Fragments of the true gold
are found in the volume of 1830, others are preserved in the
Biography. The ballad suggested by The Bride of Lammermoor was not
unworthy of Beddoes, and that novel, one cannot but think, suggested
the opening situation in Maud, where the hero is a modern Master of
Ravenswood in his relation to the rich interloping family and the
beautiful daughter. To this point we shall return. It does not
appear that Tennyson was conscious in Maud of the suggestion from
Scott, and the coincidence may be merely accidental.
The Lover's Tale, published in 1879, was mainly a work of the poet's
nineteenth year. A few copies had been printed for friends. One of
these, with errors of the press, and without the intended
alterations, was pirated by an unhappy man in 1875. In old age
Tennyson brought out the work of his boyhood. "It was written before
I had ever seen Shelley, though it is called Shelleyan," he said; and
indeed he believed that his work had never been imitative, after his
earliest efforts in the manner of Thomson and of Scott. The only
things in The Lover's Tale which would suggest that the poet here
followed Shelley are the Italian scene of the story, the character of
the versification, and the extraordinary luxuriance and exuberance of
the imagery. {2} As early as 1868 Tennyson heard that written copies
of The Lover's Tale were in circulation. He then remarked, as to the
exuberance of the piece: "Allowance must be made for abundance of
youth.
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