Not satisfied to rest content as a lyrist, Tennyson essayed extended narrative in _Idyls of the King_ (1859) and "Enoch Arden" (1864). Gaining courage from the enthusiastic reception of the four Arthurian idyls, he undertook to carry out a long cherished design--which Milton and Dryden had conceived--of writing a national epic on King Arthur. He had already made several attempts at versifying incidents from the _Mabinogion_ and Malory's old romance _Morte d' Arthur_, but they were isolated fragments. From time to time he added others, making the series of tales called the Round Table a complete cycle as follows: The Coming of Arthur, 1869; Gareth and Lynette, 1872; Geraint and Enid, 1859; Balin and Balan, 1885; Merlin and Vivien, 1859; Lancelot and Elaine, 1859; The Holy Grail, 1869; Pelleas and Ettarre, 1869; The Last Tournament, 1871; Guinevere, 1859; The Passing of Arthur, 1842, 1869. Then boldly entering the dangerous field of historical drama, Tennyson became a rival of Shakspeare himself in "Queen Mary"[14] (1875), "Harold" (1876), and "Becket" (1884). Besides these, he brought forth three shorter plays or dramatic sketches--"The Cup"[15] (1884), "The Falcon"[16] (1884), "The Promise of May"[17] (1886), and a lengthy idyllic drama called "The Foresters"[18] (1892). As if to prove that his fertility was not exhausted in the province of the lyric, he made fresh incursions into fields of song long familiar to him. These winnowings of the last two decades are gathered into the following volumes: _Ballads, and Other Poems_ (1880); _Tiresias, and Other Poems_ (1885); _Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, etc._ (1886); _Demeter, and Other Poems_ (1889). Enough books have been named to give at least half a dozen minstrels a firm footing on Parnassus. The number of Tennyson's meritorious performances is simply astonishing. But few poets have wrought with such unwearying patience. Not many can present as imposing a catalogue of works that are confessedly of such a high order of excellence. Browning has written more, but Browning has not taken the trouble to perfect himself in form--in short, he is not a finished artist. In literary workmanship, Tennyson stands supreme. It is universally admitted that none of his contemporaries ranks so high as man of letters. He is the brightest ornament of the Victorian reign.