'"
Mr Jowett justly recognised in the life of Tennyson two circumstances
which made him other than, but for these, he would have been. He had
intended to do with the Arthurian subject what he never did, "in some
way or other to have represented in it the great religions of the
world. . . . It is a proof of Tennyson's genius that he should have
thus early grasped the great historical aspect of religion." His
intention was foiled, his early dream was broken, by the death of
Arthur Hallam, and by the coldness and contempt with which, at the
same period, his early poems were received.
Mr Jowett (who had a firm belief in the "great work") regretted the
change of plan as to the Arthurian topic, regretted it the more from
his own interest in the History of Religion. But we need not share
the regrets. The early plan for the Arthur (which Mr Jowett never
saw) has been published, and certainly the scheme could not have been
executed on these lines. {18} Moreover, as the Master observed, the
work would have been premature in Tennyson's youth, and, indeed, it
would still be premature. The comparative science of religious
evolution is even now very tentative, and does not yield materials of
sufficient stability for an epic, even if such an epic could be
forced into the mould of the Arthur legends, a feat perhaps
impossible, and certainly undesirable. A truly fantastic allegory
must have been the result, and it is fortunate that the poet
abandoned the idea in favour of more human themes.
Pages:
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224