Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from A Study of the Works of Alfred: Lord Tennyson; Poet Laureate
The chapter on General Principles, and the chapters on the Early Philosophical Poems and In Memoriam stand mainly, though not entirely, as they were in the original Study. The rest of the book is either new, as dealing with new matter, or has been to a great extent rewritten.
A reader acquainted with the earlier editions of this book may miss the term mechanical super naturalism in the present edition. The term is absent; the thought is by no means so. It is more fully present, and is more fully discussed in various places, but especially in Chap. XVII. On The Super natural or Preternatural in Tennyson. Concerning it, however, I wish to say one word in this place.
The term was used to challenge certain preternatural features in the Enoch Arden volume.
Afterwards, I withdrew the objection in the belief that the preternaturalism was justified by some of the phenomena of spiritualism, in which, through suffering my judgment and will, under very difficult circum stances, to be overborne, I was for a time entangled.
But, later, I saw reason to reaffirm the stricture with emphasis, because I had come to believe that spiritualism, be its phenomena real or spurious, is in itself unclean - unclean with an all-pervading false ness in the persons concerned; unclean with a subtle ness of falsity that seems to be itself supernatural.
I said, under very difficult circumstances, because I should be sorry indeed to seem to countenance, by lightness on my part, the \notion that anything but conscience, judgment, the responsible will - anything but the sense of right, of duty - ought to be suffered to determine action in so grave a region. To touch such a thing out of the love of excitement, or even out of curiosity concerning matters spiritual, is to act the part of those who rush in where angels fear to tread. The absolute I will not should stand like a rock against solicitations from within or without, as it should against temptations to definite acts of sin.
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