Wordsworth，andtheotherpoetsIhavenamed，Byron，Shelley，Keats，andColeridge，madesuchaprotestagainstauthorityinpoetryashadbeenmadeinthe16thcenturyagainstauthorityinreligion；
　　andforthisauthorityweresubstitutedthesoul-experiencesoftheindividualpoet，whosethisversetothesongthatwaswithinhim，andchosesuchsubjectsaswouldbestembodyandarticulatethatsong。
　　Butbytheendofthefirstquarterofthepresentcentury，thegreatpoeticalbillow，whichwasnotindeedcausedby，butreceivedanimpulsefrom，thegreatpoliticalbillow，theFrenchRevolutionfortheywerecognateorco-radicalmovements，hadquitespentitself，andEnglishpoetrywasatacomparativelylowebb。ThePoeticalRevolutionhaddoneitswork。
　　Apoeticalinterregnumofafewyears’durationfollowed，inwhichthereappearedtobeagreatreductionofthespirituallifeofwhichpoetryistheoutgrowth。
　　Mr。EdmundW。Gosse，inhisarticle`OntheEarlyWritingsofRobertBrowning’，inthe`Century’forDecember，1881，hascharacterizedthisinterregnumalittletoocontemptuously，perhaps。Therewas，indeed，agreatfallinthespiritualtide；
　　butitwasnotsuchadead-lowtideasMr。Gossewouldmakeit。
　　Atlength，in1830，appearedavolumeofpoemsbyayoungman，thenbuttwenty-oneyearsofage，whichdistinctlymarkedthesettinginofaneworderofthings。Itborethefollowingtitle：
　　`Poems，chieflyLyrical。ByAlfredTennyson，London：
　　EffinghamWilson，RoyalExchange，Cornhill，1830。’pp。154。
　　Thevolumecomprisedfifty-threepoems，amongwhichwere`ThePoet’
　　and`ThePoet’sMind’。Thesetwopoemswereemphaticallyindicativeofthehighidealofpoetrywhichhadbeenattained，andtothedevelopmentofwhichthebandofpoetsoftheprecedinggenerationhadlargelycontributed。
　　Areviewofthevolume，byJohnStuartMill，thenayoungmannotyettwenty-fiveyearsofage，waspublishedin`TheWestminster’
　　forJanuary，1831。Itbearstestimonytothewriter’sfineinsightandsureforesight；anditbearstestimony，too，tohishighestimateofthefunctionofpoetryinthisworld——anestimate，too，inkindandindegree，notolderthanthispresentcentury。
　　Thereviewisasimportantalandmarkinthedevelopmentofpoeticalcriticism，asarethetwopoemsIhavementioned，inthedevelopmentofpoeticalideals，inthenineteenthcentury。
　　Intheconcludingparagraphofthereview，Millsays：”Agenuinepoethasdeepresponsibilitiestohiscountryandtheworld，tothepresentandfuturegenerations，toearthandheaven。He，ofallmen，shouldhavedistinctandworthyobjectsbeforehim，andconsecratehimselftotheirpromotion。Itisthusthathebestconsultsthegloryofhisart，andhisownlastingfame……
　　Mr。Tennysonknowsthat”thepoet’smindisholyground”；
　　heknowsthatthepoet’sportionistobe”Dower’dwiththehateofhate，thescornofscorn，Theloveoflove”；
　　hehasshown，inthelinesfromwhichwequote，hisownjustconceptionofthegrandeurofapoet’sdestiny；
　　andwelooktohimforitsfulfilment……IfourestimateofMr。Tennysonbecorrect，hetooisapoet；andmanyyearshencemaybereadhisjuveniledescriptionofthatcharacterwiththeproudconsciousnessthatithasbecomethedescriptionandhistoryofhisownworks。”
　　Twoyearslater，thatis，in1832thevolume，however，isantedated1833，appeared`PoemsbyAlfredTennyson’，pp。163。
　　Initwerecontained`TheLadyofShalott’，andtheuntitledpoems，knownbytheirfirstlines，`Youaskmewhy，tho’illatease’，`OfoldsatFreedomontheHeights’，and`LovethouthyLand，withLovefarbrought’。
　　In`TheLadyofShalott’ismysticallyshadowedforththerelationwhichpoeticgeniusshouldsustaintotheworldforwhosespiritualredemptionitlabors，andthefatalconsequencesofitsbeingseducedbytheworld’stemptations，thelustoftheflesh，andthelustoftheeyes，andtheprideoflife。
　　Theotherpoems，`Youaskmewhy’，`OfoldsatFreedom’，and`Lovethouthyland’，areimportantasexponentsofwhatmaybecalledthepoet’sinstitutionalcreed。Acarefulstudyofhissubsequentpoetrywillshowthatintheseearlypoemsheaccuratelyanddistinctlyrevealedtheattitudetowardoutsidethingswhichhehassincemaintained。Heisagooddealofaninstitutionalpoet，and，ascomparedwithBrowning，aSTRONGLYinstitutionalpoet。Browning’ssupremeandall-absorbinginterestisinindividualsouls。Hecaresbutlittle，evidently，aboutinstitutions。Atanyrate，hegivesthemlittleornoplaceinhispoetry。Tennysonisaverydecidedreactionaryproductoftherevolutionaryspiritwhichinspiredsomeofhispoeticalpredecessorsofthepreviousgeneration。
　　Hehasahorroroftherevolutionary。Tohim，theFrenchRevolutionwas”theblindhystericsoftheCelt”，[`InMemoriam’，cix。]，and”theredfool-furyoftheSeine”[`I。M。’，cxxvii。]。
　　Heattachesgreatimportancetotheoutsidearrangementsofsocietyforupholdingandadvancingtheindividual。Hewould”makeKnowledgecirclewiththewinds”，but”herherald，Reverence”，must”flyBeforehertowhateverskyBearseedofmenandgrowthofminds。”
　　Hehasagreatregardforprecedents，almostASprecedents。
　　Heisemphaticallythepoetoflawandorder。Allhissympathiesaredecidedly，butnotnarrowly，conservative。Heis，inshort，achoiceproductofnineteenthcenturyENGLISHcivilization；
　　andhispoetrymaybesaidtobethemostdistinctexpressionoftherefinementsofEnglishculture——refinements，ratherthantheruderbutmorevitalformsofEnglishstrengthandpower。
　　Allhisidealsofinstitutionsandthegeneralmachineryoflife，arederivedfromEngland。Sheis”thelandthatfreementill，Thatsober-suitedFreedomchose，Thelandwhere，girtwithfriendsorfoes，Amanmayspeakthethinghewill；
　　AlandofSETTLEDGOVERNMENT，ALANDOFJUSTANDOLDRENOWN，WHEREFREEDOMBROADENSSLOWLYDOWN
　　FROMPRECEDENTTOPRECEDENT：
　　Wherefactionseldomgathershead，Butbydegreestofullnesswrought，ThestrengthofsomediffusivethoughtHathtimeandspacetoworkandspread。”
　　Buttheanti-revolutionaryandtheinstitutionalfeaturesofTennyson’spoetryarenotthoseofthehighergroundofhispoetry。
　　Theyarefeatureswhich，thoughprimarilydue，itmaybe，tothepoet’stemperament，areindirectlyduetotheparticularformofcivilizationinwhichhehaslived，andmoved，andhadhisculture，andwhichhereflectsmorethananyofhispoeticalcontemporaries。
　　Themostemphasizedandmostvitalizedidea，theideawhichglintsfortheverywhereinhispoetry，whichhasthemostimportantbearingonman’shigherlife，andwhichmarkstheheightofthespiritualtidereachedinhispoetry，is，thatthehighestorderofmanhoodisawell-poised，harmoniouslyoperatingdualityoftheactiveorintellectualordiscursive，andthepassiveorspirituallysensitive。ThisistheideawhichINFORMShispoemof`ThePrincess’。Itisprominentin`InMemoriam’andin`TheIdyllsoftheKing’。In`ThePrincess’，thePrince，speakingoftherelationsofthesexes，says：——”inthelongyearslikermusttheygrow；
　　Themanbemoreofwoman，sheofman；
　　Hegaininsweetnessandinmoralheight，Norlosethewrestlingthewsthatthrowtheworld；
　　Shementalbreadth，norfailinchildwardcare，Norlosethechildlikeinthelargermind；
　　Tillatthelastshesetherselftoman，Likeperfectmusicuntonoblewords；
　　Andsothesetwain，upontheskirtsofTime，Sitsidebyside，full-summ’dinalltheirpowers，Dispensingharvest，sowingtheTo-be，Self-reverenteachandreverencingeach，Distinctinindividualities，Butlikeeachotherev’nasthosewholove。
　　ThencomesthestatelierEdenbacktomen：
　　Thenreigntheworld’sgreatbridals，chasteandcalm：
　　Thenspringsthecrowningraceofhumankind。”
　　TostatebrieflythecardinalTennysonianidea，manmustrealizeaWOMANLYMANLINESS，andwomanaMANLYWOMANLINESS。
　　Tennysonpresentstoushisidealmaninthe109thsectionof`InMemoriam’。Itisdescriptiveofhisfriend，ArthurHenryHallam。AllthatismostcharacteristicofTennyson，evenhisEnglishness，isgatheredupinthispoemofsixstanzas。
　　Itisinterestingtomeetwithsucharepresentativeandcomprehensivebitinagreatpoet。”HEART-AFFLUENCEindiscursivetalkFromhouseholdfountainsneverdry；
　　TheCRITICCLEARNESSofaneye，ThatsawthroughalltheMuses’walk；
　　SERAPHICINTELLECTANDFORCE
　　TOSEIZEANDTHROWTHEDOUBTSOFMAN；
　　IMPASSIONEDLOGIC，whichoutranThebearerinitsfierycourse；
　　HIGHNATUREAMOROUSOFTHEGOOD，BUTTOUCH’DWITHNOASCETICGLOOM；
　　AndpassionspureinsnowybloomThroughalltheyearsofAprilblood。”
　　ThefirsttwoversesofthisstanzaalsocharacterizetheKingArthurofthe`IdyllsoftheKing’。*1*Inthenextstanzawehavethepoet’sinstitutionalEnglishness：——”Aloveoffreedomrarelyfelt，OffreedominherregalseatOfEngland；nottheschool-boyheat，TheblindhystericsoftheCelt；
　　AndMANHOODFUSEDWITHFEMALEGRACE*2*
　　Insuchasort，thechildwouldtwineAtrustfulhand，unask’d，inthine，Andfindhiscomfortinthyface；
　　Allthesehavebeen，andtheemineeyesHavelook’don；iftheylook’dinvain，Myshameisgreaterwhoremain，Norletthywisdommakemewise。”——
　　*1*See`TheHolyGrail’，theconcludingthirty-twoverses，beginning：”AndspakeInottootruly，OmyKnights”，andending”yehaveseenthatyehaveseen”。
　　*2*Theideaof`ThePrincess’。