University of Virginia Library

A Bibliographic History of Alfred Tennyson's Idylls Of The King
by
John Pfordresher

Introduction

In the nineteenth century artists frequently took on projects so immense that they dominated the mature life of their creators. One has only to think of Balzac's Comédie Humaine, Wagner's Ring des Niebelungen, or, the subject of this study, Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Tennyson began thinking about his Arthurian "epic" when he was still a young man—we have notes for several different Arthurian projects sketched in the 1830s—and in 1833 he began with the end, composing his "Morte d'Arthur" which was later integrated into "The Passing of Arthur." "Morte d'Arthur" was published in 1842, but it took until 1885 for the last substantial portion of the poem to appear, the idyll "Balin and Balan." And even then Tennyson was not really finished with his Idylls, because in the last years of his life he continued to tinker at the punctuation of the poem, even instructing, as one of his last creative decisions, that a qualifying line be added to the "Epilogue."

Victorians who read the beginnings of this immense work in their childhood were still observing its growth in their old age. Such an extended evolution stirred a curiosity in those early readers which, even in our own time, has not been fully assuaged. They wanted to know, as we still do, how Tennyson carried out such an enormously taxing project. How did he build his poem over such a long period of time? Did he see the plan of the whole clearly, from his youth, or was he forced to cut and add in order to make everything fit together smoothly?

In seeking to investigate this problem of growth yet another problem rises up to block our progress. To analyze a poem's evolution one must first learn the full history of that poem. In what order were the several parts written? Do early manuscripts and proof sheets still

survive? Those which do can help shed light on Tennyson's creative progress. Then, as new, longer versions of the poem appeared, were earlier versions altered, and if so, to what extent? To put it briefly, the student of the Idylls, in order to answer his critical questions, is forced to answer first a set of bibliographic questions.

Tennyson was scarcely dead before the professional studies seeking for answers began to appear. In 1895 Richard Jones published The Growth of The Idylls of the King,[1] based upon a careful collation of eight sets of printer's proof which were even at that early date available for public scrutiny. Subsequent investigation would show that Jones was only exploring the tip of the iceberg, but because his was the only close study to exist, it has remained of great interest until our own day.

Next came the bibliographers, attempting to clarify the history of the printed versions of the Idylls. Their progress was snarled by the machinations of the book-seller and forger T. J. Wise. He generously offered his advice to Luther D. Livingston, who was making a bibliography of Tennyson to accompany a sale by Dodd, Meade in 1901,[2] and again to J. C. Thomson who, in 1905, brought out another Tennyson bibliography.[3] In both cases Wise convinced these men that certain "rare trial issues" which were, in fact, Wise forgeries, were legitimate. So, when Wise published his own two volume bibliography in 1908 he had already built an entire bibliographic history for his forgeries, and it was only in the nineteen-thirties that Carter and Pollard, in their An Enquiry Into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets,[4] unmasked the Wise frauds. Still, the Wise bibliography, for all its faults, remains the most complete study to date of Tennyson bibliography, and when used with care can still serve the student.

There have been other bibliographic studies of the poem in recent years, the most important being the essay "Some MSS of the Idylls of the King . . ."[5] by the poet's grandson Sir Charles Tennyson. This was the first, and remains the only serious investigation of actual manuscripts. It offers long quotations of variant readings, and probes some of the knottiest questions of chronology.

Until now the student of Tennyson, consulting all of these studies,

could put together a fairly accurate picture of the poem's history. From Sir Charles Tennyson he would have an insight into the appearance and the contents of a major manuscript collection. From Jones he could determine the extent of variation within a limited set of proof sheets. And from the bibliographers he could construct a fairly accurate chronology of the published editions of the poem. But such a student would be ignorant of the preponderance of the existing manuscripts and proof sheets, and, if confronted with them, would have no ready way of determining their chronological relationship to each other, and to the final poem.

But would Tennyson have wanted such problems investigated at all? It is difficult to tell. His oldest son, amanuensis, and biographer, Hallam Tennyson, thought he would not. Hallam, quoting his father, writes,

Acting in accord with what he considered to be the wishes of his father Hallam burned "many" papers and put others in collections fenced round with an interdict which prohibited in perpetuity anyone copying or reproducing them in any way. They were to remain mere exhibits, safe from the hands of scholars.

But in a contradictory fashion Hallam himself did closely study the manuscripts in the family collection when he set about writing the official biography of his father, and he felt free to quote at length from "Manuscripts never meant for the public eye" (Ibid., pp. XV-XVI)—to cite his own words. And in later years the attitude of the Tennyson family has softened on this question. In 1956 Charles Tennyson sold a collection of manuscripts to Harvard imposing no restrictions on their use save that they might not be used to alter accepted readings of the poems. In 1964 the present Lord Tennyson loaned, on an indefinite basis, yet another collection of papers and books to the Tennyson Research Centre in Lincoln with the same minimal restriction. Finally in 1969 the family was able to lift the "perpetual" interdict on the manuscripts at Oxford and Cambridge, thus opening all the extant Tennyson papers to scholars.

Thus the time has come for further serious study of Tennyson bibliography. What follows is as complete a list of manuscripts and printer's proofs as the author has been able to assemble. Those familiar with the poem and the questions it poses will recognize at once that this suddenly expanded Idylls bibliography presents a spate of new problems, problems which the textual history of the poem which follows this list will attempt to solve.

A Bibliography of the Idylls of the King

Manuscripts and Printer's Proofs

• Note: Individual items are grouped according to the repositories which hold them. For each item there is a reference code which contains two or three bits of information. First, an abbreviation of the name of the repository. These abbreviations accord with the Union List of Serials and the British Union Catalogue save for the abbreviations for the Pierpont Morgan Library and the Tennyson Research Centre, which have been created by the author. Second, some codes include another abbreviation, if the item is held within a special section of a library, such as the Ashley Collection at the British Museum. Third, the code contains a number which refers to the particular item.
• CF Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University
• (CF-Hth) Heath Commonplace Book. MS copy of "Morte d'Arthur"

• CSmH Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery
• (CSmH-HM-1323) MS of portions of "The Holy Grail," "The Last Tournament," and "Balin and Balan"
• (CSmH-HM-1324) MS of the song from "Pelleas and Ettarre"
• (CSmH-HM-1326) MS of "Merlin and Vivien"
• (CSmH-HM-19494) MS, in another hand, with authorial corrections, of the song from "Pelleas and Ettarre"

• CT Trinity College Library, Cambridge, England
• (CT-17) Two MS drafts for "Morte d'Arthur"
• (CT-28) Short sketch for "Lancelot and Elaine"
• (CT-29) MS of "The Holy Grail"
• (CT-30) MS of "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid"
• (CT-31) MS of "Balin and Balan"
• (CT-39) MSS of "Guinevere" and "Lancelot and Elaine"

• CtY Yale University Library
• (CtY-I) MS of "Merlin and Vivien"
• (CtY-II) MS of "The Marriage of Geraint"
• (CtY-III) MS of "Geraint and Enid" and "Merlin and Vivien"
• (CtY-IV) MS of the song from "Guinevere"
• (CtY-V) MS of the "Dedication" in another hand
• (CtY-VI) Proof of the "Dedication"
• (CtY-VII) Proof of "Merlin and Vivien"

• L British Museum Library
• (L-1) Trial book Enid and Nimuë: The True and the False (1857) containing proofs for "The Marriage of Geraint," "Geraint and Enid," and "Merlin and Vivien"
• (L-2) Proofs for "Lancelot and Elaine" and "Guinevere"

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• (L-3) Leaflet edition of the "Dedication"
• Ashley Library, British Museum Library
• (L-A-2101) Proof of "The Last Tournament"
• (L-A-2104) Proof of The Holy Grail, Etc. This volume once had portions of MS bound in. These have now been removed and are kept in the manuscript room of the British Museum Library. Here they are designated as Ashley Scraps (L-A-S).
• (L-A-2109) Proof of "Gareth and Lynette"
• (L-A-2111) Leaflet version of the "Epilogue"
• (L-A-4521) MS of a portion of "The Coming of Arthur"

• LiT The Tennyson Research Centre, Lincoln, England
• (LiT-M1) and (LiT-M2) Two proof states for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (LiT-EN1), (LiT,EN2), and (LiT-EN3) Three proof states for "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid"
• (LiT-L2) Proof for "Lancelot and Elaine"
• (LiT-HG1) and (LiT-HG2) Two proof states for The Holy Grail, Etc.
• (LiT-B1) and (LiT-B2) Two proof states for "Balin and Balan"
• (LiT-HG3) Proof for "The Holy Grail" as (MH-H-HGP)

• LU University of London
• The Sterling Library
• (LU-S-925) Proof of The Holy Grail, Etc.
• (LU-S-929) Proof of "Gareth and Lynette"

• LVA Victoria and Albert Museum Library
• The John Forster Collection
• (LVA-F) Proofs for "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid" (two, designated LVA-F-EN1 and LVA-F-EN2), "Merlin and Vivien" (two, designated LVA-F-M1 and LVA-F-M2), "Lancelot and Elaine" and "Guinevere"

• MH Harvard University Library
• The Houghton Library
• (MH-H-HGP) Proof of "The Holy Grail"
• (MH-H-16) Notes on Arthurian legends
• (MH-H-21) Copy of "Morte d'Arthur" in the hand of James Spedding
• (MH-H-26) Note on Arthur; early sketch for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-30) MS for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-31) MS for "Merlin and Vivien" and "Guinevere"
• (MH-H-32) MS for "Gareth and Lynette," "Balin and Balan," and "Epilogue"
• (MH-H-33) MS for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-34) MS for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-35) MS for "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid"
• (MH-H-36) MS for "Guinevere"
• (MH-H-37) MS for "Balin and Balan" and "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-38) MS for "The Holy Grail"
• (MH-H-39) MS for "The Coming of Arthur," "Merlin and Vivien," and "The Passing of Arthur"
• (MH-H-40) MS for "The Last Tournament" and "Gareth and Lynette"
• (MH-H-47) MS for "Balin and Balan"
• (MH-H-29a) MS for "The Coming of Arthur"
• (MH-H-71a) MS for "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid"
• (MH-H-73a) MS for "Guinevere"
• (MH-H-95a) MS for "Dedication"
• (MH-H-96a) MS for "Dedication"
• (MH-H-97a) MS of a rejected fragment in another hand

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• (MH-H-114a) MS for "Lancelot and Elaine"
• (MH-H-152a) MS for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-153a) MS for "Merlin and Vivien"
• (MH-H-159a) MS of "Morte d'Arthur" in another hand
• (MH-H-952.8) MS draft of the title page for the 1859 edition of Idylls of the King Amy Lowell Collection
• (MH-Lo-1) MS of "Merlin and Vivien" and for "Geraint and Enid"
• The Widener Library
• (MH-W-S) MS passage from "The Passing of Arthur"
• (MH-W-Pf) MS passages from "Gareth and Lynette" bound into a set of proofs for the 1873 Library Edition

• NN New York Public Library
• The Berg Collection
• (NN-B-I) MS for "The Coming of Arthur"
• (NN-B-II) Proof of "Gareth and Lynette"
• (NN-B-III) MS of "The Last Tournament"
• (NN-B-IV) MS for "Gareth and Lynette"
• (NN-B-V) MS of "The Song of the Battleaxe" from "The Coming of Arthur"
• (NN-B-VI) Proof of "The Holy Grail"
• (NN-B-VII) Proof of the explanatory paragraph for Gareth and Lynette, Etc.
• (NN-B-VIII) Proof copy of The Holy Grail, Etc.

• NPM Pierpont Morgan Library
• (NPM) MS for "The Coming of Arthur"

• O Bodleian Library
• (O-B.3) MS of "Gareth and Lynette"

• TxU University of Texas Library
• Miriam Lutcher Stark Library
• (TxU-S-GP2) Proof of "Gareth and Lynette"
• (TxU-S-GP3) Proof of "Gareth and Lynette"
• (TxU-S-C73) The (72) edition of Gareth and Lynette, Etc. with MS corrections for (73)
• (TxU-S-LTP) Proof of "The Last Tournament"
• (TxU-S-S) Fragmentary drafts for "The Coming of Arthur," "Balin and Balan," "The Passing of Arthur," "Gareth and Lynette"
• (TxU-S-C) MS for "The Coming of Arthur"
• (TxU-S-E) MS of "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enid" in the hand of Emily S. Tennyson with MS corrections by the author

• VU University of Virginia Library
• Alderman Library
• (VU-A) MS for "Lancelot and Elaine"

Published Editions

• Note: Only those editions are listed which play a significant part in the evolution of the text. Title page descriptions come from copies examined in the British Museum Library. An abbreviated symbol, enclosed in parentheses, follows each entry.
• Enid and Nimuë: | The True and the False. | By | Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L., | Poet Laureate. | London: | Edward Moxon, Dover Street. | 1857. (57)
• The | True and the False. | Four Idylls of the King. | By Alfred Tennyson, | P. L.; D. C. L. | London: | Edward Moxon & Co., Dover Street. | 1859. (59-1)

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• Idylls of the King. | By | Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L., | Poet Laureate. | 'Flos Regum Arthurus.' | Joseph of Exeter. | London: | Edward Moxon & Co., Dover Street. | 1859. (59-2)
• Idylls of the King. | By | Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L., | Poet Laureate. | 'Flos Regum Arthurus.' | Joseph of Exeter. | A New Edition. | London: | Edward Moxon & Co., Dover Street. | 1862. (62)
• Idylls of the King. | By | Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L., | Poet Laureate. | 'Flos Regum Arthurus.' | Joseph of Exeter. | A New Edition. | [Dev.] | London: | Edward Moxon & Co., Dover Street. | 1867. (67)
• The Holy Grail | And Other Poems | By Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L. | Poet Laureate | "Flos Regum Arthurus." | Joseph of Exeter | [Dev.] | Strahan and Co., Publishers | 56 Ludgate Hill, London | 1870 (69)
• Idylls of the King | By Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L. | Poet Laureate | "Flos Regum Arthurus." | Joseph of Exeter | [Dev.] | Strahan & Co., Publishers | 56 Ludgate Hill, London | 1869 | All rights reserved. (69)
• (Miniature Edition of Tennyson's Works.) The Works of | Alfred Tennyson, | Poet Laureate. | [Dev.] | [Number and title of volume] | [Dev.] | Strahan and Co. Publishers, | Ludgate Hill, London. | 1870. (70) (The Idylls occupy Volumes IV, V, and VI.)
• Gareth and Lynette | Etc. | By Alfred Tennyson, D.C.L. | Poet Laureate | Strahan and Co. | 56 Ludgate Hill, London | 1872 | (All rights reserved.) (72)
• (Library Edition of Tennyson's Works.) The Works of | Alfred Tennyson | Poet Laureate | Vol. V. Idylls of the King | "Flos Regum Arthurus." | Joseph of Exeter. | Strahan & Co. | 56 Ludgate Hill, London | 1873 (73) (The Idylls occupy Volumes V and VI.)
• (Cabinet Edition of Tennyson's Works.) The Works of | Alfred Tennyson. | [Title of the Volume] | Henry S. King & Co. | 65, Cornhill, & 12, Paternoster Row, London. | 1874. (74) (The Idylls occupy Volumes V, VI, and VII.)
• (Author's Edition of Tennyson's Works.) The Poetical Works of | Alfred Tennyson. | [Volume Number] | Henry S. King & Co., London. | 1874. (74) (The Idylls occupy Volume II.)
• Tiresias | and Other Poems | By Alfred Tennyson | D.C.L. P.L. | London | Macmillan and Co. | 1885 (85)

Tennyson's Method of Composition

There stands the list, ordered according to the repositories in which the documents now lie. Such an organization in itself indicates the next problem to be faced. How do these various scraps of paper, small blue note-books, tattered proof sheets covered with printer's scrawls, how do they all fit together into the final completed poem which we now know as the Idylls of the King? The question is one of chronology, and will be answered with a short history of the poem itself, into which each document can be fitted. The authority for the chronology is purely textual. Every manuscript, proof sheet and edition has been collated with the final version and compared with its fellows, following the theory that as an individual text

diverges from the final version more and more, it can be considered to come earlier and earlier in the history of the poem.

But before we begin we must consider how Tennyson set about writing poetry. Once we know something about his methods of composition, we will be able to readily understand the relationships among these scattered and confused sources.

Tennyson was a man who did much of his work in his head—he was not addicted to scratch pads and doodling. He would begin a new work with a period of brooding which, for his longer works, could last for months. In his later years he described this habit to a friend. "I can always write," he said, 'when I see my subject, though sometimes I spend three quarters of a year without putting pen to paper."[7] Such a practice rules out the possibility that we will discover in the manuscripts a large number of false-starts and half-formed conceptions.

Only when he had roughed out the entire pattern of the poem, when he could "see" it, would Tennyson begin the work of versification. This too began mentally, either during certain hours which he formally set aside for composition, or during his long rambles about the downs of the Isle of Wight. He would begin, his son tells us, with a "single phrase" which he would "roll about" in his head, over and over, elaborating it into poetry (Mem., I, 268). As he worked he muttered the lines aloud, testing their sound and feel; his was always a "verbal" poetry (Ibid., p. 378). At this stage the poem was in a remarkably fluid state. As a friend of his tells us, "he might say aloud and almost as it were to himself, some passage he had just made, but seldom twice in the same words, and unless written down at once, the first and original form of it was lost or 'improved'" (Knowles, p. 168). It is at this point in his creative process that Tennyson would begin jotting down his lines. The overall plan was established and he was creating poetry to fit that plan. As it came to him he would write it down, even if, as was often the case, he had only two or three lines ready. It seems evident from the confusion of his notebooks that he did not work through his poems from the first line to the last, creating them in sequence. Rather, he would work on whatever passage or scene seemed "ready" for composition. The end result of this method is the jumbled state of the earliest drafts which have survived. These are usually scattered across the pages without order or pattern and frequently appear in a scrawl which clearly mirrors its writer's hurry.

As he continued to work Tennyson would commence molding these random scraps together into a continuous narrative, altering phrases, lines, sometimes entire blocks of lines. Though the overall patterns persist, minor characters and incidental scenes appear and dissolve as the final poem begins to emerge. Sir Lamorack falls into shadow; elsewhere, Sir Bors

appears. The final text is, in fact, the product of relentless and persistent craft. Though Tennyson may have labored hours shaping a line, he is merciless with his creations, and again and again he will chip and patch, write and rewrite, cut or expand. For some poems we have draft after draft, each filled with new revisions, some of which seem to us as perhaps inordinately picayune, but which to Tennyson were, in fact, of equal importance to the cancellation of an entire passage. When Tennyson began working on his second set of four Idylls he turned to a new compositional procedure. The process of slowly molding scraps of poetry in his head was evidently enormously taxing, and consequently he began to write out prose drafts of his poems before the actual versification.

Most of the manuscripts, both prose and verse, which have survived, are on a variety of pale blue paper of which Tennyson was fond. He purchased this paper unbound and worked on it in quires, often ripping out pages if he was dissatisfied. As the work progressed from fragmentary scraps to continuous narrative, he would begin writing on only the right hand page, reserving the left for the inevitable alterations and additions. In this manner he was sometimes able (e.g. in the Trinity "Enid" [CT-30]) to assemble pages from various drafts into a fair copy. When the poem was finished his wife would frequently sew the pages into small "notebooks" and hand cover them with marbled boards and orange-red spines.

Following the final manuscript draft would come the spate of proof sheets, over which Tennyson worked with great care. While he was writing out his poetry in manuscript Tennyson never concerned himself with punctuation. Many times he would write on for lines without a single punctuation mark, frequently even neglecting to capitalize the first word of a sentence. He was a wealthy and successful poet by the time he actually began the Idylls, and his publishers were evidently happy to cater to what must have been his expensive preference. The slightly punctuated manuscripts would be sent to the typesetter whose proof sheets became the ground on which Tennyson worked out his punctuation. Because he was such a perfectionist this could often be an extended process in itself. The most extreme example is "Merlin and Vivien" which went through five different versions of proof before it was finally set up and sent to the printer. Years later, when preparing "Gareth and Lynette," Tennyson reduced the number of proof states he needed, but heavily corrected two different copies of the same proof state, evidently trying to get the punctuation "right" on the first try. Even then he required two more proof states before the actual first edition was set up.

This scrupulosity, this endless nagging concern for his poems drove Tennyson to tinker at them even after they were finally placed under the public gaze. In virtually every new edition of his Idylls Tennyson would make alterations, generally in punctuation, but sometimes in word choice as well. For this reason, no copy of the poem printed during his life matches the final version, published only after his death. His epic was in

fact in a state of endless alteration, until finally death itself came to halt the tinkering.

A Bibliographic History of the Idylls of the King

Evidently from the days of his youth Tennyson had resolved on creating a "major poem," and from an equally early period he settled upon the Arthurian legends as a subject which had not yet been exhausted. Hallam Tennyson reprints in his biography three different sketches for an Arthur poem, all dating from the 1830s. One is a short prose draft, one a set of jottings which create an allegorical framework (presumedly for a large work), one an outline for a five-act play. And there were, evidently, further attempts, now lost. In 1859, when Tennyson was finally polishing his first four Idylls for the press, he wrote his friend the Duke of Argyll that, "Many years ago I did write 'Lancelot's Quest of the Grail' in as good verse as I ever wrote, no, I did not write, I made it in my head, and it has now altogether slipt out of memory (Mem., I, 457). The significance of these sketches and early, mentally composed poems is that the Arthurian legends represented for Tennyson, from the early days of his creative life, the monumental project which, in the future, it was his destiny to complete. There were moments when he was discouraged, diverted. But, from our vantage point, looking back on his career, it is difficult to see how he could have avoided writing the Idylls. It was, from the beginning, the focus of his life's work.

The poem, as we now have it, germinated during the intense emotional crisis which struck Tennyson on hearing of the death of his friend, Arthur Hallam, in 1833. Their friendship was deep and intense, and Tennyson felt a serious personal loss. But further, as the long sequence of lyrics In Memoriam: A. H. H. demonstrates, in Hallam's death Tennyson discovered the reality of death itself. The poems begun in this period are filled not only with laments for the departed Hallam, but with morose brooding over man's mortality. And it is in the midst of these sorrows and fears that the first draft of "Morte d'Arthur" appears, written out in a notebook between In Memoriam lyrics and sketches for "The Two Voices," once titled "Thoughts of a Suicide" (Mem., I, 109). This first draft appears in a Trinity College manuscript (Ct—17) and is clearly headlined First Draft. The manuscript also contains a second draft of the poem, this time with the lines numbered. Sir Charles Tennyson is sure these drafts were done during the year 1833.[8] Tennyson was evidently finished with the poem by 1834, when "he told Tennant he was busily copying out his 'Morte d'Arthur' . . ." (Mem., I, 138).

The poem was not published until the now-famous two-volume edition of Tennyson poems published in 1842. But this does not mean that it rested on the shelf during the interval between its drafting and its first

publication. Tennyson was habitually reading his poems to his friends; and Edward Fitzgerald, the translator of Omar Khayyám, tells of hearing Tennyson read the "Morte" in 1835 (Mem., I, 153). In addition, Tennyson permitted close friends to copy from his manuscript. Several copies still exist. One is from The Heath Commonplace Book (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), a manuscript collection of poems by a friend of Tennyson. At the Houghton Library, Harvard, there are two more copies of the poem, one probably in the hand of James Spedding (MH-H-21).

Whereas the poem was popular with his friends, Tennyson was not at all sure of its public reception. He intended it to be a test of public reaction to his long meditated Arthurian epic. Tennyson hoped a short poem would be readily accessible. "I thought that a small vessel, built on fine lines, is likely to float further down the stream of Time than a big raft."[9] Regardless of the merit of the poem itself, Tennyson's fears were probably justified. "In 1842," as Kathleen Tillotson has written, "Arthurian story was still strange to the ordinary reader, and even felt to be unacceptable as a subject for poetry."[10] To prepare the public, Tennyson cushioned his Arthurian tale with a framing poem called "The Epic" which describes a drowsy Christmas Eve party at which the poet Everard Hall is persuaded to read his Arthurian poem, one of "some twelve books" (1.22) which he had burnt, dissatisfied "that nothing new was said, or else/Something so said 'twas nothing . . ." (11.30-31).

The experiment, even with the cushion, was a failure. The collection as a whole drew praise, but the "Morte d'Arthur" was criticized, particularly by John Sterling who felt that "The miraculous legend of 'Excalibur' does not come very near to us, and as reproduced by any modern writer must be a mere ingenious exercise of fancy."[11] Though he often affected indifference, Tennyson was deeply hurt by critical remarks, and in this case he himself confessed that Sterling's strictures "finally decided him to postpone this project, making him feel his powers were not adequate to the task."[12] With this melancholy, though perhaps accurate self-assessment, Tennyson let his Arthurian project lapse for fifteen years. It was twenty-seven years until the "Morte d'Arthur" would be integrated into a new and growing epic whole.

But while Tennyson busied himself with other projects, it is clear that the Idylls were never far from his mind. In 1843, the year after Sterling's review, he was already fashioning the first lines of "Merlin and Vivien" (ll. 228-231) while on a trip to Ireland (Mem., I, 218). In subsequent years he made other trips, with his purpose even more evident. In 1848 he visited

Bude, Tintagel (Mark's Castle), and Land's End at the tip of Cornwall, legendary land of Lancelot (Ibid., pp. 274-275). Sir Charles Tennyson tells us that on his return home he began work on a Merlin poem, but was interrupted.[13] In August of 1853 Tennyson traveled to Glastonbury (Mem., I, 376-377), the ruined abbey which legend says Joseph of Arimathea founded when he reached England. Readers of the Idylls will recognize at once that these are all places which the poem mentions and describes. Though he may not have admitted it at the time, Tennyson was doing research.

When Tennyson began again, he began in earnest, though the exact date of his new start is subject to debate. Sir Charles Tennyson says that a rough draft for this new Arthurian poem, now called "Merlin and Vivien," was finished by January of 1856.[14] Hallam Tennyson tells us the poem was begun February 1856 and complete (at least in its first form) by March 31st (Mem., I, 414; Mat., II, 161). There still exist a remarkable number of manuscripts and proof states for this poem. We have no less than five different manuscripts representing the early stages of composition, probably written out in the early months of 1856. Two of these manuscripts are single sheets of paper. (MH-H-152) covers lines 237-261, and (CtY-III). actually a torn shred of paper, includes lines 916-918, with fragmentary jotting from "Enid" on the reverse. Then there are three small notebooks which contain more extensive sketches and drafts—(MH-H-30) and (MH-H-31) are both bound, and both have been severely mutilated. (MH-H-30) covers lines 315-353, c. 691ff., and 805-826. (MH-H-31), which also includes drafts for "Guinevere," covers lines 811-843. (MH-H-153a), 16 pages of paper sewn together, contains extensive drafts, in somewhat scrambled order, covering lines 267-458, 553-630, 666-683, 838-862.

All of these manuscripts represent Tennyson's first steps in composition. All of them, save (CtY-III), remained in the family collection until the 1950s. There are also two fair drafts of the whole poem still extant. The first, presented to Frederick Locker and auctioned in 1924,[15] is now in the Huntington Library (CSmH-HM-1326). This draft precedes the second fair copy, now in the Harvard Library as Lowell 1827.12.[16] Tennyson gave this manuscript to Mrs. Julia Cameron, the pioneer photographer and his neighbor on the Isle of Wight. She sent to him asking for the manuscript for "Guinevere," the Victorian favorite from the first volume of the Idylls. Evidently Emily Tennyson was slightly piqued at this, and Alfred sent Mrs. Cameron the draft for "Merlin and Vivien" (Mat., II, 220). It, like

the Huntington, is complete, and it is evidently one of the last copies made before the first printed proof.

"Merlin and Vivien" was not, in its early stages, known by that title. In fact, the wily seductress of Arthur's wizard is called, on all the manuscript drafts and in the early proof states, Nimuë. And that name was the first title given the poem.

There are five different states of printer's proof for "Nimuë"—"Vivien," the first four employing the name "Nimuë." The first of these is in the British Museum "trial book" Enid and Nimuë: The True and the False, designated here as (L-1). The second is one of two proof states bound in the Forster Library volume, The True and the False. It can be distinguished from the later Forster proof by the name of the villainess, and by its length, 97 pages. The third proof state is represented by three different copies, two in the Tennyson Research Centre in Lincoln, designated (LiT-M1), one in the Yale Library (CtY-VIII), which is fragmentary. The fourth state, in two copies, can also be found at the Tennyson Centre, and is here called (LiT-M2). In the fifth state the name is finally altered to "Vivien." The sole known copy of this state is the second proof for "Merlin and Vivien" in the Forster collection. It is 101 pages in length. Finally, there is the actual first edition state, which appeared in 1859. A quick glance will show the vital role these successive proof stages played in the development of the poem's punctuation, as well as in the final polishing of certain phrases and lines. Tennyson was not finished with "Merlin and Vivien" after the 1859 publication. He was to return to it again in the years 1872-1874, to alter a number of passages, and add 140 new lines. I will describe the manuscripts relating to these changes in my account of the 1873 and 1874 editions.

Having finished a draft of "Merlin and Vivien" Tennyson turned at once to another tale, which he called, initially, "Enid," but which modern readers know as two distinct idylls, "The Marriage of Geraint," and "Geraint and Enid." In 1870 the poem was retitled "Geraint and Enid," and in 1873 Tennyson split it in half, numbering the parts I and II. Only in 1886 was the first half called "The Marriage of Geraint." For convenience, I will presently deal with it as Tennyson first did, as a single entity, titled "Enid."

Emily Tennyson's diary mentions from time to time the progress her husband was making on this, his second idyll. He began it on 16 April, 1856 (Mat., I, 161). On June 1st he was working on the song "Come in" (Ibid., p. 164). June 16th he wrote his wife that Enid was "a little harder to manage than Merlin" (Ibid., p. 165). By July 27 he had finished the scene describing Geraint asking for Enid's hand (Ibid., p. 167) and on August 1st the tournament was done (Ibid., p. 168). By October 17 he was far enough along to read aloud from "Enid" to his friends, but on November 11 he was still "working at Enid" (Ibid., p. 173). Only on May 6, 1857,

could he finally write his wife from London telling her that the final proof sheets had been sent to press (Ibid., p. 180).

In the existing manuscripts one can see the struggle which consumed Tennyson over these months. "Enid" is a long poem even by Victorian standards. And it was all composed, bit by bit, in the poet's head, and the scraps jotted down as they came. The notebook, (MH-H-32) is filled, from cover to cover, with such jottings, scattered in random order, written right side up, up side down, sideways. (MH-H-71a) is just slightly more organized.[17] These two manuscripts show us Tennyson laboring over every line. And he faces even more prodigious difficulties when it comes time to join these scraps, along with the "Enid" drafts from (MH-Lo-1) and from manuscripts now lost, into a single, continuous whole. We can see these difficulties in the Trinity manuscript (CT-30). By this point Tennyson is pulling things together, but the struggle involved is manifest in the remarkable number of alterations and revisions which crowd the pages of the Trinity copy. In an effort to see the poem clearly, Tennyson had his wife make a fair draft from the Trinity manuscript, and then recommenced his alterations on this copy, now in the University of Texas Library (TxU-S-E). And his labors extend even into the poem's numerous proof states. The first state exists in two copies, one in the Forster True and False volume (LVA-F-EN1), the other at the Tennyson Centre. (LiT-EN-1). The student can readily spot them by the bizarre printer's error in line 74 of "The Marriage of Geraint," "the column of his knotted throat." The second "Enid" proof state is in the British Museum trial book Enid and Nimuë (L-1). The third and fourth states are both in the Tennyson Research Centre, and are here called (LiT-EN2), (LiT-EN3). The final proof state, again in the Forster volume, is called (LVA-F-EN2).

Once Tennyson had finished the first manuscript drafts for both "Nimuë" and "Enid," he had them set up in type and bound together into a "trial book," a job his printer had finished by May 6, 1857 (Mat., II, 180). As we have already said, this book contains the first "Nimuë" state and the second "Enid" state. Tennyson titled it Enid and Nimuë: The True and the False. Evidently he was seriously considering publishing only these first two poems. And as Hallam Tennyson tells us, "Several friends urged the immediate publication of the newly-written Idylls, among them Jowett, who says . . . 'Anyone who cares about you is deeply annoyed that you are deterred by critics from writing or publishing . . .'" (Mem., I, 425-426). But Tennyson decided against publishing the pair. F. T. Palgrave tells the story.

So Tennyson withdrew his "trial book." But he did not turn from his Arthurian epic. Instead, he recommenced writing idylls.

The third, in fact, was already begun by July 9, 1857, when he presented his wife with lines 575-577 of what was to be the poem "Guinevere" (Mem., I, 419). By January 8, 1858 he had written the parting of Arthur and Guinevere (Mat., II, 193). February 1st, Guinevere's final speech, March 5th the song "Too Late," and on March 15th, a finished fair copy (Ibid., p. 195). This was faster work than "Enid" had been, and in later life Tennyson confidently told a friend he had written the poem in "a fortnight" (Mem., II, 202).

The most fascinating "Guinevere" manuscript is (MH-H-31), an early set of sketches for lines 238-253. They tell of the early, magical days of the reign of Arthur, and depict a kingdom of marvels, filled with fairies. These early drafts are narrated in the first person. In later drafts Tennyson put the tale into the mouth of the little novice, thus altering it into a fable recounted of the distant past. (MH-H-36) is, however, the most important of the "Guinevere" manuscripts. As Sir Charles Tennyson describes it, "A characteristic of this fragmentary rough draft is the number of rough notes, often mere indicators of the rhythm and wording of the final text, which are jotted down, here and there, apparently just to fix an idea which had come into the poet's mind."[19] As the manuscript goes on there appear longer continuous passages. The whole covers lines 127-209, 398-682. (CtY-IV) contains a manuscript copy of the song "Too Late," and (MH-H-73a), a single sheet, includes lines 365-394. The Trinity manuscript (CT-39) is a fair draft of the whole poem and leads directly to the first proof state. This can be found in a small volume in the British Museum catalogued as C.133.a.7 (Here, L-2). A second state is in the Forster True and False volume.

Guinevere was finished and copied in March, 1858. By mid-June Emily writes, "He told me his plan for 'The Maid of Astolat.'" (Mat., II,200). We hear little else about the new poem until February 4, 1859, when Tennyson was "finished writing down all but a little of 'The Maid of Astolat'" (Ibid., p. 213). This poem which we now know as "Lancelot and Elaine" retained "The Maid of Astolat" title through two proof states, then becoming "Elaine." Only in 1870 was the title finally altered to the present "Lancelot and Elaine."

Remarkably little seems to have survived from the creation of this long poem. The Houghton Library has a single sheet (MH-H-114a) covering

lines 1346-1352. There exists only one other early manuscript, but that a very important one. Once in the library of Templeton Crocker, it is now in the Alderman Library of the University of Virginia. Consisting of thirty leaves, this manuscript contains about 725 lines, written, as in the early drafts of the three preceding idylls, in scraps and short blocks of verse. In the Trinity College manuscript (CT-39) these blocks come together. This, while a continuous draft, can hardly be called final. There are many variants, and sometimes, as in the case of Lancelot's final soliloquy, the poet is still roughing out the shape and length of the poem itself. Three proof states survive. The first two are both titled "The Maid of Astolat," though in the second state this is crossed out and replaced (in manuscript) with the new title "Elaine." The first state is found in the small (L-2) book which also contains a proof of "Guinevere." There are portions of another copy of this state at the Tennyson Research Centre. The Centre also possesses the sole copy of the second state, called here (LiT-L2). There is, finally, a third proof state in the Forster volume.

It is time now to talk at greater length about that peculiar book which contains the last proof states of all four idylls as well as the first state of "Enid" and the second of "Nimuë." All are bound together and headed with a title page which was later rejected. Evidently Forster obtained both a complete version of a very late "trial book," created just before the first edition, and some earlier proofs as well, and had them all bound together. This would then be, in part, a second "trial book," and it is considered such by most bibliographers. It bears the title The/ True and the False./ Four Idylls of the King. The University of Virginia possesses another copy of this title page, altered by Tennyson into the final form which was used for the first printing. Why did he change The True and the False to the Idylls of the King? Wise suggests that the 1859 publication of a novel by Lena Eden, False and True, forced the alteration.[20] Whatever the reason, the title page was reset, and yet another set of plates prepared, but this time for an actual publication.

In March 1859 Tennyson went to London to work on the final proofs, and in May the last proofs of "Elaine" were complete (Mem., I, 437). Forty thousand copies were ordered for the first printing and, in the first week of sales, 10,000 copies were sold (Ibid., p. 444). The volume was in the end both financially and poetically very successful.

But with success came the burden of pressure. The first four idylls were not at all a closed entity. Their episodic nature left them open to addition. Further, by this date the initial criticisms of "Morte d'Arthur" were part of a distant past, and any ardent Tennyson reader would have wished that poem to be integrated somehow into a larger whole.

On 24 September 1859, the Duke of Argyll wrote Tennyson, "Macaulay

. . . was in great hopes that you would pursue the subject of King Arthur, and particularly mentioned the Legend of the 'Sangreal' as also the latter days and death of Lancelot" (Mat., II, 236). But Tennyson was not ready and replied on October 3 that "As to Macaulay's suggestion of the Sangreal, I doubt whether such a subject could be handled in these days, without incurring a charge of irreverence. . . . The old writers believed in the Sangreal" (Mem., I, 457). So, for the moment, the Idylls gave way to other concerns.

On 14 December 1861 Albert, the Prince Consort, died. Tennyson began, almost immediately,[21] to compose a poem dedicating his Idylls to Albert, who once had personally indicated pleasure in the Laureate's Arthurian epic (Mem., I, 455). By January 9, 1862, Tennyson's publishers had the poem set in type.[22] Special copies were printed up and circulated free to those who already possessed a copy of the Idylls. Tennyson sent some copies to the Princess Alice; she replied on January 19, that the Queen felt the poem's lines "had soothed her aching, bleeding heart." (Mem., I, 479-480) There are three manuscript copies of this dedication still extant. (MH-H-96a) is clearly a first draft, with (MH-H-95a) coming as a second draft, embodying the corrections of the first. There is also a peculiar copy made in another hand (CtY-V), which was evidently transcribed from (MH-H-96a) before it was corrected. The Yale Library also has the only known printer's proof for the Dedication (CtY-VI) with manuscript corrections in Tennyson's hand. The British Museum has a copy of the free leaflet, under the press mark C.59.i.2. In 1862 a fourth edition of the Idylls appeared, with a few minor corrections. This edition included, for the first time, the Dedication.

In the meantime, the Holy Grail project continued to trouble Tennyson. In January, 1862, Emily Tennyson writes that "A. T. talks of writing an Idyll on the Quest of the Sangreal but fears handling the subject lest it become irreverent" (Mat., II, 342). The external pressures to expand the Idylls continued as well. On February 23 of the same year Argyll wrote that the Princess Royal "is very anxious that you should make the Morte d'Arthur an ending of the Idylls—adding only something to connect it to Guinevere."[23] It seems evident that Tennyson wanted to go on, but could not find the way.

The dam finally broke in March of 1868. Emily writes, "A. T now worked regularly . . . writing 'The Holy Grail'" (Mat., II, 79). In April yew trees rich with pollen inspired both lines 13-16 of "The Holy Grail" and lyric XXXIV of In Memoriam (Mem., II., 53). By the 9th and 11th of September Tennyson was reading bits of the new poem aloud (Mat., III, 88). September 14 Emily writes that Alfred is ". . . almost finished with the

'San Gral' in about a week (he had the subject clearly for some time). It came like a breath of inspiration" (Ibid., p. 90). This at first sounds self-contradictory, since there are so many references to earlier composition. Evidently Tennyson must have been considering the poem as a whole for some time and creating only scraps until the momentous week in September when it all came like an "inspiration." The Houghton notebook (MH-H-38) bears this out. It consists of a rough draft of the entire poem in prose, the first instance of Tennyson's following this practice in the creation of a particular idyll. The prose draft occasionally slips into sections of verse, and those could be the bits and pieces he had created incidentally before setting down the prose version. Following the prose comes a verse draft, written out with relative confidence. This is probably the work book for that week of inspiration. Huntington (CSmH-HM-1323) contains a few further drafts for "The Holy Grail," drafts of passages which were still being developed after (MH-H-38). On October 22 Emily tells us that Tennyson "finished copying out his 'Holy Grail' for the press." (Ibid.) She is probably referring to what is now Trinity notebook (CT-29), which contains a complete draft of the poem in a form very close to the first proof state. In November the poem was sent to the printer (Mem., II, 59).

This brings us to a peculiar problem. Tennyson went on, immediately after composing "The Holy Grail," to write three further idylls. All four were set up in proof at the same time and appear, grouped together, in four different proof states. It is easy to arrange these in order. But, in addition, there are two proofs for "The Holy Grail" alone. In both of these proofs the page numbers are printed between parentheses at the center of the page top. The problem is to determine the order of succession.

We begin with the four states of proof for the entire volume, The Holy Grail, Etc. The first of these is in the Ashley Library at the British Museum (L-A-2104). The volume, originally owned by Fredrick Locker-Lampson, was purchased at his death by T. J. Wise. It bears no title page. Of the four idylls therein, three have titles differing from the final version. "The Coming of Arthur" is called "The Birth of Arthur," "Pelleas and Ettarre" is "Sir Pelleas," and "The Passing of Arthur" is "The Death of Arthur." There are manuscript corrections. The second state of proof is in the John Sterling Library at the University of London (LU-S-925). This volume contains the four Grail idylls plus copies of the 1859 idylls, all bound together to form a trial version. The last two proof states are both represented in the collection of the Tennyson Research Centre, Lincoln. There is one copy of (LiT-HG1) with the last idyll ending on page 156; the Berg Collection also has a copy of this state (NN-B-VIII), with manuscript corrections. Lincoln holds two copies of (LiT-HG2), with the last idyll ending on page 158. Both of the last two states employ the now-standard titles for the poems. This sequence of four states is readily established. The difficulty arises when one tries to explain where the two special "Holy Grail" proofs belong. The following is my conjecture.

Tennyson first had the four poems set up in the volume (L-A-2104). He made a few corrections in this version (only eight in the case of "The Holy Grail"), and a second copy was pulled, (LU-S-925). Meanwhile, for the sake of ease, Tennyson had his printers make up some sheets from the Ashley version for further correction and emendation. The corrections from both (L-A-2104) and this new set of proofs (NN-B-VI) were embodied in a second "Holy Grail" proof (MH-H-HGP). Meanwhile, following the Ashley/Sterling tradition only, another version of all four idylls was set up (LiT-HG1) and (NN-B-VIII). Then Tennyson combined the corrections from the (LiT-HG1) (NN-B-VIII) state and the (MH-H-HGP) state into yet another proof state, (LiT-HG2). This became the source of the first edition.

This explanation is complex, and not terribly satisfying. But it seems at least possible, giving the existing confusion of the data.

We have dealt with the proof states for all the idylls included in The Holy Grail, Etc. But we must return now to a brief description of the creation of the three poems which accompanied the title idyll. These poems—"The Coming of Arthur," "Pelleas and Ettarre," and "The Passing of Arthur"—were all written within a remarkably short period of time. The earliest drafts have all been mutilated mercilessly, and probably for commercial motives. It was the custom in the late nineteenth century for a book dealer to increase the value of an item by binding with it manuscript fragments which had an "associational value." A rich collector would be more tempted to purchase a first edition of the Idylls if some manuscript scraps were bound in with the book. Evidently the first drafts for "The Coming of Arthur," "Pelleas and Ettarre," and "The Passing of Arthur" were in the possession of Frederick Locker-Lampson, whose Rowfant

Library was auctioned in 1904-1905. Thomas J. Wise bought much of this collection, and a few years later he sold John Henry Wrenn a copy of The Holy Grail, Etc. volume with numerous scraps of manuscript bound in.[24] Wise himself retained the proof copy (L-A-2104) we have already discussed and had more scraps bound therein. It seems reasonable to assume that Wise possessed sketches of these three poems, cut up the manuscripts, and evenly distributed the fragments between his copy and Wrenn's. We find further support for this conjecture in the fact that Wise possessed a fair draft of lines 20-71 of the "Coming" while he sold Wrenn the rest of the manuscript, covering lines 74-423.[25] It is difficult to guess how much was lost as Wise plied his lucrative scissors. Certainly, we will never know in what manner these drafts were placed within the notebooks, nor how many draft passages have been destroyed.

Once finished with the story of "The Holy Grail" Tennyson turned to the problem of rendering the very earliest days of Arthur's reign. By February 13, 1869 he was reading portions of "the birth and marriage of Arthur" to his wife (Mem., II, 63). Before the end of February he had read her "all" of the poem, though on May 7 he had just finished "'Leodogran's dream,'" (Ibid., p. 65) the vision which finally persuades Guinevere's father to give her to Arthur in marriage. Probably he had finished the bulk of the poem in February but continued to add to it in later months. We possess early drafts of the poem in the Ashley and Texas (Wrenn) scraps. Next, there is an early full draft of the poem which exists part in the Ashley collection (L-A-4521), part in the Wrenn collection at Texas (TxU-S-C). Finally, there is a late draft in the Berg collection (NN-B-1). This came to New York via the A. H. Japp collection and the library of Jerome Kern.[26] These manuscripts give an account of the writing of the poem as it appeared in 1869. But Tennyson was not yet finished. In the 1873 Library Edition he added lines 66, 94-133, 459-469, 475-502. I will discuss these additions in relation to that volume.

On May 19th of 1869 Tennyson was already reading portions of a new poem, "Sir Pelleas," to his wife (Mat., III, 107). This tale had been on his mind for some time. On 28 June 1859 he had read Malory's "Sir Pelleas and Ettarre" to Mrs. Cameron and Emily Tennyson "with a view to a new poem" (Ibid., II, 220). Now, in the spring of 1869, he carried out his plan. As with "The Coming of Arthur," there are rough drafts, some prose, extant in the Ashley and Texas scraps. Texas also has a continuous draft of the poem (TxU-S-P). Lines 387-403 were added in the 1873 edition.

There seems to be no reliable means for dating the composition of "The Passing of Arthur," though it is safe to say that the work was done in the spring of 1869. Of course, much of the idyll was finished decades earlier,

as the "Morte d'Arthur." Tennyson now surrounded this poem with new material, fitting it into the overall pattern of his epic. Some early sketches for this framing material still exist. (MH-H-37), (MH-H-39), and a scrap of paper included in the proof state (NN-B-VIII) all contain drafts for Sir Bedivere's speech c. line 51. (MH-H-37) also has further sketches. The Ashley and Texas scraps offer some drafts, and a sheet bound into a copy of The Holy Grail, Etc. in the Widener collection holds a draft of lines 144-154. These are all preparatory manuscripts. There is no known fair copy. As it was published in 1869, "The Passing of Arthur" lacked lines 6-28, added in the 1873 edition.

On November 1, 1869, Emily Tennyson reports that "we were very busy about the new volume of poems, 'The Holy Grail'" (Mem., II, 83). It was around this time, then, that the four trial books already described were set up and amended. On November 25, Emily continues, "A. T. went with Mr. Locker to look after his proofs in London . . ." (Mat., III, 134). Forty thousand copies of the book were printed up at once, and, as Hallam tells us, "in consequence of the large sale, my father made more in this year than in any other, the profit realizing over 10,000 pounds" (Ibid., p. 138). The title page of this volume, The Holy Grail, Etc., is dated 1870, but the book was actually published in December to take advantage of the Christmas trade. Consequently, it is referred to in the present list as ('69). At the same time, Tennyson's publishers released an edition of the Idylls of the King which included not only The Holy Grail, Etc. poems, but the first four idylls as well. This text is subsequent to The Holy Grail, Etc. embodying certain corrections not in The Holy Grail, Etc. (In this list the 1869 Idylls of the King is designated '69). Both these volumes refer, for the first time, to the tales framed by "The Coming" and "The Passing" as "The Round Table." In 1870 Strahan issued an edition of Tennyson's complete works in small volumes, called the Miniature Edition. It contains all the idylls written to that date and is significant in that there are a number of changes in the titles of the poems. "Enid" becomes "Geraint and Enid," "Vivien," "Merlin and Vivien," and "Elaine," "Lancelot and Elaine." There are few textual alterations.

Tennyson was now past the hurdle posed by the San Graal tale, and he evidently regarded the Holy Grail volume as only a step towards his final end. In November of 1870 Emily records the fact that he has already written parts of a new poem, "The Last Tournament" (Mem., II, 100). This project, like the Pelleas tale, had been in his mind for some time. As far back as May 24, 1859 he had read that portion of Malory "where Sir Lancelot behaves so courteously to Sir Palamedes, and where Arthur goes to see La Belle Isoude (with a view to a poem on Tristram and Isolt)" (Mat., II, 218). On July 17, 1866 he composed lines 12-15 of this idyll (Mem., II, 39), though the real work did not begin until November of 1870. May 21, 1871, Emily writes, "He read me his 'Tristram' the plan of which he had been for some weeks discussing with me" (Ibid., p. 104),

and by the end of May the poem was sent to the printer.[27] It is difficult to tell which printer this is, because "The Last Tournament" first appeared in The Contemporary Review for December, 1871. There are at least three proof states for this publication, all represented in the Texas collection. But there were also two proof states set up before the first book edition. October 23, 1871 Emily again talks of proof, saying, "We arranged 'The Last Tournament' for the press" (Mat., III, 177). It seems probable Tennyson at first had the book proofs set up, and only later decided to let the poem first appear in the periodical.

In (MH-H-40) there is a brief prose draft for the opening of "The Last Tournament." No other prose exists for this poem. Huntington Library manuscript (CSmH-HM-1323) has a draft of the lines describing the tournament day (lines 151-187) and the Berg collection has a complete draft (NN-B-III) from the collection of Sir James Knowles, auctioned in 1928.[28] Tennyson had given the manuscript to Mrs. Knowles, whose husband edited the Contemporary Review (Mat., III, 179). Two proof states precede the first edition. The first state is represented by two copies, (L-A-2101) in the Ashley Library of the British Museum, and a Berg Collection copy (NN-B-III), acquired from the library of Sir James Knowles in 1928. There is a copy of the second state in the University of Texas Library, from the collection of Frederick Locker-Lampson.[29]

As he readied "The Last Tournament" for the printers Tennyson was already at work on yet another idyll, again a project he had long considered. On February 18, 1861 he had read the tale of Sir Gareth in Malory, doubtless considering it for his epic (Mem., I, 471). Emily tells us that on October 19, 1869 Tennyson "gave me his beginning of 'Beaumains' (Sir Gareth) to read, written (as was said jokingly) to 'describe a pattern of youth for his boys'" (Mat., III, 133). Evidently the poet set this project aside in favor of "The Last Tournament." Only when that poem is in print do we again hear of Gareth. November 20, 1871—"A. T. read the beginning of his new poem of 'Sir Gareth' which he had just written down" (Ibid., p. 178). It is a long poem, and Tennyson worked at it for some time.[30] But by July 9th of 1872 he records the manuscript sent to the printers, though he feared that the manuscript was so "ill written" that it would confuse his typesetters (Mem., II, 113). He worked over the proofs during September and by the 24th was able to return them to the printers (Ibid., p. 116), his task finished.

There are a remarkable number of "Gareth" manuscripts in existence. Tennyson began his work for the poem with prose drafts. There is a long

draft for the opening to the tale, (MH-H-40), part of which was later rejected. The Texas collection includes two pieces of paper with prose sketches, and the Butcher's Book, (MH-H-32), has a sequence of prose passages. This manuscript represents the bridge between prose and verse for the poem, and is one of the most fascinating of the Tennyson manuscripts. Unlike the orderly translation of "The Holy Grail" from prose to verse, "Gareth" was evidently done in a confusion of bits and pieces, leaving bursts of prose and poetry scattered in random order over the many pages of this manuscript. It seems that Tennyson simply grabbed the book at odd times as he worked, only later troubling to bring everything together. The Widener Collection possesses an unusual volume which may directly relate to (MH-H-32). This book, clearly created for a wealthy collector, contains "Gareth" proof sheets for the 1873 Library Edition and numerous drafts for the poem in manuscript. These drafts have been cut from some earlier source and pasted onto pages by the binders. At least one student of Tennyson manuscripts thinks that these Widener scraps come from (MH-H-32).[31] The first continuous draft of the poem can be found in (NN-B-IV) (lines 1-125), while the Bodleian Library copy contains a complete text, on pages the same size as the Butcher's Book. This, in all probability, is the "ill written" manuscript Tennyson sent to his publishers.

There are three proof states for "Gareth." The first, in which the heroine's name is spelled "Lineth," exists in two copies, (L-A-2109) in the British Museum, and (LU-S-929) in the University of London Library. Both contain numerous authorial corrections. There are also two copies of the second state, one in the Berg Collection (NN-B-II), one at the University of Texas. The Texas collection holds as well a unique copy of the third proof state (TxU-S-GP3), this embodying many of the corrections made on the Texas copy of the second state. (TxU-S-GP3) in turn holds even further authorial manuscript corrections, these appearing printed in the first edition.

In December 1872 "The Last Tournament" and "Gareth and Lynette" were published together as Gareth and Lynette, Etc. That edition contained an explanatory paragraph which, in its proof state, indicated that these two poems concluded the Idylls. This was corrected before the book was published, but it indicates the possibility that Tennyson may not have been completely sure of the final shape of the poem, even at this late date. Proofs for this paragraph are now in the Berg Collection and in (TxU-S-GP3).

But Gareth and Lynette, Etc. was not to be the end, for Tennyson had long since begun work on still further additions to his poem. As "The Last Tournament" went to press Tennyson was already "busy about Strahan's Library Edition . . ." (October 23, 1871).[32] This was to be, like the Miniature

Edition of 1870, a multi-volume collection of Tennyson's work to date. Tennyson seized on the event to further develop his Idylls. This would be the first edition to contain all of the poem he had finished (including the Gareth poems), and so he decided that it would also be a good moment to take a second look at the poem as a whole. Consequently, he began work in 1871 and continued emending the text into 1873. There are hundreds of minor alterations, but Tennyson also took this moment to expand four earlier poems, and write an "Epilogue."

To "Merlin and Vivien" he added lines 187-192. (MH-H-39) has the manuscript draft for these lines. It also contains a draft for some of the additions to "The Coming of Arthur" (lines 59-115). This poem received the most additions, including lines 94-133, 459-469, 475-502. The Pierpont Morgan Library contains a draft for lines 459-467 bound in a copy of The Holy Grail, Etc. (MH-H-29a), a single sheet of paper not in Tennyson's hand, contains a copy of lines 94-134. And the Berg Collection possesses a draft of "The Song of the Battleaxe" (lines 475-502), probably written out November 6, 1872 (Mem., II, 117). At the same time (Mat., III, 198) Tennyson decided to add a song to "Pelleas and Ettarre" (lines 387-403), and there survive two manuscripts, both in the Huntington Museum (CSmH-HM-1324, CSmH-HM-19494), the second in another hand, with manuscript corrections by Tennyson. Finally, he added lines 6-28 to "The Passing of Arthur."

To conclude the Idylls volumes of the Library Edition, Tennyson decided to write an "Epilogue" addressed to Queen Victoria. This was already finished and "copied out" by Emily Tennyson on December 25, 1872 (Mem., II, 119). Extensive drafts for the "Epilogue" can be found in (MH-H-32), the Butcher's Book which contains so many "Gareth and Lynette" sketches. Tennyson's publishers set up an early printing of the poem in eight pages for presentation and had fifty copies printed. The Ashley Library has one, (L-A-2111). Tennyson sent his "Epilogue" to the Queen and she acknowledged the poem on February 26, 1873 (Wise, I, 224). The Library Edition volumes V and VI, which contain the Idylls, were published in 1873.

In 1874 two more editions of Tennyson's collected works appeared— the Cabinet Edition in ten volumes and the Author's Edition in six. (Wise, II, 33-37). Both contained a new text for "Merlin and Vivien," which included, for the first time, lines 6-146. Several manuscripts for this addition have survived. (MH-H-33) has sketches, some of which were afterwards abandoned. This manuscript also contains passages from "Balin and Balan"

and illustrates Sir Charles Tennyson's contention that the "Vivien" alterations and "Balin", published so much later, were in fact products of the same creative period.[33] (MH-H-37), in the midst of further "Balin" sketches, has one page with a draft for lines 128-144 of "Merlin and Vivien." There are also two fairly complete drafts of the addition, both headed "The Beginning of Vivien" in the author's hand. The earlier, (MH-H-34), has many alterations, while the Yale Library (CtY-1) copy, purchased in 1949 from the library of Col. Prinsep, is quite fair and clearly is close to the first printing.

Further editions appeared through the next ten years, but gave no indication that Tennyson was at work on any further Idylls. Doubtless most readers considered the set complete. Then, in November of 1885 (Wise, I, 271), Tennyson published a collection of his later work called Tiresias, and Other Poems which included "Balin and Balan" subtitled in that edition, "An introduction to 'Merlin and Vivien.'" All the evidence seems to indicate that, in fact, this idyll was composed early in the 1870s, probably after "Gareth and Lynette" and was contemporaneous to the additions being made for "Merlin and Vivien."[34]

There are a number of quite early manuscripts relating to this idyll. (MH-H-37) contains fragments of prose sketches as well as verse. (MH-H-33) has very early drafts for passages around lines 246 and 455. (MH-H-32) has a large number of drafts, chiefly in the form of discrete blocks of poetry, covering lines 9-81, 150-192, 306-329, 386-391. (MH-H-47) contains only two pages of drafts for lines 430-457. The next creative stage is represented by the Huntington Library's (CSmH-HM-1323), a full draft of the poem, but with many alterations. (CT-31) is clearly a manuscript copy made up for the printer. It is a ruled notebook with manuscript on various pieces of paper glued in. Evidently the poet cut up a number of his fair drafts and glued them into this notebook for his typesetters.

There is one puzzle surrounding "Balin and Balan." Sir James Knowles, a close friend of the poet, gave Tennyson's son Hallam what he called a "prose sketch" for "Balin and Balan." Hallam printed it in both his Memoir of his father and in the annotated Eversley Edition of Tennyson's works. Since Knowles has said that Tennyson dictated the draft to him, we do not expect to find it in the Tennyson manuscripts. But, what we do find are short prose drafts other than the Knowles copy, and many verse fragments which appear to precede any prose draft. Sir Charles Tennyson concludes that these jottings "seem . . . to represent Tennyson's first thoughts . . . and to have been written before the composition of the prose sketch dictated to Knowles."[35] This sketch then becomes little more than a curiosity which played no organic part in the composition of the poem. On these grounds I have omitted it from this list.

"Balin and Balan" was readily integrated with the rest of the Idylls of the King in the 1886 New Miniature Edition. Tennyson's life was now essentially complete. He worked on his last poems, helped his son and biographer prepare an annotated edition of his works, and reminisced. But in 1891 he instructed his son to insert one more line into the Epilogue to the Idylls (1. 38), describing Arthur as "Ideal manhood closed in real man." This was first published in the Edition Deluxe of 1899. In 1908 the Eversley Edition, with Tennyson's notes, was published, and the long period of the growth of the Idylls finally came to an end.

Notes