THE COLLECTED SONNETS OF CHARLES (TENNYSON) TURNER

THE COLLECTED SONNETS OF CHARLES (TENNYSON) TURNER

Charles (Tennyson) Turner (from the Tennyson Research Centre, Lincoln, by kind permission of Lincolnshire County Library)

The Collected Sonnets of Charles (Tennyson) Turner Edited by F. B. Pinion and M. Pinion M MACMILLAN PRESS

Selection, editorial matter and arrangement F. B. Pinion and M. Pinion 1988 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1988 978-0-333-43651-6 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages First published 1988 Published by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world Typeset by Wessex Typesetters (Division of The Eastern Press Ltd) Frome, Somerset British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Tennyson, Charles The collected sonnets of Charles (Tennyson) Turner. I. Title II. Pinion, F. B. III. Pinion, M. 821'.8 PR5699.T7 ISBN 978-1-349-19361-5 ISBN 978-1-349-19359-2 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-19359-2

Contents Frontispiece Preface Introductory Essay page 11 vii 1 SONNETS From Sonnets and Fugitive Pieces, 1830 Sonnets, 1864 Small Tableaux, 1868 From Sonnets, Lyrics, and Translations, 1873 Posthumously Published Sonnets 31 57 107 151 181 Notes Index oftitles 207 246 v

Preface The text of this edition differs very slightly at numerous points from that of Hallam Tennyson's edition of Collected Sonnets, Old and New by Charles Tennyson Turner (1880, 1884, 1898). The changes are based on the texts of the 1830, 1864, 1868, and 1873 volumes, on some of Turner's proof-corrections, and on manuscript copies of almost all his posthumously published sonnets. They consist chiefly of 'ed' and "d' endings, which, like some of the poet's punctuation, seem to observe no consistent principles. The most obviously outmoded punctuation has been revised, and capitalization for titles (in the Index) has been increased to satisfy sense-requirements. Turner's remaining verse consists of translations and a handful of 'lyrics', the best of which ('My Mother') is included in the introductory essay. We are most grateful to Susan Gates and Elizabeth Anne Melrose for their ready assistance and welcome at the Tennyson Research Centre, Lincoln; to the Inter-Library Loan Service department of the University of Sheffield; and to Mr and Mrs G. H. Harrison of Grasby for introducing us to Turner's vicarage, 'the poet's walk', and other immediate surroundings which must be associated with some of his most memorable sonnets. This is the first edition of Turner's sonnets with explanatory background notes. Many specialists have been consulted on several of these, 'The Luxor Nativity' in particular. Our indebtedness is first and foremost to Roger Evans, whose generous co-operation matches the fastidiousness of his research in preparation for a critical biography of Charles Tennyson Turner, in which, making frequent use of unfamiliar sources, he proposes to relate the life and poetry as much as possible. He has supplied detailed knowledge with reference to several sonnets, including XXVI, XXXIII, xc, CCL, cccx, and cccxxx (as well as on the rebuilding of Grasby Church); his additional discovery of two alternative titles, in a manuscript list of sonnets drawn up by Turner for the 1864 volume (d. the notes for LXVIII and cxxn), has proved timely and rewarding. We are especially grateful also to Mary Arnold, who has devoted herself unstintingly to the supply and confirmation of several classical references. We thank the following for their valuable contributions: Professor VII

viii PREFACE J. R. Baines of the Oriental Institute, the University of Oxford (cxl); Dr Clyde Binfield of the University of Sheffield (ccuv); Professor A. J. Willis, the University of Sheffield, and D. A. Burdekin of the Forestry Commission, near Farnham (cccxxii); the Revd Malcolm Bradshaw, Vicar of Boxley with Detling, Kent (Lxvm); Canon J. F. Buckett (Vicar of Newport, Isle of Wight), Keith N. Symons, and R. E. Brinton of Carisbrooke Castle Museum (CCXLVII); John Creasey of Dr Williams's Library (cl); JohnS. Creasey, Librarian and Information Officer at the Institute of Agricultural History and Museum of English Rural Life, Reading (ccxlvi, CCLXVII); and Mrs L. A. Dennison, Trinity House Lighthouse Service (ccxxv). Further assistance from the following is gratefully acknowledged: Mrs Anna Winchcombe; Angela M. Allott, Sheffield City Libraries; Catherine F. Pinion, City of Westminster Libraries; Dr J. H. Molyneux and Professor J. W. Rogerson of the University of Sheffield; Peter W. Coxon, the University of St Andrews; and J. R. Ebbatson, Worcester College of Higher Education. James Spedding's essay in Collected Sonnets, Old and New is recommended, together with relevant chapters on Turner, his Grasby home, and a number of his sonnets, in H. D. Rawnsley, Memories of the Tennysons, Glasgow, 1900, and Agnes Grace Weld, Glimpses of Tennyson, and of some of his relations and friends, London, 1903.