ABSTRACT
In The Princess, published in 1847, the widelyknown poet became the poetic interpreter and critic of that movement of thought and feeling which concerned itself with the position of woman in the social organisation. In many respects the distinctive elements in Alfred Tennyson’s poetic genius–certainly those of his youthful genius—the branches of his art in which he excelled are most prominently exhibited and may be most advantageously studied in this poem. With Tennyson the single line is more frequently sufficient for itself, the periodic system less conspicuous. The word-painting of The Princess, no less than its versification, will reward a careful study. A critical and scientific workman in his measures, Tennyson might have been trusted to write upon any subject at any length without fear of descent into the slipshod or turgid movement of Wordsworth’s lengthy disquisitions.
