CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POEMS

(1833-1890)




CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POEMS

(1833-1890.)

* * * * *


1. PAULINE: a Fragment of a Confession.

[Published anonymously in 1833; first reprinted (the text
unaltered) in _Poetical Works_, 6 vols., Smith, Elder and
Co., 1868 (Vol. I., pp. 1-41); revised text, _Poetical
Works_, 1889, Vol. I., pp. 1-45.]

_PAULINE_ was written at the age of twenty. Its prefatory motto from
Cornelius Agrippa (dated "_London, January, 1833_. _V.A.XX._") serves to
convey a hint that the "confession" is dramatic, and at the same time
lays claim to the indulgence due to the author's youth. These two points
are stated plainly in the "exculpatory word" prefixed to the reprint in