Tennyson came himself to see it for the first time on February 26, 1881. XIX TENNYSON AND HIS PLAYS—II I In their conversations, after _Queen Mary_ and before _The Cup_, Irving and Tennyson had talked of the possibility of putting on the stage some other play of the Laureate’s. After the success of _The Cup_ had been assured Irving was more fixed on the matter; and later on, in 1884, when _Becket_ had been published, he considered it then and thereafter as a possibility. He was anxious to do it if he could see his way to it. Like Tennyson, he had a conviction that there was a play in it; but he could not see its outline. In fact _Becket_ was not written for the stage; and, that being so, it was for stage purposes much in the position of a block of Carrara marble from which the statue has to be patiently hewn. As it was first given to the world it was entirely too long for the stage. For instance, _Hamlet_ is a play so long that it must be cut for acting, but _Becket_ is longer still. For many reasons he was anxious to do another play of Tennyson’s. The first had added much to his reputation, and now the second was a huge success. He loved Tennyson— really loved the man as well as his work—and if for this reason alone exerted all his power to please him. Moreover as a manager he saw the wisdom of such a move. Tennyson’s was a great name and there had been a lot of foolish argument in journals and magazines regarding “literature” in plays, and also concerning the national need of encouraging contemporary dramatic literature. Rightly or wrongly the public interest has to be considered, and Tennyson’s name was one to conjure with. Moreover he came to depend on the picturesque possibilities of Tennyson’s work. _The Cup_ had allowed of a splendid setting, and in _Becket_ its picturesque aspect of the struggle between Court and Church might be very attractive. Beyond this again there were two episodes of the period which so belonged to the history of the nation that every school child had them in memory: the martyrdom of Becket and the romantic story of Fair Rosamund and her secret bower.