, "Come not when I am dead," first printed in
'The Keepsake' for 1851, under the title of 'Stanzas. ' In this edition
the absurd trifle 'The Skipping Rope' was excised and finally cancelled.
In the eighth edition, 1853, 'The Sea-Fairies,' though greatly altered,
was included from the poems of 1830, and the poem 'To E. L. on his
Travels in Greece' was added. This edition, the eighth, may be regarded
as the final one. Nothing afterwards of much importance was added or
subtracted, and comparatively few alterations were made in the text from
that date to the last collected edition in 1898.
All the editions up to, and including, that of 1898 have been carefully
collated, so that the student of Tennyson can follow step by step the
process by which he arrived at that perfection of expression which is
perhaps his most striking characteristic as a poet. And it was indeed a
trophy of labour, of the application "of patient touches of unwearied
art". Whoever will turn, say to 'The Palace of Art,' to '? none,' to the
'Dream of Fair Women,' or even to 'The Sea-Fairies' and to 'The Lady of
Shalott,' will see what labour was expended on their composition.
Nothing indeed can be more interesting than to note the touches, the
substitution of which measured the whole distance between mediocrity and
excellence. Take, for example, the magical alteration in the couplet in
the 'Dream of Fair Women':--
One drew a sharp knife thro' my tender throat
Slowly,--and nothing more,
into
The bright death quiver'd at the victim's throat;
Touch'd; and I knew no more.
Or, in the same poem:--
What nights we had in Egypt!
I could hit His humours while I cross'd him.
O the life I led him, and the dalliance and the wit,
into
We drank the Libyan Sun to sleep, and lit
Lamps which outburn'd Canopus.
O my life In Egypt!
O the dalliance and the wit,
The flattery and the strife.
Or, in 'Mariana in the South':--
She mov'd her lips, she pray'd alone,
She praying, disarray'd and warm
From slumber, deep her wavy form
In the dark lustrous mirror shone,
into
Complaining, "Mother, give me grace
To help me of my weary load".
And on the liquid mirror glow'd
The clear perfection of her face.
How happy is this slight alteration in the verses 'To J. S. ' which
corrects one of the falsest notes ever struck by a poet:--
A tear Dropt on _my tablets_ as I wrote.
A tear Dropt on _the letters_ as I wrote.
or where in 'Locksley Hall' a splendidly graphic touch of description is
gained by the alteration of "_droops_ the trailer from the crag" into
"_swings_ the trailer".
So again in 'Love and Duty':--
Should my shadow cross thy thoughts
Too sadly for their peace, _so put it back_.
For calmer hours in memory's darkest hold,
where by altering "so put it back" into "remand it thou," a somewhat
ludicrous image is at all events softened.
appeared the second edition of these poems, which is merely a reprint
with a few unimportant alterations, and which was followed in 1845 and
in 1846 by a third and fourth edition equally unimportant in their
variants, but in the fourth 'The Golden Year' was added. In the next
edition, the fifth, 1848, 'The Deserted House' was included from the
poems of 1830. In the sixth edition, 1850, was included another poem,
'To--, after reading a Life and Letters', reprinted, with some
alterations, from the 'Examiner' of 24th March, 1849.
The seventh edition, 1851, contained important additions. First the
Dedication to the Queen, then 'Edwin Morris,' the fragment of 'The
Eagle,' and the stanzas, "Come not when I am dead," first printed in
'The Keepsake' for 1851, under the title of 'Stanzas. ' In this edition
the absurd trifle 'The Skipping Rope' was excised and finally cancelled.
In the eighth edition, 1853, 'The Sea-Fairies,' though greatly altered,
was included from the poems of 1830, and the poem 'To E. L. on his
Travels in Greece' was added. This edition, the eighth, may be regarded
as the final one. Nothing afterwards of much importance was added or
subtracted, and comparatively few alterations were made in the text from
that date to the last collected edition in 1898.
All the editions up to, and including, that of 1898 have been carefully
collated, so that the student of Tennyson can follow step by step the
process by which he arrived at that perfection of expression which is
perhaps his most striking characteristic as a poet. And it was indeed a
trophy of labour, of the application "of patient touches of unwearied
art". Whoever will turn, say to 'The Palace of Art,' to '? none,' to the
'Dream of Fair Women,' or even to 'The Sea-Fairies' and to 'The Lady of
Shalott,' will see what labour was expended on their composition.
Nothing indeed can be more interesting than to note the touches, the
substitution of which measured the whole distance between mediocrity and
excellence. Take, for example, the magical alteration in the couplet in
the 'Dream of Fair Women':--
One drew a sharp knife thro' my tender throat
Slowly,--and nothing more,
into
The bright death quiver'd at the victim's throat;
Touch'd; and I knew no more.
Or, in the same poem:--
What nights we had in Egypt!
I could hit His humours while I cross'd him.
O the life I led him, and the dalliance and the wit,
into
We drank the Libyan Sun to sleep, and lit
Lamps which outburn'd Canopus.
O my life In Egypt!
O the dalliance and the wit,
The flattery and the strife.
Or, in 'Mariana in the South':--
She mov'd her lips, she pray'd alone,
She praying, disarray'd and warm
From slumber, deep her wavy form
In the dark lustrous mirror shone,
into
Complaining, "Mother, give me grace
To help me of my weary load".
And on the liquid mirror glow'd
The clear perfection of her face.
How happy is this slight alteration in the verses 'To J. S. ' which
corrects one of the falsest notes ever struck by a poet:--
A tear Dropt on _my tablets_ as I wrote.
A tear Dropt on _the letters_ as I wrote.
or where in 'Locksley Hall' a splendidly graphic touch of description is
gained by the alteration of "_droops_ the trailer from the crag" into
"_swings_ the trailer".
So again in 'Love and Duty':--
Should my shadow cross thy thoughts
Too sadly for their peace, _so put it back_.
For calmer hours in memory's darkest hold,
where by altering "so put it back" into "remand it thou," a somewhat
ludicrous image is at all events softened.
