"Still brooding on all the possible relations of his old friend to the
life and the love that he has left, the poet now compares him to some
genius of lowly birth, who should leave his obscure home to rise to the
highest office of state, and should sometimes in the midst of his
greatness, remember, as in a dream, the dear scenes of old, and it may
be, the humble villager who was his chosen playmate."--Elizabeth R.
Chapman.
1. DOST THOU, ETC. This section was composed by Tennyson when he was
walking up and down the Strand and Fleet Street in London.
5. INVIDIOUS BAR. Obstacle to success. Invidious is used in the sense
of "offensive."