Tiresias and Other Poems.

TENNYSON, Lord Alfred.

$7,800.00

Item Number: 147858

London: Macmillan and Co, 1885.

First edition of this collection of poems by one of the most famous poets of the Victorian era. Duodecimo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Association copy, inscribed by Lord Alfred Tennyson to his niece on the title page, “Cecilia from her affectionate Uncle Tennyson April 15th – 87.” Cecilia Tennyson was the daughter of Tennyson’s youngest brother, Horatio, and was named after one of his sisters. In very good condition. From the library of noted collector William A. Strutz with his small bookplate to the front pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco folding case. A wonderful association.

As source material for his poetry, Tennyson used a wide range of subject matter ranging from medieval legends to classical myths and from domestic situations to observations of nature. The influence of John Keats and other Romantic poets published before and during his childhood is evident from the richness of his imagery and descriptive writing. He also handled rhythm masterfully. Tennyson was a craftsman who polished and revised his manuscripts extensively, to the point where his efforts at self-editing were described by his contemporary Robert Browning as "insane", symptomatic of "mental infirmity." Few poets have used such a variety of styles with such an exact understanding of metre; like many Victorian poets, he experimented in adapting the quantitative metres of Greek and Latin poetry to English.