(772-774). The latter seized upon some crudities that had escaped the
_Quarterly's_ notice, and, with characteristic brutality, decided that
the poet was insane and needed a low diet and a cell.
Although the reception accorded to _Poems_ (1842) was generally
favorable, the publication of _The Princess_ in 1847 afforded the
critics another opportunity to lament Tennyson's inequalities. The
spirit of the review of _The Princess_ here reprinted from the _Literary
Gazette_ of August 8, 1848, is practically identical with that of the
_Athenaeum_ on January 6, 1848, but specifies more clearly the critic's
objections to the medley. It is noteworthy that Lord Tennyson made
extensive changes in subsequent editions of _The Princess_, but left
unaltered all of the passages to which the _Literary Gazette_ took
exception. The beautiful threnody _In Memoriam_ (1850) and Tennyson's
elevation to the laureateship in the same year established his position
as the leading poet of the time; but the appearance of _Maud_ in 1856
proved to be a temporary check to his popularity.
Pages:
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390