Matthew Arnold's First Editions

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"Alaric at Rome," 1840; and "Cromwell," 1843. Matthew Arnold's earliest publications, poems for which he won prizes while in college, two pamphlets.

The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems, 1849. London: B. Fellowes. Arnold's first book of poetry.

Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems, 1852. London: B. Fellowes. His second published volume. Both this and The Strayed Reveller were published anonymously, by "A."

Poems, 1853. A New Edition. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. The first collection of his poetry that included Matthew Arnold's name as the author. It reprinted some of the poems from the two earlier volumes and also contained new poetry. As Tinker and Lowry note, "the poet's intention was, obviously, to include in this volume all that he cared to acknowledge as his own." It was the first edition of Arnold's poems to group the "Marguerite" poems together as the "Switzerland" series. In this edition there are six Switzerland poems: I. "To My Friends." II. "The Lake." III. "A Dream." IV. "Parting." V. "To Marguerite." VI. "Absence." This edition of Arnold's poems is sometimes called the "first series" to distinguish it from the Second Series, described below. It was reissued twice, with the same title, but with some changes in the poems included. The later editions were Poems, 1854, Second Edition, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans; and Poems, 1857, Third Edition, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans & Roberts. The Switzerland series contains one new poem, "To Marguerite." The poem previously titled To Marguerite becomes retitled "Isolation."

Poems. Second Series, 1855. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. Included different poems salvaged from The Strayed Reveller and Empedocles on Etna.

An American edition came out in 1856 from Ticknor and Fields in Boston, titled Poems A New and Complete Edition, that combined material from the First and Second Series, which made this the most extensive collection of his poetry to appear to date.

New Poems. 1867. London: Macmillan and Co. Contained some new and some old, reinstated poems, notably "Empedocles on Etna." It was reprinted as New Poems, 1868. Second Edition, London: Macmillan and Co., with only a small change.

Poems, 1869. London: Macmillan and Co. The first Collected Edition of Arnold's poetry. Issued in two volumes, and grouped the poetry according to types, under the headings: The First Volume, Narrative and Elegiac Poems; the Second Volume, Dramatic and Lyric Poems. It was reprinted by Macmillan in 1877. At that time, one new poem was added, Arnold added a new heading, "Early Poems," and some poems consequently were rearranged. The First Volume, a "New and Complete Edition," contained Early Poems, Narrative Poems, and Sonnets. The Second Volume contained Lyric, Dramatic, and Elegiac Poems. The Switzerland series (i.e. the Marguerite poems) in this version are eight in number. The Table of Contents in Volume 2 groups under Switzerland: I. A Memory Picture (In First Series, entitled "To My Friends.") II. Meeting (In First Series, entitled "The Lake.") III. Parting. IV. A Farewell. V. Absence. VI. Isolation: To Marguerite. (In First Series: 1857, entitled "To Marguerite.") VII. To Marguerite. Continued. (In First Series: 1857, entitled "Isolation.") VII. The Terrace at Berne.

Selected Poems of Matthew Arnold, 1878, issued by Macmillan and contained 53 poems, selected by Arnold. Reissued in 1879, with one alteration, and frequently thereafter.

Poems. 1881. A new edition from Macmillan, contained almost no alterations from 1877.

Poems, 1885. London: Macmillan and Co. Issued in three volumes and contained a new heading, "Later Poems." The (unnumbered) volumes were [1] Early Poems, Narrative Poems, and Sonnets; [2] Lyric and Elegiac Poems. By this point Switzerland series (i.e. the Marguerite poems) includes the "standard" seven poems: 1. Meeting. 2. Parting. 3. A Farewell. 4. Isolation: To Marguerite. 5. To Marguerite. Continued. 6. Absence. 7. The Terrace at Berne. [3] Dramatic and Later Poems. The 1885 edition was reprinted by Macmillan in 1888, titled New Edition: 1888. Smart does not provide details of American editions, but Google books has digitized what appears to be the American edition of the first volume, and the American edition of the third volume. London and NY, Macmillan and Co. 1889.

Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold, 1890. London: Macmillan and Co. Issued two and a half years after Arnold's death, a one-volume edition of his poetry. Added two late poems and included his photograph on the frontispiece.

Arnold Bibliography

Smart, Thomas Burnett. The Bibliography of Matthew Arnold, (1892). A still reliable descriptive account of Arnold's works, includes a list of the poems in each of his editions.

This discussion of Arnold's editions is taken from C.B. Tinker and H.F. Lowry, in The Poetry of Matthew Arnold, A Commentary, and Thomas Burnett Smart's The Bibliography of Matthew Arnold.

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