e d'Arthur_. Here, in this mass of beautiful legends, is
certainly the subject of a great national epic; yet after four hundred
years, during which many poets have used the material, the great epic is
still unwritten. Milton and Spenser, as we have already noted, considered
this material carefully; and Milton alone, of all English writers, had
perhaps the power to use it in a great epic. Tennyson began to use these
legends in his _Morte d'Arthur_ (1842); but the epic idea probably occurred
to him later, in 1856, when he began "Geraint and Enid," and he added the
stories of "Vivien," "Elaine," "Guinevere," and other heroes and heroines
at intervals, until "Balin," the last of the _Idylls_, appeared in 1885.
Later these works were gathered together and arranged with an attempt at
unity. The result is in no sense an epic poem, but rather a series of
single poems loosely connected by a thread of interest in Arthur, the
central personage, and in his unsuccessful attempt to found an ideal
kingdom.

Entirely different in spirit is another collection of poems called _English
Idyls,_[236] which began in the _Poems_ of 1842, and which Tennyson
intended should reflect the ideals of widely different types of English
life. Of these varied poems, "Dora," "The Gardener's Daughter," "Ulysses,"
"Locksley Hall" and "Sir Galahad" are the best; but all are worthy of
study. One of the most famous of this series is "Enoch Arden" (1864), in
which Tennyson turns from mediaeval knights, from lords, heroes, and fair
ladies, to find the material for true poetry among the lowly people that
make up the bulk of English life. Its rare melody, its sympathy for common
life, and its revelation of the beauty and heroism which hide in humble men
and women everywhere, made this work an instant favorite. Judged by its
sales alone, it was the most popular of his works during the poet's
lifetime.

Tennyson's later volumes, like the _Ballads_ (1880) and _Demeter_ (1889),
should not be overlooked, since they contain some of his best work. The
former contains stirring war songs, like "The Defence of Lucknow," and
pictures of wild passionate grief, like "Rizpah"; the latter is notable for
"Romney's Remorse," a wonderful piece of work; "Merlin and The Gleam,"
which expresses the poet's lifelong ideal; and several exquisite little
songs, like "The Throstle," and "The Oak," which show how marvelously the
aged poet retained his youthful freshness and inspiration. Her