Ashley MS 4521

Idylls of the King. 'The Coming of Arthur'; 1869. Draft of ll. 1-4 and 20-71, written on one side only of four fragments of blue laid paper (f. 1: 85 x 122mm.; f. 2: 92 x 123mm.; f. 3: 96 x 108mm.; f. 4: 98 x 107mm.). Watermark 'E Towgood'. The watermark, together with parts of letters, shows that ff. 1 and 2 once formed part of one leaf, as did ff. 3 and 4 of another. As follows:―

a. Draft of ll. 1-4, 20-28. The first four lines of the draft are identical, except for the spelling of the names in l. 1, with the printed text. They are followed immediately by nine lines the final text of which differs by five words only from that printed in the trial book, which in turn differs from the text found in The Holy Grail, 1870, only in the first half of l. 21. Between ll. 4 and 20 is an arrow, probably indicating that further material was to be added. f. 1.

b. Draft of ll. 294-5. The first four lines of the draft differ by one word only from ll. 29-32 of the printed text. They are followed by three cancelled lines corresponding to ll. 36-40. The remaining seven lines of the draft correspond to ll. 33 (first half), 35 (second half), 36-41, 44 and 45. The fourth and seventh lines are identical with ll. 40 and 45. f. 2.

c. Draft of ll. 46-58. The final text of the draft differs by four words only from that found in the trial book and in The Holy Grail, 1870. f. 3.

d. Draft of ll. 59-71. The final text of the draft differs by four words only from that printed in the trial book and in The Holy Grail, 1870. There is an inverted comma at the end of l. 71, suggesting that in the draft the speech of the Lords ended here. f. 4.

There are facsimiles of all four folios in Ashley Library Catalogue, vii, between pp. 132 and 133.

Quarto; ff. i+4.

Poetry ENGLISH: Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson; Poet Laureate: Poem, 'The Coming of Arthur', by Alfred Tennyson: 1869: Autogr. drafts.