half years.

The third Christmas poem does not refer to the Christmas of 1835, as some have supposed, but to that of

CHART SHOWING STRUCTURE OF "IN MEMORIAM."

1837. Still, from the point of view of the poem itself, these discrepancies may well be ignored. The poet evidently wished his readers to think of the series as having been written in somewhat less than four years, and as representing the changing moods which came to him during that period. Each year he mentions the coming of the spring; twice he refers to the anniversary of his friend's death; once he makes mention of his friend's birthday. The noting of this time element and the comparison of the

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various poems written on the recurrence of certain days or seasons is essential to a true understanding not only of the structure, but of the meaning of the poem. The accompanying chart gives an idea of the relation of the "cycles.

C.

The metre of "In Memoriam" is iambic tetrameter, the lines being arranged in quatrains riming abba. In regard to this stanza-form, Tennyson himself said: "I had no notion till 1880 that Lord Herbert of Cherbury had written his occasional verses in the same metre. I believed myself the originator of the metre, until after 'In Memoriam' came out, when some one told me that Ben Jonson1 and Sir Philip Sidney had used it." (Memoir, I, 305-6.) It has been noted that several other poets had also anticipated Tennyson in the use of this verse-form.3 Prior to the publication of "In Memoriam," Tennyson had himself employed the metre in three poems, published in the volumes of 1842.

But the question of originality is, after all, a minor matter. What is of real significance is the adaptability of the form to the work in hand. That an elegy should have a slow-moving and dignified metre is self-evident; that the metre of "In Memoriam" meets this requirement, a little consideration will make clear. It is a significant fact that the rime for the first line, instead of coming in the following line, as in the couplet, or in the third line, as in the more usual stanza-form, is withheld until the fourth line. This 1 "In "Underwoods" XXXIX.

2 In translation of the 37th Psalm.

For a discussion of this matter, see an article by C. A. Smith in The Dial, Vol. XXII, p. 351.

causes a suspense which suggests deliberation and fits in admirably with the pensive mood of the poem. Again, Tennyson desired a metre which would allow him to weave together his stanzas into strongly unified poems. Now in couplets or triplets, or in quatrains where the final rime is made prominent, the final riming word emphasizes the close of the stanza, and, as it were, calls upon the mind to rest. It is a familiar fact that Shakespeare very frequently employed a couplet at the close of a scene or a speech for this very purpose. But in the "envelope quatrain," as the "In Memoriam" stanza may be called, the final rime-emphasis is greatly reduced by the fact that the riming word with which the final word agrees is three lines back. The stanzas, accordingly, do not stand out prominently as stanzas, but easily coalesce. This is illustrated in a striking way by LXXXVI. On the other hand, if the poet wishes to emphasize individual lines in the envelope quatrain form of verse, he can easily do so, as is seen in CVI.

The metre of "In Memoriam" is thus especially appropriate, and in the use of it Tennyson shows a master's skill. Some cases of special felicity are mentioned in the notes. The student can readily find other examples for himself.

III. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL

For the thorough study of "In Memoriam," or any other of Tennyson's works, two books are of prime importance, namely, the Complete Works of Tennyson (published by Macmillan; Houghton, Mifflin & Co.; or Crowell), and Alfred Lord Tennyson, a Memoir, by His Son (two volumes, Macmillan). In addition to these, the following, among many, will be found especially helpful:

The Poetry of Tennyson, by Henry Van Dyke (Scribners).

Tennyson, His Art and Relation to Modern Life, by Stopford A. Brooke (Putnam).

A Tennyson Primer, by William M. Dixon (Dodd, Mead & Co.).

The following books on "In Memoriam" will be found suggestive:

Tennyson's "In Memoriam," Its Purpose and Its Structure, by John F. Genung (Houghton, Mifflin & Co.).

Prolegomena to "In Memoriam," by Thomas Davidson (H., M. & Co.).

"In Memoriam," edited with notes by William J. Rolfe (H., M. & Co.).

Select Poems of Tennyson (containing forty of the "In Memoriam" poems), edited by Henry Van Dyke, and D. L. Chambers (Ginn & Co.).

"In Memoriam," edited by H. C. Beeching (Macmillan). A companion to "In Memoriam," by Elizabeth R. Chapman (Macmillan).

A key to Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam," by Alfred Gatty (Geo. Bell & Sons, London).

A Commentary on Tennyson's "In Memoriam," by A. C. Bradley (Macmillan).

"In Memoriam," edited with a commentary by Arthur W. Robinson (Cambridge Univ. Press).

Tennyson and "In Memoriam," by Joseph Jacobs (Nutt).

"In Memoriam," with analysis and notes, by Charles Mansford (Dutton).

Prologue.

A. H. H.

OBIIT MDCCCXXXIII.

1. STRONG Son of God, immortal Love,
Whom we, that have not seen thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove;

2. Thine are these orbs of light and shade;
Thou madest Life in man and brute;
Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot
Is on the skull which thou hast made!

3. Thou wilt not leave us in the dust:

Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die;
And thou hast made him: thou art just.

4. Thou seemest human and divine,

The highest, holiest manhood, thou: Our wills are ours, we know not how; Our wills are ours, to make them thine.

5. Our little systems have their day;

They have their day and cease to be: They are but broken lights of thee, And thou, O Lord, art more than they.

6. We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see;
And yet we trust it comes from thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.

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