Act V, Sc. 1, ll. 83-88. _Lorenzo_: The man that hath no music . . .
trusted.
* * * * *
=NOTES.=
ENOCH ARDEN.
Published in 1864.
2. Evidently a stream comes down through the chasm and the wide mouth of
the stream forms a harbour. See line 690.
3. =Beyond.= At one side of the harbour.
=red roofs.= Roofs covered with red tile.
6. =down.= A bare sandy hill.
7. =Danish barrows.= Burial mounds supposed to date back to the time of
the Danes.
16. =lumber.= Waste material; clumsy, useless articles.
17. =swarthy.= Black or brown in colour.
18. =fluke.= The hook or wing of the anchor.
25-6. A suggestion of what is to take place later in the lives of these
three.
38. The stronger passions of youth.
63. =great and small.= Old and young.
67. =prone.= Sloping down precipitously.
68. =To feather.= The wood was denser in the hollow (see line 444), than
along the upper edges of the slope.
84-8. Enoch Arden was “a rough sailor lad” without education; and
Tennyson throughout the poem tries to soften down the prosaic features
of his life and to picture him as a man with nobler impulses and
resolves.
92-100. An effort to dress up in more attractive form the prosaic fact
that Enoch made his living by peddling fish.
93. =ocean-spoil.= Fish.
94. =ocean-smelling osier.= Willow baskets having an odour of the sea.
96. =market-cross.= In old days crosses were frequently erected in
market places.
98. =portal-warding lion-whelp.= The carved figure of a lion placed over
the gateway as if to guard the entrance.
99. =peacock-yewtree.= A yewtree trimmed in the form of a peacock. The
yewtree is an evergreen.
100. Enoch provided the fish which were used on Friday.
110. He had competition in his trade.
128-31. A little cloud sometimes throws the sea into shadow around you,
but away on the horizon you see a bright spot (an isle of light) on the
water, which shows that the sun is shining there. So with Enoch. His
misfortune was a shadow on his life, but the future was bright and he
knew that the little cloud would pass away.
=the offing.= The part of the sea that lies some distance off the shore.
154. =Appraised.= Judged.
168. =his old sea-friend.= His boat.
172-81. Analyse grammatically.
184. =Save as his Annie’s.= He laughed at the fears themselves, but was
grieved that she should be troubled by fears.
186-7. =that mystery, etc.= In prayer the divine side of man’s nature
comes into communion with the human sympathy of God’s nature.
196. =Nay.= He sees that Annie does not like his words of seeming
disparagement.
212-3. Are these prophecies fulfilled?
222-6. Most of these phrases are taken from the Bible.
235-6. See lines 892-901.
248. =chime with.= Agree with; to carry out his wishes.
253. =still.= Always.
266. =who best could tell.= The physician.
286. =passion.= What is the predicate?
329. =garth.= Garden.
340. =conies.= Rabbits.
342. =the offence of charitable.= The offence of appearing to give
charity.
379. =whitening.= Showing the light underside of the leaves as the
children plunged through the bushes.
382. =tawny.= Yellowish-brown in colour.
414. =fast my wife.= Bound to me as my wife.
441. =dead flame.= The sun was no longer shining brightly on the barrow.
473. Annoyed that their calculations as to the marriage of Philip and
Annie had not come true.
493. She had prayed for a sign, but the expectation that some sign might
be sent filled her with terror and she could not endure it.
498. “And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah.”—_Judges_ iv., 5.
504. _Malachi_ iv., 2.
505-6. _Mark_ xi., 8-10.
510. =So.= If.
529. =the Biscay.= The Bay of Biscay.
531. =the summer of the world.= The tropics.
532. =the Cape.= The Cape of Good Hope.
536. =the golden isles.= The East Indies.
542. =sea-circle.= The circle of which the horizon formed the boundary.
This circle was constantly changing with the progress of the vessel.
543. =full-busted figurehead.= It was the custom to have a carved figure
or bust, generally the image of the Virgin, at the prow of the vessel.
557. =so wild that it was tame.= Never having seen human beings, they
had not learned to fear them.
569. =Fire-hollowing.= Burning out the centre with fire.
571. =God’s warning.= God’s warning that he could not help himself, that
he could only wait for help to come.
572. =lawns.= Open grassy spaces in the woods.
573. =glades.= Narrower spaces than lawns.
579. =broad belt.= The torrid zone.
586. =zenith.= The point in the heavens which is directly overhead.
597. =globed.= Suggests larger and more brilliant stars.
598. =hollower.= Because of the silence of the night.
602-605. Either the spirit of the old friends and scenes came to him, or
his spirit went out to them. Two ways of saying the same thing—that
there came before his mind the vague images of former scenes.
=many phantoms.= Many images went to make up the day dream.
610. =dewy-glooming.= Looking darker in the early morning because
covered with dew.
615. A suggestion that in some mysterious way the sound of the marriage
bells of Annie and Philip was borne to him.
633. =silent.= They were so far from the island that they could not hear
the sound of the waterfall.
640. =rage.= Because he could not make himself understood.
642. =sweet water.= Fresh water.
653. =county.= This word was changed to “country” in a later edition.
659. =down thro’ all his blood.= He breathed deeply of the air he loved.
661. =ghostly wall.= The white chalk cliffs of southern England.
670-2. Through both gorges there came up a mist from the sea. See lines
102-3.
675. =holt.= Woodland.
=tilth.= Tilled ground.
679. Why does the poet represent Enoch as returning in the thick mist
rather than in the bright sunshine?
688. =A bill of sale.= A notice that the house was for sale.
690. =pool.= Harbour.
692. =timber-crost antiquity.= Built in the old style, with the timbers
showing on the outside,—the spaces between being filled in with
plaster.
737. =shingle.= Gravel.
793. =tranced.= A trance is any state in which the bodily functions are
for the time suspended. Here Enoch is in a half-swoon.
797. =burthen.= A refrain or chorus. Strictly speaking, the word
signifies the bass accompaniment or undersong.
801-4. Just as fresh water from a spring in the ocean rises through the
salt water and keeps alive the mariner who drinks of it; so prayer
springing out of his resolve (will) never to let her know came up
through the bitterness of his life and “kept him a living soul.”
807. =enow.= Enough.
829. The lower edges of the cloud or mist which the wind lifts.
910. “The calling of the sea is a term used, I believe, chiefly in the
western parts of England, to signify a ground swell. When this occurs on
a windless night, the echo of it rings through the timbers of the old
houses in a haven.” (Tennyson.) A ground-swell is a heavy swell due to a
violent gale. It is often felt for some days afterwards and on shores
which are far distant from the scene of the storm.
* * * * *
MORTE D’ARTHUR.
Published in 1842.
_Morte D’Arthur_ (The Death of Arthur) is a story of King Arthur and
The Round Table, based on the legend entitled _Morte D’Arthur_, which
was written by Malory, an English writer of the sixteenth century. King
Arthur was a mythical king of the Britons who was supposed to have lived
and reigned in the sixth century, and to have united the Britons against
the Saxon invaders. According to legend he established a famous order of
knighthood known as The Order of The Round Table, so called because of
the famous round table, presented to King Arthur by a British king, and
capable of seating one hundred and fifty knights. In the course of time
the knights of the Round Table became corrupt and forgot their vows,
and, led by Modred, the king’s nephew, a number of them rose in
rebellion against the king. King Arthur with those knights who remained
loyal to him, drove the army of Modred step by step back into Cornwall
and beyond it into the land of Lyonnesse, which was said to have
extended from Cornwall to the Scilly Isles, but which has since been
submerged by the sea. Here in this waste land a great battle was fought,
in which the knights on both sides were killed, until at last only King
Arthur and his faithful knight Sir Bedivere remained.
5. In his fight with Modred, whom he slew, King Arthur had himself
received his death wound.
9. =chancel.= The part of the church set apart for the altar and the
choir.
12. =water.= Lake.
14. =The sequel of to-day.= The outcome of to-day’s fight.
21. =Camelot.= The mythical capital of King Arthur’s kingdom, situated
somewhere in the west of England. Malory identifies it with the city of
Winchester.
23. =Merlin.= A magician and seer of King Arthur’s court.
27. =Excalibur.= The name signifies “cut-steel.”
31. =samite.= A rich silk stuff, interwoven with threads of gold and
silver.
=mystic.= Having a secret religious significance.
37. =middle mere.= Middle of the lake.
38. =lightly.= Quickly, nimbly.
43. =hest.= Behest, command.
45. =shrine.= See lines 8 and 9.
46. =athwart.= Across.
56. =haft.= Handle.
57. =topaz.= A rich gem, generally of a yellowish colour.
=jacinth.= Another form of the word “hyacinth”; a gem of a red colour.
58. =subtlest jewellery.= Most cunning workmanship.
60. Looking swiftly now on one side of the question, now on the other.
63. =many-knotted water-flags.= The common iris, growing in tangled
confusion. Or “many-knotted” may refer to the joints in the stalk.
74-5. =as beseem’d thy fealty.= As became thy loyalty.
80. =lief.= Beloved.
86. =chased.= Engraved with an inlaid pattern.
94. Obedience is what binds the subject to the ruler.
99. =empty breath.= Idle words.
102. =joust= (pronounced _just_). A tilt-at-arms, a tournament.
104. =the lonely maiden of the Lake.= A mystical being who dwelt in a
wonderful cave in a rock within a lake. In the story of the Round Table
she symbolizes religion.
110. =clouded with his own conceit.= His idea that the sword should be
preserved as a relic prevented him from clearly seeing his duty.
=conceit.= A quaint fancy.
121-3. The dying king loses his authority because he has lost the
ability to control the will of his subjects by “the power in his eye.”
125. In whom the services of all my knights should be combined.
128. =giddy.= Light, frivolous.
139. =a streamer of the northern morn.= A trail of light from the Aurora
Borealis (literally “The Northern Dawn”).
140. =the moving isles of winter.= Icebergs.
170. =As in a picture.= With no change in the expression.
171. =Remorsefully.= With pity.
177. =nightmare.= A dream accompanied by a sensation of stifling. _Mare_
is derived from a verb meaning to crush, to bruise.
182. =Clothed with his breath.= Enveloped in the vapour from his breath
which condensed and congealed.
185. =His own thought.= His remorse for having deceived the king.
186. =Dry clashed his harness.= The echo of the sound of his armour was
harsh.
193. =hove.= Past tense of _heave_, to rise. A vessel _heaves_ in sight
when it rises over the horizon.
194. =scarf.= Drapery.
197. =Black-stoled.= With long black robes reaching to the feet.
=like a dream.= The scene had an appearance of unreality.
198. =Three Queens.= Malory speaks of the three Queens as being King
Arthur’s sister, Morgan le Fay; the Queen of Northgales (Wales); and the
Lady of the Lake. On the symbolic side, however, they represent Faith,
Hope and Charity.
199. =that shivered to the tingling stars.= So shrill that even the
stars tingled at the sound.
207. =she.= Charity.
209. =casque.= Helmet.
213-4. The waning moon which looks pale in the bright morning sunshine.
215-6. =greaves and cuisses.= Armour for the shins and thighs.
=dash’d with drops of onset.= Splash’d with stains of the battle.
218. =daïs-throne.= The daïs was the raised part of the hall; a
platform.
222. =in rest.= On the right side of the coat of mail was a projection
to support the lance when not in use.
224. =lists.= The enclosed ground in which the combats took place.
230. =a noble chance.= A chance to do some noble deed.
232-3. The star that led the Wise Men to Bethlehem. (See _Matthew_ ii.,
7-11.)
240. If old customs and institutions are changing it is only because new
and better ones are taking their place.
241-2. It is in accordance with God’s purpose and his nature that the
world should grow better. Changes are necessary, since even a good
custom will at length degenerate and become corrupt.
243. =what comfort is in me?= I cannot comfort you.
251. =a blind life.= A life without the power of reason.
255. =gold chains.= There existed an old fancy that the earth was
suspended from Heaven by a golden chain. Here, each prayer is a chain
binding earth to Heaven.
259. =Avilion.= A mythical island in the western ocean, in Celtic legend
the abode of the blessed after death.
263. =crown’d with summer sea.= Surrounded by the sea, as the head is
encircled by a crown.
267. The belief existed that the swan sang sweetly before her death.
268. =Ruffles.= Spreads out her feathers.
269. =swarthy web.= Dark webbed feet.
271. Note that even when the barge bearing King Arthur, who represented
“the old order” of things, was disappearing, a new day, with a new order
of things, was already dawning.
* * * * *
THE PRISONER OF CHILLON.
The story of _The Prisoner of Chillon_ is founded on certain events
in the life of Francis Bonnivard, a Swiss patriot, who was imprisoned in
the Fortress of Chillon for six years. Bonnivard was born in 1496. He
belonged to a noble family, and inherited a rich priory near Geneva.
When the republic was attacked in 1519 by Charles III Duke of Savoy,
Bonnivard came to its defence. After many adventures he was taken
prisoner by the Duke in 1530, and consigned to the dungeon of Chillon.
He was liberated in 1536 when the castle fell into the hands of the
Swiss patriots. From this time until his death in 1571 he was prominent
in the affairs of the republic.
Byron wrote this poem in 1816, a few days after visiting Chillon. At
that time he was not familiar with the true facts in the life of
Bonnivard and his story contains numerous details which have no
foundation in reality.
The castle of Chillon is situated on a rock in Lake Geneva, and is
connected with the mainland by a bridge. It was built in 1218, and
served both as a fortress and a prison.
11. Bonnivard was imprisoned for political reasons, not on account of
his religion.
14. =tenets.= Beliefs.
25. Not historically true. Francis Bonnivard was the only one of his
family who was imprisoned in Chillon.
27. =seven pillars.= In reality there are eight, one of which is partly
built into the wall.
=Gothic.= A style of architecture introduced during the Middle Ages.
Among other characteristics it was marked by high pointed windows and
clustered pillars.
35. =a marsh’s meteor lamp.= The Will o’ the Wisp,—luminous gases
rising from the marsh.
38. =cankering.= Corroding.
52. =But.= Except.
=livid.= Leaden coloured; literally, black and blue.
57. =the pure elements of earth.= Such as pure water and sunlight.
84. =sleepless summer.= With no night to mark the hours for sleep.
85. The light shining on the snow is personified as the child of the
sun, clad in white.
95. =had stood.= Past subjunctive.
105. =a gulf.= An abyss.
107. =Lake Leman.= The Roman name for Lake Geneva.
108. The greatest depth of the lake is 1056 ft.
112. =enthrals.= Encompasses; holds captive.
121. =wanton.= Literally, without restraint; hence, playful.
131. =had little care.= Did not mind it.
138. =these.= The water and the bread.
141. =had grown cold.= Past subjunctive.
148. =gnash.= Literally, to strike or grind together. Does Byron mean
this?
153. =corse.= Corpse; a poetical form of the word.
172-3. He had shown thus far a high spirit, whether natural to him, or
something seemingly inspired.
181. The face swollen and working convulsively in the struggle for life.
208. =admonished.= Reproved. The knowledge that it was hopeless did not
prevent his fear.
214. =dungeon-dew.= The dampness of the dungeon.
230. =a selfish death.= Suicide.
237. =scarce conscious what I wist.= Scarcely conscious of what I knew.
_Conscious_ is an appositive, not a predicate adjective. The line
following is the completion of _was_.
=wist.= See High School Grammar, page 176.
238. Quite shut off from everything else.
243. He saw nothing. Vacancy absorbed all space.
244. =fixedness, without a place.= His attention was not fixed on any
definite thing; but yet his mind stood still, was inactive.
247-8. His breath was almost motionless. He seemed to have no life, yet
was not dead.
249-50. He compares his mind in this state of trance to a stagnant sea,
without light, limit, sound or movement.
256. =Ran over.= Shed tears.
257-8. Because filled with tears.
281. =thine.= Thy captivity.
284. Distinguish _visitant_ and _visitor_.
317. =fell blind.= Became suddenly blind.
327. =had made.= Past subjunctive.
330. =the mountains.= The Alps.
335. =wide long lake.= Lake Geneva is about forty-five miles long and
its greatest width is about nine miles.
336. =Rhone.= Where it enters Lake Geneva.
339. =town.= Vevay or Villeneuve, about six miles distant.
341. =a little isle.= Byron in a note speaks of this small island as
between the entrances of the Rhone and the Villeneuve.
354. =Methought.= See High School Grammar, page 272.
364. =too much oppressed.= By the brightness of the world outside at
which he had been looking.
368. =no hope my eyes to raise.= No hope, which would make me raise my
eyes.
369. =their dreary mote.= Their dulness. A mote is a particle of dust.
378. =a hermitage.= A hermit’s cave or cell; a retreat.
382. =sullen=. Gloomy.
390. =communion=. Association with our surroundings.
* * * * *
ELEGY, WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD.
First published in 1751.
An Elegy is a poem or song expressing the writer’s feelings of sorrow
or mourning. The churchyard referred to in the poem is that of Stoke
Pogis in Buckinghamshire, where Gray’s mother lived during the latter
part of her life. Gray is buried in this churchyard.
9. =yonder ivy-mantled tower.= The tower of the village church at Stoke
Poges.
13. =that yew-tree’s shade.= It has been suggested that this should
read, “that yew-trees shade,” because the yew is not a large tree. In
that case the meaning would be “those rugged elms that shade the
yew-trees of the churchyard.”
16. =rude.= Lacking refinement, unpolished.
17. =incense-breathing.= Breathing fragrance.
26. =glebe.= Sod, turf.
29. =Ambition.= Ambitious people. Such personification is frequent
throughout the poem.
33. =The boast of heraldry.= The pride of lineage or family descent.
Heraldry was the science that dealt with armorial bearings; and a family
who were versed in heraldry and knew the meaning and history of their
coat-of-arms might be in a position to boast of their lineage.
38. =trophies.= Memorials to commemorate their great deeds.
39. =fretted vault.= The arched ceiling ornamented with fretwork.
41. =storied urn.= A vessel containing the ashes of the dead, and
inscribed with a record of his virtues.
=animated bust.= A life-like image.
43. =provoke.= Call forth.
41-44. What is the use of such trophies? they cannot bring the dead back
to life, and neither honour nor flattery can appeal to those who are
dead.
46. =pregnant with celestial fire.= Filled with the poetic spirit.
48. =the living lyre.= The musical instrument seeming almost as if it
had life.
51. Their poetic fervour (rage) was repressed by poverty.
52. =the genial current of their soul.= The flow of their finer feelings
and emotions.
58. =The little tyrant of his fields.= The landowner who attempted to
tyrannize over him.
60. =guiltless of his country’s blood.= The general opinion held of
Cromwell in the eighteenth century was that he was a cruel tyrant who
was “guilty of his country’s blood.” The village Cromwell is guiltless
because he has had no opportunity to act the part of a real Cromwell.
61. =senates.= Assemblies.
64. In the gratitude of the nation they saw the results of their own
efforts.
65-72. If their humble lot prevented the development of their best
qualities, it also limited their opportunity for doing wrong. It
prevented them from becoming tyrannical, from telling what is false,
from having to conceal their feelings of shame, and from accepting the
flattery which poets too often bestow upon their proud and wealthy
patrons.
70. =ingenuous.= Without artifice, frank, open-hearted.
73. This line is adjectival to the pronoun _they_ implied in _their_.
=madding.= Maddening, distracting.
76. =tenour.= Course.
78. =still.= Always, in all cases.
81. =unlettered.= Uneducated.
87. =the warm precincts of the cheerful day.= The warm bright earth.
=precincts.= Limits, boundaries.
88. =nor cast.= Without casting.
90. =pious drops.= Tears which are due to the dying (Lat. _pius_,
dutiful). It soothes the dying to know that some-one is weeping for
their loss.
91. Even the dead seem to cry out for remembrance.
93. =thee.= The poet is addressing himself.
94. =artless.= Simple, without deceit.
97. =Haply.= Perhaps. =Swain.= Country man, rustic.
105. =smiling.= Modifies _he_, l. 106.
108. =Or . . or.= Either . . or, a poetical form.
123. =Science.= Knowledge, in the wide sense of the word.
126-8. His merits and his weaknesses are both alike left in the hands of
God.
=dread abode.= Explained by the last line, which is in apposition.
=trembling.= With fear or anxiety.
* * * * *
MY KATE.
2-3. These women having nothing but their beauty to commend them are
forgotten in the long course of life.
=sunshine and snow.= With complexion rosy and white. Notice how this
metaphor is continued through lines 3 and 4.
12. Her face was so expressive that it conveyed almost as much as words.
18. =infer.= Judge, conclude.
23. =as.= And in the same way.
26. =in thrall.= Under her spell.
27. =that was all.= This was a great deal, but worldly people might not
think it much.
29. “And when she had passed it seemed like the ceasing of exquisite
music.”—_Evangeline._
31. =ribald.= Coarse in speech and action.
33. =see what you have!= See the result!
* * * * *
ROSABELLE.
The ballad of _Rosabelle_ is taken from _The Lay of the Last
Minstrel_. It is sung at a wedding feast by the bard of the St. Clairs,
to whom belonged the castle of Roslin mentioned in the story.
1. The words of the bard in addressing the ladies at the wedding feast.
5. Note the directness with which the story begins. The reader is left
to supply his own details as to the speaker and the circumstances.
6. =ladye.= Lady, a poetical form.
7. =Ravensheuch.= Literally, Raven’s Crag. A strong castle now in ruins,
situated on the Firth of Forth. It was for a long time occupied by the
barons of Roslin.
8. =Firth.= The wide mouth of a river into which the tide enters.
10. =inch.= Island. =sea-mews.= Seagulls.
11. =Water-sprite.= Water-spirit.
18. =Roslin.= A castle and chapel on the Firth of Forth.
21. =the ring.= As a test of skill the knights, when riding at full
speed, attempted to carry off on the end of the lance a ring suspended
from a beam.
25. Roslin Chapel was said to appear on fire previous to the death of
one of the family of St. Clair.
31-2. Dryden and Hawthornden are places in the neighbourhood of Roslin.
36. =panoply.= A full suit of armour.
38. =Deep sacristy.= The vestry, said to be _deep_ because it extended
far back.
=altar’s pale.= The space enclosed by the altar railing.
39. =foliage-bound.= Carved with leaves and flowers.
41. =pinnet.= Pinnacle.
42. “Among the profuse carvings on the pillars and buttresses, the rose
is frequently introduced, in allusion to the name (Roslin), with which,
however, the flower has no connection.” (Scott.)
44. =St. Clair.= The St. Clairs were a noble family who ruled over the
earldom of Orkney and who held, besides, possessions in the Lowlands.
50. In allusion to the Roman Catholic burial service.
* * * * *
LOCHINVAR.
This song is taken from _Marmion_.
20. He means to say that although he was once in love with the fair
Ellen, he is so no longer. Love comes very quickly but goes away just as
quickly.
=the Solway.= Solway Firth, an arm of the sea, on the south-west coast
of Scotland.
32. =galliard.= A lively dance.
39. =croupe.= The place on the horse’s back, behind the saddle.
41. =scaur.= A precipitous bank or rock.
42. =They’ll have fleet steeds that follow.= They that succeed in
following us will have to have fleet steeds.
* * * * *
TO A SKYLARK.
Written and published in 1820.
The skylark is a European bird, and is not found in America. It makes
its nest on the ground but rises high in the air, sometimes beyond the
point of vision, to sing. The Canadian Horned Lark, which is common in
our fields in early spring, sometimes also sings high in the air above
its nest.
12. =sunken sun.= The sun is still below the horizon.
15. =unbodied joy.= The lark is so high in the air that it no longer
appears to him as a bird; but hearing its song he thinks of it only as
an ethereal source of joy.
22-25. The rays of light from the morning star are so keen that even
when it has almost vanished in the light of the clear dawn we feel that
the star is there. So even after the bird has vanished from sight, we
know from the “arrows” of song that it is there.
36-7. He represents the poet as absorbed in his own bright fancies, and
in this way hidden from the rest of the world.
47. =a dell of dew.= A little dewy valley or hollow.
49. =aerial hue.= Literally, the colour of the air. The glowworm of
Britain is said to emit a bluish light.
55. =heavy-wingéd thieves.= The winds made heavy by the perfume.
56. =vernal.= Belonging to the Spring.
57. =twinkling.= Sparkling with the rain upon it.
61. =sprite.= Spirit.
66. =Chorus hymeneal.= A marriage song. Hymen was the God of marriage.
77. =Languor.= A feeling of weakness or exhaustion.
80. =sad satiety.= Just as one may become satiated with an excess of
sweet things, so the poet speaks of even Love, when enjoyed to the full,
as bringing with it a feeling of sadness.
82-5. Death is always bringing sorrow into our lives, so that under its
shadow we can never be quite happy. But perhaps the skylark knows more
about what Death really is, and sees that it is a good thing.
91-5. But even if we had no sadness of any kind in our lives, we could
not feel as keen a joy as the song of the skylark expresses.
103. =harmonious madness.= His rapture would find expression in an
ecstasy of song.
* * * * *
ENID.
First published in 1859. When the _Idylls of the King_ appeared in
their final form, in 1888, the story of _Enid_ was divided into two
parts, the first part being entitled _The Marriage of Geraint_, the
second, _Geraint and Enid_. The poem here given includes only the part
of _Enid_ which is now known as _The Marriage of Geraint_. Tennyson’s
story of _Enid_ is based upon the prose version of the story, as it
appears in the _Mabinogion_, a famous collection of Welsh fairy stories
and legends.
Before beginning the study of the poem read the introductory note to
_Morte D’Arthur_.
24-5. The Queen, Guinevere, was the daughter of Leodogran, a tributary
king. When Leodogran had given his consent to the marriage of his
daughter Guinevere to Arthur, the king sent Lancelot, his truest and
bravest knight, to bring Guinevere to the court. Guinevere, not having
yet seen the king, fell in love with Lancelot, and her love was
returned. This secret love was continued, and under its influence,
little by little, the ideals of the knights were lowered. The incidents
in the story of _Enid_ are supposed to have taken place shortly after
the marriage of Arthur and Guinevere.
35. =caitiff.= Base, mean.
39. =common sewer.= This territory in which the bandits and caitiff
knights were gathered is compared to a public drain or sewer which
carries off the impurities of the city.
41. =marches.= Border country, frontiers.
45. =Severn.= A river of England and Wales, flowing south-west into
Bristol Channel.
48. =compass’d her with sweet observances.= Surrounded her with tokens
of his regard.
60. =uxoriousness.= Fondness for his wife.
78. If the current were less strong the water would break in striking
against the stone.
86. =all-puissant.= All powerful.
93. =liefer.= More gladly.
100. =high.= Bright.
145. =Whitsuntide.= A Church festival which falls on the seventh Sunday
after Easter.
146. =Caerleon upon Usk.= A town in Monmouth. The Usk is a tributary of
the Severn.
148. =Dean.= A tract of country west of the Severn.
172. =glancing.= Shining.
183. =break covert.= Come out into the open.
189. =vizor.= That part of the helmet which covers the face.
210. =abolish.= Destroy. Generally used of institutions, customs, etc.
213. =Wroth to be wroth.= Angry with himself for being angry.
217. =earths.= Holes in the earth.
220. =for pledge.= Which may be had if security is given for their
return.
223. =So that.= Provided that.
235. =at the vile occasion.= Because the cause of this delay was so
contemptible.
260. =The Sparrow-hawk.= A term of contempt. The sparrow-hawk is
despised as a bird of prey; but it was the emblem of the knight whom
Geraint was pursuing.
261. =an ancient churl.= An old peasant.
262. =sloping beam.= The slanting rays of the sun.
273. =sudden spleen.= A burst of anger.
274. =pips.= Diseases. A disease of fowls.
275. =Tits.= The titmouse, or tomtit, a small bird.
296. =frayed.= Worn by rubbing.
319. =wilding.= Wild; a poetical form.
325. =beneath.= Near the ground. =aloft.= Higher up on the wall.
337. When it first returns to Britain in the spring.
346. =Fortune and her wheel.= The wheel, which Fortune is represented as
turning, denotes instability. The substance of the song is that the
singer is indifferent to Fortune and will be content whatever she may
bring.
354. Even if fortune seems against us, yet we will smile, for we are
still able to use our hands to work.
363. =dim brocade.= Faded silk, woven with gold and silver thread or
with ornamental designs.
364. =vermeil-white.= Reddish-white.
368. =rood.= Cross.
386. =costrel.= A wooden or earthenware bottle.
389. =manchet.= Fine white bread.
396. =trencher.= A large wooden plate.
432. =Camelot.= See _Morte D’Arthur_ line 21, and note.
438. =who see but acts of wrong.= The Earl means to say that in this
little village they saw no good deeds. They themselves had suffered from
wrong-doing.
491. =toppling over all antagonism.= Overcoming all opponents.
496. =lay lance in rest.= See _Morte D’Arthur_, line 222, and note.
502. =when at mine uttermost.= In direst need.
513. =prove her heart.= Test her feelings.
519. =kept her off.= Held her at arm’s length so that she could see
Enid’s face.
535. =To quicken to the sun.= To become alive under the influence of the
sun.
537. =jousts.= See _Morte D’Arthur_, line 102, and note.
542. =beyond the rest.= More strongly than the rest.
543. =The chair of Idris.= Cader Idris, the highest mountain in Wales.
547. =lists.= The enclosed ground where tournaments were held.
559. =Yule.= Christmas.
566. =as of phantom hands.= The sound of the echo.
568. =The dew of their great labour.= Their perspiration.
595-6. See introductory note to _Morte D’Arthur_.
641. =sold and sold.= Sold one after another.
661. =turkis.= Turquoise. A garnet is red; a turquoise, blue.
663. =tissue.= Woven cloth.
672. =mixen.= Dunghill.
710. =seneschal.= Chief steward, who superintends the feasts and
ceremonies.
724. =ragged-robin.= A British wild flower.
730-1. =Esther.= ii., 2-17.
743. =Gwydion.= In one of the legends of Welsh mythology, Gwydion, the
nephew of the king, helps his uncle, Math, to create a beautiful maiden
by magic (glamour) out of flowers in order to provide a wife for the
young prince Llew.
744-5. =the Bride of Cassivelaun, Flur.= Cassivelaun was king of Britain
at the time of Cæsar’s second invasion (54 B.C.). The poem suggests that
Cæsar was in love with Flur, the betrothed bride of Cassivelaun.
764. =flaws.= A flaw is a sudden burst of wind.
774. =careful robins.= Watching to see whether there are worms for food
in the ground that is delved.
797-804. Geraint suspected that Enid had allowed herself to be
influenced by her mother’s wishes, or that she had been carried away by
his brightness in contrast with the dimness of her own surroundings.
810-1. Dearer because she was resuming a splendour to which she had
formerly been accustomed, but which she had been forced to give up for a
time.
838. =Dubric.= The Archbishop.
* * * * *
ODE ON THE DEATH OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON.
Published on the morning of November 18th, 1852, the day of the
funeral of the Duke of Wellington.
9. The Duke is buried in St. Paul’s cathedral, which stands in the
busiest part of London.
23. =state-oracle.= The wise adviser of the nation.
36. The Duke’s words were taken as an indication of the probable course
of events in the future.
42. =World-victor’s victor.= Victor over Napoleon, who was the World
victor.
49. =cross of gold.= St. Paul’s cathedral is surmounted by a golden
cross.
56. =its blazon’d deeds.= The record of his victories engraved on the
funeral car.
75-9. He calls upon the poets who celebrate the virtues of the British
people to continue to give due honour to the Duke. In lines 77-9 the
figure is that of broad avenues leading up to a great hall or castle.
=civic muse.= The muse (spirit of poetry) presiding over public affairs.
80-2. Nelson is also buried in St. Paul’s. In these lines he is
represented as speaking.
99. =Assaye.= A village in Hindostan. Here in 1803 Wellington (then
Arthur Wellesley) with only 5,000 men defeated an army of over 30,000
Mahrattas.
104-5. Referring to the lines of Torres Vedras, which were constructed
by Wellington as defences in the Peninsular war, during the years
1810-11.
112. After the battle of Vittoria in 1813, the French armies crossed the
Pyrenees and withdrew from Spain.
=her eagles.= Napoleon took the eagle as his standard.
119. Refers to the renewal of the war after the escape of Napoleon from
Elba.
=ravening.= Rapacious, devouring ravenously.
123. =that loud Sabbath.= The battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday,
June 18, 1815.
129. The sun is said to have shone through the breaking clouds just as
the Allies made their final charge against the French.
136. =silver-coasted.= Referring to the white chalk cliffs of southern
England.
137. =the Baltic and the Nile.= The battle of the Baltic was fought at
Copenhagen in 1801. The battle of the Nile was fought in Aboukir Bay in
1798.
145. The real proof of a man’s fame is seen in the fact that a nation
continues to honour him and echo his praises from century to century.
152. During the few years preceding the publication of this poem,
revolutions had taken place in several countries of Europe.
155. =Saxon.= Changed to “Briton” in a later edition.
160-1. =the eye, the soul of Europe.= He speaks of England as the
country that not only sees what is best but is most anxious for true
progress.
162. =the one true seed of freedom.= British freedom representing the
only true freedom of Europe.
168. Note the figure of speech.
170. =wink.= Close the eyes.
179-80. He never did wrong for the sake of some immediate advantage, nor
trifled with what is right, for the sake of gaining power.
182. People of either high or low rank who were given to talking idly.
184. =hewn from life.= Growing out of his experience.
188. =our England’s Alfred.= King Alfred the Great.
196. =stars.= Marks of distinction.
197. The Goddess of Fortune is represented as carrying a cornucopia
(horn of plenty).
202. =was.= “Turned out to be.”
206-8. He shall find that in facing hard and disagreeable duties his
reward will be greater than that which comes from a life of selfish
ease.
215-8. He shall find that though the performance of difficult tasks
sometimes threatens to overwhelm him, yet in the end it will bring with
it the peace and happiness of a character which has the approbation of
God himself.
In line 215 the conjunction _that_ is omitted.
236. =For one.= On account of the death of one.
242. =More than is of man’s degree.= Spiritual presences.
250. =fane.= Temple.
252-3. Note the metaphor. The poet suggests that music appeals to our
higher nature,—to what is spiritual and hence eternal in man.
259. =Giant Ages.= In Greek mythology the Giants were a race of fabulous
monsters who made war on Zeus. They were subdued, and great mountains
were piled on top of them, beneath which they still struggle. Tennyson
here personifies the long ages of time as giants shaking the hills and
breaking the shore.
274. =Being here.= While he was here.
275. =Something.= An adverb, as here used.
* * * * *
THE DAY DREAM.
In _The Day Dream_ Tennyson has elaborated in poetical form a series
of scenes from the well-known fairy tale of _The Sleeping Beauty_ or
_Briar Rose_. In the fairy story, Briar Rose is a beautiful princess who
was fated to fall asleep in her fifteenth year and remain sleeping for a
hundred years. When the princess is overtaken by her long sleep,
everything in the castle falls under the same spell. An impenetrable
hedge of briars grows up about the castle grounds, and all who strive to
force an entrance perish in the attempt. At length, when the hundred
years have passed, comes a splendid prince, who hears from an old man
the story of the mysterious castle and the sleeping princess. When he
reaches the hedge he passes easily through, for the briars have turned
to flowers. At the very moment when he finds the princess, the hundred
years are completed, and as he kisses her she opens her eyes once more.
When the princess wakes, the whole castle revives, and life goes on
again as it did a hundred years before. The story ends with the marriage
of Briar Rose and the prince.
The fairy tale in its original form was probably suggested by the
changing seasons. In Winter the earth, the fairy princess, begins her
long sleep. In the Springtime comes the sun, the fairy prince, and at
the touch of his kiss the earth awakes to new life and beauty.
From the poem as here given, _The Prologue_, _L’Envoi_ and _The
Epilogue_ are omitted. In _The Prologue_ the poet tells his companion,
Lady Flora, that the sight of her beauty as she lay asleep had called to
his mind an image of The Sleeping Beauty, and that in his “day dream” he
had recalled the old legend. And so as she works at her embroidery he
bids her listen to the story. _L’Envoi_ and _The Epilogue_, written also
in a light and fanciful vein, contain the poet’s comments on the story.
1. =blade and sheaf.= Spring and Autumn, seed time and harvest.
3. =Here.= In the Sleeping Palace, in contrast with the outside world.
9. =range.= Rows.
10. =terrace-lawn.= The sloping lawn built up in the form of terraces.
11-2. The fountain is not flowing, but the water has withdrawn, or drawn
back, to the garden lake from which it used to flow.
13. =droops.= The predicate also for the _fires_, _peacock_ and
_parrot_.
15. =laurel bower.= His retreat among the laurel bushes (evergreens).
16. =wires.= Cage.
18. =these, those.= Both the eggs and the birds.
22-3. The real things in and around the Sleeping Palace seem more like a
picture than even the portraits on the walls.
34. =Oriel.= An ornamental projecting window.
40. Judging from his appearance and his surroundings.
43. =woodbine.= Any climbing plant such as clematis or honeysuckle,
which binds, or twines around, the wood.
50. For these sleeping people.
51-2. When they wake to think once more, they will learn new things and
will see things in a truer light and will be moved to act accordingly.
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY.
61. =tranced.= See _Enoch Arden_, line 793, and note.
71-2. Her beauty never changes, and the silent chamber seems to be
filled with love, and the day seems to be brighter because of her
beauty.
76. =charmed.= Under a spell.
THE ARRIVAL.
81-4. It seems as if when precious things have remained long hidden,
they come forth of their own accord to greet those who seek them; for
when Fate has decreed that some hidden work shall be revealed, Love
follows up the decree and makes the discovery.
=in sequel.= Following.
86. =on the rocks.= Against the dull rocks.
90. =to pass.= To penetrate the hedge.
91. =close.= Enclosure, applied here to the hedge.
92. =blanching.= Whitening.
101-4. During all his past life a magic voice seemed to whisper to him
that he would be fortunate.
106-7. =The Magic Music.= The sound of his heartbeats is spoken of as
music which helped to tell him, as if by magic, that he was near the
sleeping princess.
THE REVIVAL.
129. =these.= These noises.
137. =Pardy.= Fr. _par-dieu_, a form of oath.
144. =put the question by.= Did not reply to the king’s question. He had
forgotten what the bill was about.
THE DEPARTURE.
148. The world of love which was new to them but which was old to
others.
156. =this and this.= He kisses her again.
157. =sliding.= Softly moving.
159. The light of dawn streamed through the openings in the clouds.
_Stream’d_ is a participle modifying _twilight_.
165-6. Evening is approaching. The lines of flowing clouds, rosy in the
light of sunset, are compared to waves upon which the crescent moon is
floating like a boat upon the sea.
167. =rapt.= Carried along, moved forward.
MORAL.
177-84. A thing that is beautiful in itself, as this story is, needs no
moral. “Beauty is its own excuse for being.”
185-92. In all things in Nature we can find a meaning if we choose. So
with this story, as with other forms of art, it is possible to read into
it different meanings.
* * * * *
YOU ASK ME, WHY, THO’ ILL AT EASE.
2-4. England, whose misty climate depresses the spirits and makes men
long for the warmth and colour of the South.
6. =sober-suited.= Not showy.
10. =of just and old renown.= England has long been renowned for her
free institutions, and justly so.
11-2. British freedom has been gained gradually, each new step growing
out of events that have gone before. The Magna Charta, for example, was
a precedent for the Petition of Right.
13. Those who seek to create dissension seldom succeed in bringing about
an actual struggle.
15. A diffusive thought is one which readily spreads or circulates from
mind to mind.
16. =Hath time and space.= Because Great Britain in itself is a small
country.
17-26. If the time should ever come when any body of men should band
themselves together to persecute those who do not agree with them, and
when a man may not “speak the thing he will,” then, no matter how
powerful or wealthy Britain may become, I will leave this country.
23-4. Note the metaphor in these two lines. Though the country should be
overflowing with wealth from all its various sources—its mines, its
fisheries, etc.
28. Read line 4.
* * * * *
THE TRAVELLER.
Published in 1764.
Goldsmith dedicated _The Traveller_ to his brother Henry, who was a
country curate in Lissoy, a village in Ireland. The substance of the
poem is briefly summed up by Macaulay as follows:—
“No philosophical poem, ancient or modern, has a plan so
noble and at the same time so simple. An English wanderer,
seated on a crag among the Alps, near the point where three
great countries meet, looks down on the boundless prospect,
reviews his long pilgrimage, recalls the variety of scenery, of
climate, of government, of religion, of national character,
which he has observed, and comes to the conclusion, just or
unjust, that our happiness depends little on political
institutions, and much on the temper and regulation of the
mind.”
1. =Remote=, etc. These adjectives modify _I_ in line 7.
=slow.= Wandering slowly because heavy of heart.
2. =Scheldt.= A river flowing into the North Sea. =lazy.= Having a slow
current.
=Po.= A river in northern Italy. =wandering.= Winding.
3. =Carinthian.= Carinthia is a province of Austria.
4. =Campania.= The Campagna—a plain adjacent to the city of Rome.
8. =My heart untravell’d.= His affections are still with his early home.
11. =crown.= Subjunctive mood, expressing a wish.
=friend.= His brother.
15. =where want and pain repair.= (Personification.) To which the needy
and the troubled go (repair) for help.
23. =me.= Object of _leads_.
27-8. These two lines explain how the fleeting good mocks him. His idea
of what will bring him happiness is always changing. When one thing is
attained he finds no real satisfaction in it, but is constantly looking
forward to some new thing which he thinks may bring him happiness.
32. =pensive.= Meditative.
34. =a hundred realms.= Exaggeration for effect.
38. Should the proud man remain ungrateful and dissatisfied?
39-40. Should the scholar, puffed up with his knowledge, look with scorn
on the petty pleasures of these humble people?
41-2. The scholar may try to pretend that he takes no pleasure in these
things, but man is petty and enjoys these petty pleasures.
48. =dress.= Cultivate.
50. =Creation’s heir.= In apposition with the pronoun value of _mine_.
51-8. Note the points of comparison involved in the simile. What are the
alternate possessions of the miser? Of the poet?
64. =pretend.= Claim.
69. =the line.= The Equator.
70. =palmy.= Made from palms.
71. =tepid.= Lukewarm.
75-80. This idea is elaborated and illustrated in the remainder of the
poem.
82. No matter where one lives, Nature gives returns to those who labour.
84. =Idra.= Probably Lake Idro in Switzerland.
=Arno.= A river in Italy.
90. =either.= Here means any one of the things mentioned.
93. =prone.= Disposed, inclined, favourable to.
98. =peculiar pain.= Pain which follows this particular good.
101. =proper.= Own, belonging to me.
108. =Woods over woods.= Like tiers of seats in theatres.
114. Growing on trees or on trailing vines.
117-8. The flowers of northern countries, which last only through the
spring.
119. =kindred.= The soil is said to be _kindred_ because it produces all
these varieties naturally as if this was their common home.
121. =gelid.= Cool, refreshing.
122. =winnow fragrance.= Carry perfume.
123. =sense.= The senses.
125. =florid.= Bright with flowers.
127. =manners.= Actions, habits of living.
129. =zealous.= Full of religious zeal.
133-8. Referring to the commercial prosperity of Italian cities during
the fifteenth century.
136. =long-fallen.= Since the days of ancient Rome.
138. The quarry was filled with marble from which statues of human forms
were chiselled.
142. =unmann’d.= Without men.
143-4. Certain diseases were supposed to arise from a superabundance
(plethora) of blood. So ills arose out of the prosperity of Italy.
=with fruitless skill.= All the skill mentioned in lines 134-8 brought
no real results. It could not save Italy.
149-50. The modern processions are bloodless, that is, they do not
celebrate real victories. The chariots are made of pasteboard for mere
show.
151. =piety and love.= Religious processions, which were often made the
means of furthering love intrigues.
157. =succeeding.= Following.
158. =happier meanness.= The people, because of their degraded
condition, are happier in the enjoyment of these mean pleasures than
they would be in pursuit of nobler aims.
160. Bring out the points of comparison in the simile.
167. =bleak.= Cheerless. =mansion.= Here, country.
168. =churlish.= Generally applied to people in the sense of rude in
manner. Here, stubborn, unwilling to yield a harvest.
171. =torpid.= Sleepy, lifeless.
174. =invest.= Take possession.
176. =Redress.= Compensate for.
187. =patient angle.= An example of Transferred Epithet.
198. =nightly.= For the night; not “night after night.”
199. Supply _that_ or _which_.
203. =conforms.= The rudeness and smallness of his home, a mere shed, is
in keeping with his mind which is lacking in finer qualities.
214. =redrest.= Satisfied, provided for.
215. =science.= Branch of learning.
216. =excites desire.= Awakens the desire for the pleasure to be derived
from the study, and then supplies that pleasure.
217-8. Line 218 tells what is _unknown to them_. When they are satiated
with sensual pleasures they do not know how to seek the _higher
pleasures of the mind_.
219. =those powers.= Music, poetry, painting, etc.
230-1. Love and friendship belong to the finer feelings, but they find
no place in the heart of the mountaineer.
=indurated.= Hardened, unfeeling.
234. =Cower.= Generally means to shrink with fear. Here it simply means
to sit, to bend low.
242. =whom all the world can please.= They are easily pleased with the
attentions and the flattery of others.
244. =tuneless.= Because he lacked the skill to play.
253. =gestic lore.= The knowledge of dancing.
258. =honour.= Note that the word _honour_ is used here in the sense of
adulation or praise.
264. =an avarice of praise.= They are greedy for flattery.
265. =they give to get esteem.= They flatter others in order that others
may flatter them in return.
266. Flatterers credit them with qualities which should make them blest,
and being credited with these qualities they naturally try to live up to
them.
267. =this softer art.= Flattery or adulation.
271. =within itself unblest.= finding no happiness in its own thoughts.
273. They attempt to win praise by an external show of shabby finery.
276. =frieze.= A kind of coarse woollen cloth.
=copper lace.= Gold lace was commonly used in eighteenth century
fashions. Copper lace would be a poor imitation.
277. People who were poor but proud lived sparingly from day to day in
order to have one feast in the year to make a show of wealth before the
world.
279-80. They continue to follow the changing fashions and do not stop to
consider how much better it would be to have the approval of their own
better selves.
282. Holland is in parts below the level of the sea, and hence
‘embosomed in the deep.’
284. =leans against the land.= Presses against the dykes or embankments.
285. =sedulous.= Industrious, diligent. Both the adjective _sedulous_
and the verb _lift_ relate to _sons_ l. 283.
286. =rampire.= Rampart; here, the bank or dyke which has been made by
man (hence ‘artificial’) and which rises proudly above the sea.
291. =pent.= Confined, limited, shut out.
=rising o’er the pile.= Rising up along the sides of the dyke.
292. =amphibious.= Generally applied to animals which are able to live
both on land and in water. Holland is said to be _amphibious_ because it
naturally belongs to the sea but has been reclaimed as part of the land.
297. =wave-subjected soil.= This soil in its natural condition is under
control of the sea.
305-6. These lines probably refer to the political struggles and
intrigues which long disturbed the Netherlands.
313. =Belgic sires.= The tribes known as the Belgae who inhabited the
Netherlands in the time of Caesar.
317. =the sound.= The sound of the name ‘Britain.’
=genius.= The poetic muse.
318. Britain receives the warm winds from the west, and Spring is
earlier here than in other European countries.
319. =lawns.= Stretches of meadow land.
=Arcadian.= Arcadia was a division of Greece. Because of the simple
pastoral life of its people the name Arcadia came to stand in poetry for
any imaginary country of ideal beauty and simplicity.
320. =Hydaspes.= A river of India (now called Jelum) flowing into the
Indus. It was the eastern boundary of the kingdom of Alexander the
Great.
323-4. Extremes are not found in the climate, but only in the minds of
the people.
325. They are controlled by reason; but their aims are daring, and hence
great in an unusual way. The aims of men in other countries may be
great, but they follow the regular lines of thought and there is nothing
daring or irregular about them.
330. =By forms unfashion’d.= They do not follow fixed or conventional
lines of conduct. They are not artificial, but natural, in conduct.
331. =native hardiness.= Natural vigour.
332. They are true to what they conceive, or imagine, to be right, and
they cannot be held in check.
333. Even the humblest peasant boasts that he examines these rights.
337. Such blessings would be too great if they were unmixed with some
evils.
=alloy.= The base metal which is sometimes mixed with precious metals.
342. The nominative absolute construction.
343. The natural ties uniting members of the family or the community are
not strong.
345. =imprison’d.= Held in control by the law.
346. =round her shore.= Throughout the country.
347-8. Note the metaphor in these lines.
The idea is that when the wheels of a carriage are subjected to too
great friction they either refuse to turn, or else catch fire from the
over-heating of the axle. So in society, this internal struggle and
ferment (ll. 344-6) must result in a breakdown in the machinery of
government or in political disturbances. _The Traveller_ was written
about the time of the Wilkes’ agitations in Britain.
351. =Fictitious.= Artificial.
357. =noble stems.= The heads of noble families.
359. =sink.= A drain to carry off impure water. By speaking of England
as a _sink_ he suggests that her ideals have become base and impure.
=level avarice.= Greed for money among all classes of people.
369. =the changeful clime.= Of Britain.
370. Just as plants are pruned to make them better and stronger, so if
the freedom of the British people is repressed when it tends to go to
extremes, it will bring greater security.
373-6. He means to say that if any class of people is to be allowed too
great privileges it will affect the rights of others.
381-8. The lines are subordinate, grammatically, to line 389.
381-2. These and the following lines express Goldsmith’s opinion of the
Whig government then in power.
383. =a factious band.= A group of politicians seeking to further their
personal interests by agitation and dissension.
385. There was nothing to restrain the judge from drawing up new laws
for punishment of offences (penal statutes).
=wanton.= Without restraint.
387-8. He means to say that money was extorted from people in the
colonies, such as India, to corrupt the electors in Great Britain.
=to purchase slaves.= To bribe the voters, to make them subservient.
391-2. Partly from motives of patriotism, partly from fear of the evils
threatening my country, I appeal to the sovereign to protect it against
these petty political tyrants.
393. =baleful.= Evil, pernicious.
395. The sovereign is here regarded as the fountain-head or source of
honour.
396. =Gave wealth to sway.= Gave wealth the power to sway.
398. The wealth (useless ore) of the landowners was used to buy up the
small holdings, and the labourers (useful sons) were turned adrift and
forced to emigrate.
399. Britain’s successes in war have only helped to hasten destruction
by bringing into existence a wealthy class of men.
401-2. See note on line 398 above.
403-4. The rich man lives at his ease on estates where villages once
stood.
407. =decayed.= Worn out, on the decline.
411. =Oswego.= A river in the State of New York, flowing into Lake Erie.
412. =Niagara.= Note the pronunciation.
417. =giddy.= Whirling.
418. =distressful.= Causing distress.
421. Looks towards England.
422. The feelings of the exile are the same as those of the poet.
423-38. Lines 361-422 have been in the nature of a digression, and the
poet now returns to his original subject as presented in the first
hundred lines of the poem. He has come to the conclusion that happiness
does not depend upon external conditions, but upon the individual
himself; and this conclusion is summed up in lines 431-2.
425. Why have I tried to find the source of happiness in the government
rather than in the mind, which is the centre of pleasure and repose?
431. _Consigned_ modifies _felicity_. We are entrusted with the making
of our own happiness.
433-4. The joy which any man feels in his life from day to day comes
from his own innermost feelings, and external events cannot disturb it.
435-8. Even though a man be put to torture, it cannot rob him of the
truest sources of happiness in his life—reason, faith and conscience.
434. =The lifted axe.= The executioner’s axe.
=the agonizing wheel.= An instrument of torture causing extreme agony.
The victim was fastened to a wheel or a cross, and his legs were broken
with an iron bar.
436. =Luke’s iron crown.= In 1513 two brothers, George and Luke Dosa,
were taken prisoners in a rebellion. George (not Luke) Dosa was put to
death by having a red hot crown placed on his head, in mockery of his
desire to become king.
=Damiens’ bed of steel.= In 1757 Damiens, an insane fanatic, attempted
to kill Louis XV, King of France. He was bound upon an iron bed and
subjected to terrible tortures.
437. These tortures are rarely known to men who are not engaged in
public affairs.
* * * * *
HOME-THOUGHTS, FROM THE SEA.
Written on the occasion of a voyage from England to Italy in 1838. As
the vessel passes the south-west coast of Portugal and Spain, Cape St.
Vincent, Cadiz and Trafalgar are seen in turn, and as darkness is coming
on, Gibraltar rises dimly in the distance. The poem expresses Browning’s
feelings as he calls to memory the great victories of England that are
connected with these historic scenes.
1. =Cape St. Vincent.= A cape at the south-east extremity of Portugal.
In 1709 Admiral Jervis with a British fleet of fifteen vessels, defeated
a Spanish fleet of twenty-seven vessels.
2. =reeking.= We often speak of blood as reeking, that is, steaming
(_Ger. rauchen_, to smoke). So here the sunset is spoken of also as
reeking because it is red like blood.
=Cadiz Bay.= Off the south-west coast of Spain. Cadiz was sacked by the
English fleet under Essex in 1596.
3. =Bluish.= The land was bluish when seen in the distance.
=full in face.= Directly ahead of the vessel.
=Trafalgar.= Cape Trafalgar, on the south-west coast of Spain. At
Trafalgar in 1805 Nelson defeated the combined fleets of France and
Spain.
4. =dimmest north-east distance.= After the vessel passed Trafalgar and
turned to enter the straits, the rock of Gibraltar was seen dimly to the
north-east. Consult a good map or atlas.
=dawned.= Appeared dimly on the horizon.
=Gibraltar.= The fortress of Gibraltar came into the hands of the
English in 1704. It was, later in the century, successfully defended
against a number of attacks.
5. =Here and here.= In the battles he has mentioned.
=say.= The subject of _say_ is the noun clause following.
5-6. Anyone who turns as I do to praise God for England’s victories and
to pray for her continued greatness, cannot but ask himself the
question, “How can I help England in return for what she has done for
me?”
7. =Jove’s planet.= The planet Jupiter. Perhaps the sight of “Jove’s
planet” suggests to the poet England’s continued strength and glory.
=over Africa.= To the south-east. Possibly the vessel has not yet passed
Gibraltar which he had only seen dimly in the distance as night came on.
* * * * *
THE PATRIOT.
_The Patriot_ tells the story of a man who has come into power amid
the acclamations of the crowd as the hero of the people. But popular
favour is fickle, and in one short year he is reviled and led to
execution. He suffers, not because he has failed in his duty, but simply
because he has failed to please the fickle crowd. To those who have read
history the sub-title AN OLD STORY will need no further explanation.
2. =myrtle.= The leaves of the myrtle were used to make wreaths for
those who won triumphs in the arts of peace. It is an emblem of peace
and joy.
6. =a mist.= Of course this is not to be taken literally. It is a poetic
way of saying that the air is filled with the sound of bells.
8-10. If I had objected that I did not like noise but that I wished them
to give me the sun from out the sky they would have been quite willing
to give me not only the sun but anything else they had.
17. =a palsied few.= Too feeble to follow the crowd.
20. =Shambles’ Gate.= A fictitious name for the place of execution.
Shambles are the places where animals are slaughtered or where butchers’
meat is sold. Hence, as here, a place of butchery.
25. =my year’s misdeeds.= What the rabble consider as misdeeds.
27. The man who has been honoured by the world, even if he drops dead in
the midst of his triumph, has been paid, and perhaps more than paid, for
his good deeds, and if men’s rewards and punishments are balanced up, in
the next world, such a man may find that he is in God’s debt. But the
speaker, “The Patriot,” is suffering so much injustice and wrong that he
is sure that some balance of reward will be due him in the next world.
* * * * *
LOVE AMONG THE RUINS.
1. =The quiet-coloured end of evening.= The late twilight when the
bright colours have faded from the sky.
7. =a city.= The poet had in mind probably the Campagna,—the level
stretch of country outside the city of Rome. This district was once very
thickly populated.
9. Supply the conjunctive pronoun, _that_ or _which_.
13. Notice that throughout the poem, the description of the scenery as
it now appears, is alternated with the pictures of its former splendour.
15-8. If there had been trees it would have been an easy matter to
distinguish certain slopes from others by the single trees or groups of
trees growing on them. Now these slopes are separated only by streams
and they take their names from the names of these streams which flow
through the valleys.
19. =daring.= Because it rose so high.
20. =like fires.= Glittering in the sunlight.
23. =nor be pressed.= Without being crowded.
29-30. =guessed alone, stock or stone.= You can only guess that the
sticks and stones are there; the grass covers them.
39. =caper.= A low prickly shrub.
=gourd.= A trailing or climbing plant, such for example, as our wild
cucumber. =overscored.= By the stems of the vines, which form lines on
the wall.
41-2. =houseleek.= A plant commonly found on old walls and ruins.
patching. covering up the holes; or, perhaps, forming patches on the
walls. =winks.= When moved by the breeze.
45. =burning.= Because they were made of gold.
47. =minions.= Favourites.
50-2. Smiles because she is leaving the flocks to return in peace to
their folds.
55. =yellow hair.= A suggestion that she belonged to a northern race.
57. =caught soul.= They were inspired to do their best by seeing the
king and courtiers watching from the tower.
63-4. =the glades’ colonnades.= The rows of columns in the valleys.
65. =causeys.= Causeways. A causeway is a raised road passing over wet
or marshy ground.
79. He appeals to the feelings of his readers, who are moved by the same
passions now as in the past.
80-4. These ruins are Earth’s returns, the only result of centuries of
folly, noise and sin. In contrast with this is Love, which endures.
* * * * *
THE ISLES OF GREECE.
This poem appears in Byron’s _Don Juan_. It is supposed to be sung by
a wandering Greek minstrel during the marriage feast of the hero and
heroine of the story; but it is a direct expression of Byron’s own
feelings on the subject of Greek freedom.
2. =Sappho.= A lyric poetess who was born on the island of Lesbos about
625 B.C.
=burning.= In reference to the passion in her poems and songs.
4. According to myth, Leda, who had supplanted Juno in the affections of
Jupiter, was forced to flee from heaven to escape the wrath of Juno.
Neptune took pity on her and raised the Island of Delos out of the sea
in order to afford her a shelter. Here Phoebus and Diana, the twin
children of Jupiter and Leda, were born.
7. =The Scian and the Teian muse.= The island of Chios (Scio) was said
to be the birthplace of Homer, and the town of Teos, in Asia Minor, was
the birthplace of the poet Anacreon.
11. =farther west.= In America.
12. In Greek mythology the “Islands of the Blest” were situated
somewhere far in the western ocean.
13. Mount Pentelicus and Mount Parnes overlook the plain of Marathon,
where in 490 B.C. a great battle was fought between the Persians under
Darius, and the Greeks, led by Miltiades.
21. Ten years after the battle of Marathon, Xerxes, the son of Darius,
invaded Greece with a vast army. The Persian fleet was defeated at
Salamis, by the Greeks under Themistocles. Xerxes watched the progress
of the fight from the mainland.
31. =in the dearth of fame.= Though the Greeks are no longer famed for
their poets.
32. =a fetter’d race.= Since 1715 Greece had been in the hands of the
Turks. The War of Independence which began in 1821, resulted in the
establishment of the Greek kingdom in 1832.
37-8. =we.= Italicized to bring out the contrast with _fathers_.
40-2. A reference to the battle of Thermopylae (470, B.C.) in which
Leonidas with 300 Spartans and several hundred auxiliaries held the
whole Persian army in check.
43. He has called upon the dead heroes of Greece to return (ll. 39-42);
and now he listens for a reply.
49. =In vain.= It is in vain that we look for even one living hero to
arise to lead the Greeks.
50-2. Samos, Chios, and other islands were famous for their wines.
53-4. =Bacchanal.= A follower of Bacchus, the god of wine.
55-6. The Pyrrhic dance was so named from Pyrrhichus, who invented it.
The Pyrrhic phalanx derives its name from Pyrrhus, king of Epirus. A
phalanx is a serried formation of troops.
59. The alphabet is said to have been introduced into Greece by Cadmus,
a Phœnician, who lived about 1450, B.C.
63-5. Polycrates, who ruled over the Island of Samos, was the patron of
Anacreon. _Tyrant_ in the Greek sense meant simply “ruler” or “master,”
and as here used the word does not imply harshness or cruelty.
68. =Chersonese.= The word literally means a peninsula. Here it refers
to the Tauric Chersonnesus, the modern Crimea.
72. That is, he bound the Greeks together to resist their enemies.
74. =Suli.= A mountainous district inhabited by a mixed Greek and
Albanian people.
=Parga.= A fortified town on the coast of Albania.
76. =Doric mothers.= Spartan mothers. The Spartans belonged to the
Dorian race.
78. =Heracleidan blood.= The descendants of Heracles (Hercules).
=might own.= Might not be ashamed of. Supply _that_ or _which_ at the
beginning of the line.
79. =the Franks.= The French.
80. Louis XVIII was at this time king of France. Perhaps Byron is
referring to Napoleon, who entered into alliance with the Turks.
89. =mine own.= Mine own eyes.
91. =Sunium.= The southern promontory of Attica.
=marbled steep.= The temple of Athena stood on this promontory.
94. =swan-like.= See Morte D’Arthur, line 267, and note.
* * * * *
AS SHIPS, BECALMED AT EVE.
1. =As.= The word _so_ in line 9 is correlative with _as_, introducing
the other member in the comparison.
=ships.= Subject of _are descried_.
3. =towers of sail.= Filled with the breeze, which has sprung up in the
night. This line forms a predicate completion of _are descried_ (line
4).
6. =darkling.= Dark, a poetical form.
7. =but.= Except, that—not. Did not dream but that, each, etc.
9. =E’en so.= Just in the same way differences in opinion arise between
friends.
13. Unknown to each other, both came under different influences that
changed the course of their opinions and beliefs.
16. =dawn.= When their beliefs were made known.
17. =To veer, how vain.= When people have drifted apart in their points
of view it is vain for them to try to change their course to come
together again.
19. =one compass.= Conscience.
22. =parting.= Nominative absolute.
25-6. Both were searching for truth.
27-8. Clough hopes that wherever the course of events may carry the
human race, sometime, somewhere, all differences in thought may be
reconciled.
* * * * *
THE CHAMBERED NAUTILUS.
1-7. The nautilus is a species of shell-fish. The shell is spiral, and
is divided into chambers or cavities. The animal occupies only the outer
cavity. The others are filled with gas. The belief once existed that the
nautilus was furnished with a membrane which served as a sail. The root
meaning of the word _nautilus_ is “a ship.” This old belief is, however,
only a poetic fancy. The nautilus creeps along the bottom of the sea,
and does not come to the surface to swim or sail.
5. =the Siren.= The Sirens were sea-nymphs, who by their entrancing
music fascinated those who sailed along their shores, and drew them on
to their destruction.
13. The shell is broken so that the separate cells are seen.
14. =irised ceiling.= The walls of the cell, tinted like the rainbow.
=crypt.= A crypt is an underground vault used for burial purposes. Here
the enclosed chamber in the shell of the nautilus.
20. =idle.= Unused.
24. =forlorn.= Forsaken, solitary.
26. =Triton.= The son of Neptune, the god of the sea. He is generally
represented as blowing upon a trumpet formed from a sea-shell, to quiet
the restless waves.
=wreathéd.= Referring to the convolutions of the shell which was used
for a horn.
28. =caves of thought.= A poetical way of speaking of his innermost
self.
31. =low-vaulted.= Limited, confined, like a chamber with a low ceiling.
33. Let your growth be such from year to year that your spiritual
outlook is larger.
35. =thine out-grown shell.= The body in which the soul dwells.
* * * * *
=Transcriber’s Notes:=
Archaic spellings and hyphenation have been retained. Punctuation has
been corrected without note. Other errors have been corrected as noted
below.
Page 52, Some mute inglorions Milton ==> Some mute inglorious Milton
Page 112, Whese rougher climes ==> Where rougher climes
Page 117, love, and honor fail ==> love, and honour fail
Page 132, Home Thoughts, from the Sea ==> Home-Thoughts, from the Sea
Page 135, Many imaegs went to ==> Many images went to
Page 143, church at Stoke Pogis ==> church at Stoke Poges
Page 156, 23-4. N te the metaphor ==> 23-4. Note the metaphor
Page 164, HOME THOUGHTS, FROM THE SEA. ==> HOME-THOUGHTS, FROM THE SEA.