Page:Tennyson; the Leslie Stephen lecture.djvu/25

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TENNYSON
17

This is Camilla, a little retarded:—

But while the sun yet beat a dewy blade
The sound of many a heavily galloping hoof
Smote on her ear, and turning round she saw
Dust, and the points of lances bicker in it.

These passages are both taken from Enid, and there are many more in the same Idyll. There may be too much of this device; yet it cannot be fairly said that these conceits of verse break up the solidity of the poem. Many different motives and graces are combined in the Idyll:—

as one
That listens near a torrent mountain brook
All through the crash of the near cataract hears
The drumming thunder of the huger fall.

The likeness of Tennyson to Pope in some things is undeniable. There is the same clearness, the same regard for elegance of verse. Even in the noting of particulars, though Pope is not near Tennyson in fineness of perception, and though the fashion of his age discouraged such things, there are some resemblances. We all know the result