The present perfected
edition, however, published by Macmillan, evidently contains all the
poems Tennyson wished to have remembered. The chief interest in the
small green book is in the early readings, which are a good study for
those who pursue the art of poetry. We see in them the sure integrity
of the master-hand.
"Isabel" was not, perhaps, one of the very earliest poems, although it
stands among the early poems of character in the perfected edition. It
does not appear in the green book, yet the title already stands in the
table of contents. In his own revised editions it has always appeared
unchanged from the first. There is a flawless loveliness in this poem
which makes it especially worthy of admiration. "Isabel" possesses a
peculiar interest, because it is understood to be the poet's tribute
to his wife, and indeed even his imaginative eye could hardly
elsewhere have found another to whom this description would so
properly fit:--
"The intuitive decision of a bright
And thorough-edged intellect to part
Error from crime; a prudence to withhold
The laws of marriage character'd in gold
Upon the blanched tablets of her heart;
A love still burning upward, giving light
To read those laws; an accent very low
In blandishment, but a most silver flow
Of subtle-paced counsel in distress,
Right to the heart and brain, tho' undescried,
Winning its way with extreme gentleness
Thro' all the outworks of suspicious pride
A courage to endure and to obey;
A hate of gossip parlance and of sway,--
Crown'd Isabel, thro' all her placid life,
The queen of marriage, a most perfect wife.
Pages:
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298