In poetic power he stood at an almost infinite
distance from Milton. He is a mere acces-
sory in Lycidas itself to the general presenta-
tion of the picture. The Puritan poet availed
himself of King's death as an eligible occasion
for setting forth in allegorical drapery — sug-
gested by Milton's critical acquaintance with
ancient and with Italian poetry — the passion-
ate enthusiasm, the intense earnestness per-
vading the cause of which he was the supreme
artistic exponent. In 1637 we are but five
years from the beginning of the great Civil
War, 1642. The policy of Laud and of
Wentworth was rushing to its climax — 'the
one in church, the other in state. All the
complex forces embraced in Puritanism were
converging to their issue. It is only in a sub-
ordinate or secondary sense that Lycidas may
be regarded as a personal elegy. Religious
fervor is tempered by artistic grace to a de-
gree probably never surpassed in the evolu-
tion of our literature. It is the supreme



14 A Commentary Upon

achievement of the Puritan genius in the
sphere of art and of art consecrated to re-
ligion.
In the history of our race and language no
such monument has been reared to the mem-
ory of any man as Tennyson has erected to
perpetuate the name and renown of
Hallam.
