ABSTRACT
A few years ago, a colleague of mine-a psychologist who knew of my interest in Tennyson-stopped me casually on the sidewalk late one afternoon and, in the course of a conversation, asked: "Was In Memoriam Tennyson's greatest poem?" His question stunned me, and it still does. Initially, it shocked me because I felt completely unprepared to answer it. I muttered something affirmative, noting the historical evidence of In Memoriam's power over its readers as recorded in public reviews, private memoirs, and critical assessments. I said something about liking the poem myself. But I was completely unable to address the query at his level of asking it. He assumed that the purpose of literary study was to make such critical determinations. One who studies literature must do so in order to become equipped to pronounce this piece good, that piece better, a third the best. All my training and sensibility, however, predisposed me to not even consider such questions of relative value.
