Ashley MS 5082

'A Channel Passage and Other Poems'. 'The Question'; 1887. Draft, heavily revised, written on both sides of two folio leaves (ff. 4 and 5), and of a part folio leaf (255 x 203mm.) (f. 6), of blue laid paper, and on one side only of another (f. 7). Watermark J Allen & Sons / Superfine / 1879. The MS. is entitled 'The Question' in Swinburne's hand at the head of the first page (f. 4a) and on the verso of f. 7.

As follows: Stanzas 1-6, f. 4a; stanzas 7-12, l. 4, f. 5a; stanzas 12, l. 5 and 13, ll. 1-3, f. 5b; stanzas 17 and 18, f. 6a, stanzas 13-16, 19 and 20, f. 7a. The first three words of the poem are also found below stanza 18 on f. 6a. A version of stanza 2, ll. 1-2, and another of the whole of stanza 2, together with the first two words of stanza 3, are also found on f. 4b, which is chiefly occupied by a draft of stanzas 1-4 of 'The Commonweal' (see 1913, art. 1). A version of stanza 12, ll. 1, 2 and 5, and of the first two words of stanza 13, is also found on f. 6b, which is otherwise occupied by a draft of stanzas 5 and 6 of 'The Commonweal'. The top quarter of f. 6 has been torn off, taking at least some text of stanza 12 of 'The Question' with it. On f. 4b is the draft of a discarded stanza for either 'The Commonweal' or 'The Question', beg. 'Strike sharp and sure, O Commonweal:' and on f. 6b is another version of l. 1 of that stanza. The stanzas of 'The Question' are numbered in Swinburne's hand. The number '17' has been altered from '18', '18' from '17', and '19' from '18'. All the stanzas have been cancelled with the exception of 12, 17, 18, and the discarded stanza. The final text found in the draft differs by five words from that printed on pp. 119-125.

In a letter to John Nichol dated 6 Aug. 1887 Swinburne refers to 'my verses on the G O M (they were clipped from the Jubilee ode, where they were out of place and made the poem top-heavy or lop-sided) in the Telegraph' (C. Y. Lang, Swinburne Letters, v, 1962, p. 204), proving that 'The Question' and 'The Commonweal' (at first called 'The Jubilee') were originally one poem. 'The Question' was first published in the Daily Telegraph for 29 April 1887.

Bound up with the MS. is a copy of Wise's forged pamphlet (ff. 1-3, 8-14), as follows:―

Printed pamphlet: The Question / MDCCCLXXXVII / A Poem / by / Algernon Charles Swinburne / London / Charles Ottley, Landon, & Co. / 1887

Collation: Octavo (194 x 114); unsigned; [? 16]; 8 leaves; pp. 1-5, 6-15, 18.

Contents: p. 1 The Question p. 2 blank. p. 3 title. p. 4 blank. p. 5 dropped title The Question. / ― / 1887. and text. pp. 6-14 text. p. 15 text and imprint ― / T. Rignall, Printer, Whitefriars, May, 1887. p. 16 blank.

Running title: The Question. on pp. 6-15.

Paper: cream wove unwatermarked.

Binding: pale green paper. Front: The Question B blank.

Notes: The text of the pamphlet follows that of the Daily Telegraph, except that the former has a semi-colon for a comma in one place. This copy has been broken up, and the leaves inlaid in folio leaves, thus destroying the evidence as to the gathering or gatherings. The pamphlet is a forgery by T. J. Wise (see John Carter and Graham Pollard, The Firm of Charles Ottley, Landon & Co., 1948). The type used in the pamphlet is Carter and Pollard's fount (B) (see Carter and Pollard, An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets, 1934, pp. 56-70).

Folio; ff. i+14.

Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: A Channel Passage and Other Poems by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1904: Autogr. drafts and fair copies of poems included in.

includes:

• ff. 1-3, 8-14 Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Thomas James Wise, book collector: Forged pamphlet of A. C. Swinburne's poem, 'The Question', by Thomas James Wise: 1887.
• ff. 4-7b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'The Question', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1887]: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 4b, 6b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'The Commonweal 1887', stanzas I-III, V, VI, by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1887: Autogr. draft.