CHAPTER XI. THE VICTORIAN AGE (1850-1900)Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as, moving, seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless
deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.WORKS.At the outset of our study of Tennyson’s works
it may be well to record two things, by way of suggestion.
First, Tennyson’s poetry is not so much to be studied as to be
read and appreciated; he is a poet to have open on one’s table,
and to enjoy as one enjoys his daily exercise. And second, we
should by all means begin to get acquainted with Tennyson
in the days of our youth. Unlike Browning, who is generally
appreciated by more mature minds, Tennyson is for enjoy-
ment, for inspiration, rather than for instruction. Only youth
can fully appreciate him; and youth, unfortunately, except in
a few rare, beautiful cases, is something which does not dwell
with us long after our school days. The secret of poetry, espe-
cially of Tennyson’s poetry, is to be eternally young, and, like
Adam in Paradise, to find every morning a new world, fresh,
wonderful, inspiring, as if just from the hands of God.
Except by the student, eager to understand the whoje range
of poetry in this age, Tennyson’s earlier poems and his later
dramas may well be omitted. Opinions vary about both; but