to discover. He has been idealized into a model king, more perfect, indeed, than any sovereign known to history. The memory of the Celtic hero is preserved in a number of medieval books, but Tennyson drew his materials chiefly from Sir Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur," which was published by Caxton in 1485, and which the poet has often followed very closely.
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'How much of history," Tennyson said in a note preserved by his son, we have in the story of Arthur is doubtful. Let not my readers press too hardly on details whether for history or for allegory. Some think that King Arthur may be taken to typify conscience. He is anyhow meant to be a man who spent himself in the cause of honor, duty, and self-sacrifice, who felt and aspired with his noble knights, though with a clearer and stronger conscience than any of them, 'reverencing his conscience as his king.""
The events immediately preceding the death of Arthur are briefly as follows: The guilty love of Queen Guinevere and Lancelot had been discovered by Arthur's nephew Modred. The queen had secretly fled to the nunnery of Amesbury. During Arthur's absence in the north, whither he had gone to make war upon Lancelot, Modred had raised a revolt and had himself crowned king. Returning southward, the king visited the queen at Amesbury. He pursued the rebel to the extreme southwest, where in a final terrible battle he slew Modred with his own hand. But the king himself received a fatal wound in the encounter. The poem begins immediately after this fatal combat.
3. Table=the Knights of the Round Table lished by King Arthur.
4 Lyonnesse a district contiguous to Cornwall, supposed to be covered now by the sea.
21. Camelot the city in which Arthur held his court. It is now identified with the village of Queen Camel in Somersetshire, where traditions of Arthur still linger.
23. Merlin = the great enchanter of the Arthurian legends. In the idyl "Merlin and Vivien " he is described as
"The most famous man of all those times,
Merlin, who knew the range of all their arts,
Had built the king his havens, ships, and halls,
Was also bard, and knew the starry heavens.”
27. Excalibur = cut-steel.
The sword had been given to Arthur
It possessed a resistless magic power
by the Lady of the Lake. which amply justified its name.
31. White samite a rich silk texture interwoven with threads of silver or gold.
63. Many-knotted having many joints.
65. Note the slow, labored movement of this line—an echo of the sense.
70. It has been said that this and the following line contain "two of the finest onomatopoeic effects in our language." The sound of the water among the reeds and against the rocks could not be more exquisitely imitated in words.
80. Lief beloved. It has the same root as love. Cf. German lieb, dear.
ornamented with carvings or engravings; a short
ened form of enchased.
122. Laid widowed lying bereft.
140. Moving isles of winter floating icebergs.
197. Black-stoled clothed in loose black robes reaching to the
armor for the lower part of the legs. Cuisses=
armor for thighs. Cf. French cuisse, thigh.
224. The king had just been called a star of tournament "; and with this figure in mind, the poet compares his charging through the lists to the shooting of a meteor.
233. The holy Elders the three Magi, or wise men of the East, who, following the guidance of the star, brought offerings of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Babe of Bethlehem.
236. Which was an image, etc. In Malory we read: "Merlin made the Round Table in tokening of the roundness of the world, for by the Round Table is the world signified by right."
263. Crowned with summer sea=surrounded by placid waters like a coronet.
277. This is a reference to the old belief that the swan before its death sends forth a sweet song.
Addison, Joseph, genial humor of, 121;
range of topics, 121; a social reformer,
121; education, 122; attempts at
poetry, 122; prepares. for public
service, 122; on the Continent, 123;
fruits of travel, 123; a fine hymn, 123;
"The Campaign," 124; state service,
124; The Tatler, 125; The Spectator,
125; "Cato," 126; marriage, 127;
secretary of state, 127; Thackeray's
estimate, 127; Sir Roger de Coverley
papers, with notes, 518–532.
Age of Johnson, a time of transition,
141; social advancement, 141; demo-
cratic tendencies, 142; growing intel-
ligence, 142; improved moral tone,
143; altruistic movements, 143; polit-
ical eminence of England, 143; bril-
liant oratory, 144.
Age of Scott, favorable to literature,
187; growth of democratic spirit, 187;
literary bloom, 188; progressive and
conservative tendencies, 188; intel-
lectual advancement, 189.
Akenside, Mark, poet, 139.
"Alexander's Feast," Dryden's, 509-
513; notes to, 516, 517.
Alfred the Great, 14; translations, 15.
Alison, Sir Archibald, historian, 246.
"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," 20.
Anglo-Saxon Invasion of Britain, 8;
language, 9; poetry, 10; various
poems, 13.
Anglo-Saxons, character of, 8.
"Apparition of the Brocken," De
Quincey's, 628-631; notes to, 635.
Arnold, Edwin, poet, 245.
Arnold, Matthew, 245; early poems,
267; rank as a poet, 268; tone of
sadness, 268; function of criticism,
269; secret of his popularity, 2 9.
Arnold, Thomas, historian, 246.
Ascham, Roger, 33.
Augustan Age, time of Queen Anne, 99.
Austen, Jane, novelist, 184.
Bacon, Francis, rank of, 56; parentage,
56; precocity, 56; university life, 57;
travels, 57; law-student, 57; in poli-
tics, 58; as orator, 58; disappoint-
ments, 59; ingratitude, 59; essays,
59; rapid advancement, 60; fall, 60;
his philosophy, 60; "Instauratio Mag-
na," 61; greatness, 62; selections from
the essays, with notes, 386-400.
Baillie, Joanna, poet and dramatist,
184.
Ballads, old English, 37; "Chevy
Chase," 38; of Robin Hood, 38.
Barbauld, Anna Letitia, poet, 184.
"Battle of Brunanburh, The," 317-
320; notes to, 320, 321.
Baxter, Richard, 75.
Beattie, James, a poet, quoted, 149.
Beaumont, quoted on Shakespeare, 66.
Beaumont and Fletcher, 34.
Bede, the father of English prose, 13;
his "Ecclesiastical History," 14.
Ben Jonson, 45; quoted on Bacon, 58;
on Shakespeare, 66.
"Beowulf," 12.
Boswell, James, biographer, 140.
Boyle, Robert, scientist, 95.
"Break, break, break," Tennyson's,
671; notes to, 686.
Bronte, Charlotte, novelist, 256; her
sad life, 257: critique of, 257.
Browne, Sir Thomas, 75.
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 245;
rank of, 264; indomitable energy, 264;
volumes of 1844, 265; "Sonnets from
the Portuguese," 266; "Aurora Leigh,"
266; characteristics, 267.
Browning, Robert, originality of, 283;
parentage, 283; period of unrest, 283;
"Pauline," 284; "Paracelsus," 284;
"Sordello," 285; "Bells and Pome-
granates," 285; "My Last Duchess,"
286; fundamental ideas, 287;
riage, 287; "Men and Women," 287;
"Dramatis Personae," 288; "The Ring
and the Book," 288; fondness for
Greek, 289; peculiarity of method,
289; closing years, 289; a great
teacher, 290; selections from, with
notes, 649-664.
"Bugle Song, The," Tennyson's, 671;
notes to, 687.
Bulwer, Edward, Lord Lytton, nov-
elist, 243.
Bunyan, John, 81; "The Pilgrim's
Progress," 81.
Burke, Edmund, orator and statesman,
144.
Burnet, Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury,
95; quoted on Waller, 83.
Burns, Robert, poetic genius of, 171;
tragic life, 171; youthful years, 171;
in love, 172; "Mary Morison," 173;
a great ambition, 173; downward
course, 173; efforts to reform, 174;
poetic activity, 175; first volume, 175;
in Edinburgh, 176; independence, 176;
exciseman and farmer, 177; solace in
poetry, 177; "Highland Mary," 178;
the sublime of life, 178; sympathy with
France, 179; closing days, 179; death,
180; devoutness, 180; sensibility, 181;
"The Cotter's Saturday Night," "To
a Mouse," "To a Mountain Daisy,"
with notes, 576-589.
Butler, Joseph, theologian, 95.
Butler, Samuel, and his "Hudibras,"
107.
Byron, Lord, personal element in poetry,
212; poetic characteristics, 212; par-
entage, 212; early romance, 213; at the
university, 213; "English Bards and
Scotch Reviewers," 213; "Childe Har-
old's Pilgrimage," 214; poetical ro-
mances, 214; life in London, 215; mar-
riage and separation, 215; voluntary
exile, 216; new era of authorship, 216;
"Prisoner of Chillon," 217; various
other works, 217; critique of, 218; the
Greek revolution, 219; sense of failure,
220; "The Prisoner of Chillon," with
notes, 598-611.
Caedmon, 11; his paraphrase of Scrip-
ture, 11.
Campbell, Thomas, poet, 191.
Carew, Thomas, quoted, 83.
Carlyle, Thomas, quoted on De
Quincey, 237; faith in heredity, 292;
at the university, 292; dislike of teach-
ing, 293; doubt and unbelief, 293;
"The Everlasting Yea," 293; literary
career, 293; marriage, 294; great
essays, 295; "Sartor Resartus," 295;
change of popular sentiment, 296;
style, 296; "French Revolution,” 297;
courses of lectures, 297; "Past and
Present," 298; 'Cromwell's Letters
and Speeches," 298; "Frederick the
Great," 299; university rector, 299;
deepening gloom, 300; love of truth,
300; his message, 301; selection from,
with notes, 665-670.
Caxton, William, printer, 33.
Celts, in Britain, 7.
Charles I., policy, 77; royalist party, 78.
Chaucer, Geoffrey, his pre-eminence,
25; early life, 26; various offices, 26;
in misfortune, 27; pen portrait of, 28;
character and attainments, 28; love
of nature, 29; literary equipment, 29;
"Canterbury Tales," 30; "The Pro-
logue," 30; "The Prologue," with
notes, 322-361.
Civil War in England, 80.
Clough, Arthur Hugh, poet, 244.
Clubs in London, 102.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 197; "The
Ancient Mariner,", 197; a fascinating
talker, 198; aims and work, 199.
Collier, Jeremy, 95.
Collins, William, poet, 139.
Collins, Wilkie, novelist, 243.
Congreve, William, 96.
Constitutional government, period of,
"Cotter's Saturday Night," Burns,
576-582; notes to, 586-588.
Cowley, Abraham, 83; Pope on, 84.
Cowper, William, poet, 140.
Crabbe, George, poet, 140.
Craik, Dinah Maria, novelist, 244.
Cromwell, as Lord Protector, 80.
Cudworth, Ralph, 95.
Daniel, Samuel, poet, 33.
Darwin, Charles, naturalist, 246.
Defoe, Daniel, founder of the novel,
105; his "Robinson Crusoe," 105.
Dekker, Thomas, dramatist, 34..
DeQuincey, Thomas, characteristics of,
234; parentage, 234; at school, 234;
entry into the world, 235; at the uni-
versity, 235; a victim of opium, 236; at
Grasmere, 236; life in Lake District,
236; "Confessions of an Opium Eater,"
236; relations with Carlyle, 237;
"Murder as a Fine Art," 237; suffering
and struggle, 238; qualities of style,
238; range of subjects, 239; literature
of knowledge and power, 239; fre-
quent digressions, 239; intellectual
life, 240; closing scene, 240; "Appari-
tion of the Brocken," and "Savannah-
la-Mar," with notes, 628-636.
"Deserted Village, The," Goldsmith's,
562-572; notes to, 573-575.
Dickens, Charles, works of, 244; par-
entage, 262; "David Copperfield,"
263; "Pickwick," 263; critique of, 264.
Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beacons-
field, novelist and statesman, 243.
Dobson, Henry Austen, poet, 245.
"Dora," Tennyson's, 672-677; notes
to, 688.
Drama, origin of, 43; miracle plays, 43;
moralities, 43; first comedy and
tragedy, 43; decline of, in Puritan
period, 81.
Drayton, Michael, poet, 33.
Dryden, John, rank in literature, 111;
absence of high aims, 111; early years,
111; education, 112; writing for the
stage, 112; heroic style, 113; intel-
lectual traits, 113; "Absalom and
Achitophel," 114; Religio Laici,
115; "Art of Poetry," 115; conversion
to Catholicism, 116; "Hind and
Panther," 116; "Mac Flecknoe," 117;
translations, 117; admiration of Chau-
cer, 118; 'Alexander's Feast," 118;
his prose, 118; poetic shortcomings,
119; mode of writing, 119; "Song for
St. Cecilia's Day" and "Alexander's
Feast," with notes, 506–517.
Edgeworth, Maria, novelist, 184.
Education, advancement in, during
Victorian Age, 250.
Eliot, George, essayist and novelist,
257; distinguished friends, 258;
"Scenes from Clerical Life," 258;
"Adam Bede," 259; other works, 259;
nobleness of aim, 260.
Elizabethan Age, 40; lyrics, 42.
England, social condition in 13th and
14th centuries, 19; literary expansion
in this period, 20.
English, sources of modern, 25.
Environment, influence of, in literature,
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