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Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". He published his first solo collection of poems, '' Poems, Chiefly Lyrical'', in 1830. " Claribel" and " Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although described by some critics as overly sentimental, his poems ultimately proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
. Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Tennyson also focused on short lyrics, such as " Break, Break, Break", " The Charge of the Light Brigade", " Tears, Idle Tears", and " Crossing the Bar". Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as " Ulysses" and " The Lotos-Eaters". " In Memoriam A.H.H." was written to commemorate his friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and student at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, after he died of a stroke at the age of 22. Tennyson also wrote notable
blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metre (poetry), metrical but rhyme, unrhymed lines, usually in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th cen ...
, including '' Idylls of the King'', "Ulysses", and " Tithonus". During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success. A number of phrases from Tennyson's work have become commonplace in the English language, including "Nature, red in tooth and claw" ("In Memoriam A.H.H."), "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure", "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and "The old order changeth, yielding place to new". He is the ninth most frequently quoted writer in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations''.


Biography


Early life

Tennyson was born on 6 August 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. He was born into a successful middle-class family of minor landowning status distantly descended from John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers, and Francis Leke, 1st Earl of Scarsdale. His father, George Clayton Tennyson, was an Anglican clergyman who served as rector of Somersby (1807–1831), also rector of Benniworth (1802–1831) and Bag Enderby, and vicar of
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...
(1815). He raised a large family and "was a man of superior abilities and varied attainments, who tried his hand with fair success in architecture, painting, music, and poetry. He was comfortably well off for a country clergyman, and his shrewd money management enabled the family to spend summers at
Mablethorpe Mablethorpe is a seaside town in the civil parish of Mablethorpe and Sutton, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): In 1961 the civil parish had a population of 3,611. On 1 Ap ...
and Skegness on the eastern coast of England". George Clayton Tennyson was the elder son of attorney and MP George Tennyson, JP, DL, of Bayons Manor and Usselby Hall, who had also inherited the estates of his mother's family, the Claytons, and married Mary, daughter and heiress of John Turner, of Caistor, Lincolnshire. George Clayton Tennyson was however pushed into a career in the church and passed over as heir in favour of his younger brother
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
. Their mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Stephen Fytche, vicar of St. James Church, Louth (1764), and rector of Withcall (1780), a small village between Horncastle and Louth. Tennyson's father "carefully attended to the education and training of his children". Tennyson, recalling the poetic influences of his youth, said, "as a boy I was an enormous admirer of
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
." Tennyson and two of his elder brothers were writing poetry in their teens and a collection of poems by all three was published locally when Alfred was only 17. One of those brothers, Charles Tennyson Turner, later married Louisa Sellwood, the younger sister of Alfred's future wife; the other was Frederick Tennyson. Another of Tennyson's brothers, Edward Tennyson, was institutionalised at a private asylum. The noted psychologist
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th c ...
, in his book '' The Varieties of Religious Experience'', quoted Tennyson concerning a type of experience with which Tennyson was familiar:
"A kind of waking trance I have frequently had, quite up from boyhood, when I have been all alone. This has often come upon me through repeating my own name. All at once, as it were out of the intensity of the consciousness of individuality, individuality itself seemed to dissolve and fade away into boundless being, and this was not a confused state but the clearest, the surest of the sure, utterly beyond words…"


Education and first publication

Tennyson was a student of King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth from 1816 to 1820.''Poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson.'' Eugene Parsons (Introduction). New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1900. He entered
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, in 1827, where he joined a secret society called the Cambridge Apostles. A portrait of Tennyson by George Frederic Watts is in Trinity's collection. At Cambridge, Tennyson met Arthur Hallam and William Henry Brookfield, who became his closest friends. His first publication was a collection of "his boyish rhymes and those of his elder brother Charles" entitled ''Poems by Two Brothers'', published in 1827. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". Reportedly, "it was thought to be no slight honour for a young man of twenty to win the chancellor's gold medal". He published his first solo collection of poems, ''Poems Chiefly Lyrical'' in 1830. " Claribel" and " Mariana", which later took their place among Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although decried by some critics as overly sentimental, his verse soon proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( ; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth ...
.


Return to Lincolnshire, second publication, Epping Forest

In the spring of 1831, Tennyson's father died, requiring him to leave
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
before taking his degree. He returned to the rectory, where he was permitted to live for another six years and shared responsibility for his widowed mother and the family. Arthur Hallam came to stay with his family during the summer and became engaged to Tennyson's sister, Emilia Tennyson. In 1833 Tennyson published his second book of poetry, which notably included the first version of " The Lady of Shalott". The volume met heavy criticism, which so discouraged Tennyson that he did not publish again for ten years, although he did continue to write. That same year, Hallam died suddenly and unexpectedly after suffering a cerebral haemorrhage while on a holiday in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. Hallam's death had a profound effect on Tennyson and inspired several poems, including "In the Valley of Cauteretz" and " In Memoriam A.H.H.", a long poem detailing the "Way of the Soul".H. Tennyson (1897). ''Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir by His Son'', New York: MacMillan. Tennyson and his family were allowed to stay in the rectory for some time, but later moved to Beech Hill Park, High Beach, deep within Epping Forest,
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, about 1837. Tennyson's son recalled: "there was a pond in the park on which in winter my father might be seen skating, sailing about on the ice in his long blue cloak. He liked the nearness of London, whither he resorted to see his friends, but he could not stay in town even for a night, his mother being in such a nervous state that he did not like to leave her...". Tennyson befriended a Dr Allen, who ran a nearby asylum whose patients then included the poet
John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and his sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20t ...
. An unwise investment in Dr Allen's ecclesiastical wood-carving enterprise soon led to the loss of much of the family fortune, and led to a bout of serious depression. According to Tennyson's grandson Sir Charles Tennyson, Tennyson met
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...
in 1839, if not earlier. The pair began a lifelong friendship, and were famous smoking companions. Some of Tennyson's work even bears the influence of Carlyle and his ideas. Tennyson moved to London in 1840 and lived for a time at Chapel House, Twickenham.


Third publication

On 14 May 1842, while living modestly in London, Tennyson published the two volume ''
Poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
'', of which the first included works already published and the second was made up almost entirely of new poems. They met with immediate success; poems from this collection, such as " Locksley Hall", " Break, Break, Break", and " Ulysses", and a new version of " The Lady of Shalott", have met enduring fame. " The Princess: A Medley", a satire on women's education that came out in 1847, was also popular for its lyrics. W. S. Gilbert later adapted and parodied the piece twice: in '' The Princess'' (1870) and in '' Princess Ida'' (1884). It was in 1850 that Tennyson reached the pinnacle of his career, finally publishing his masterpiece, " In Memoriam A.H.H.", dedicated to Hallam. Later the same year, he was appointed Poet Laureate, succeeding
William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...
. In the same year (on 13 June), Tennyson married Emily Sellwood, whom he had known since childhood, in the village of Shiplake. They had two sons, Hallam Tennyson (b. 11 August 1852)—named after his friend—and Lionel (b. 16 March 1854). Tennyson rented Farringford House on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
in 1853, eventually buying it in 1856. He eventually found that there were too many starstruck tourists who pestered him in Farringford, so he moved to Aldworth, in
West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
in 1869. However, he retained Farringford, and regularly returned there to spend the winters. File:Break-break-break-reickemeyer.jpg, ''Break, Break, Break, on thy cold grey Stones, o Sea'', a photograph by Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. The title is a quote from the 1842
poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
. File:Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson and family.jpg, Tennyson with his wife Emily (1813–1896) and his sons
Hallam Hallam may refer to: Places * Hallam, Victoria, Australia ** Hallam railway station UK * Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England, UK ** Royal Hallamshire Hospital ** Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency) ** Sheffield Hallam Univer ...
(1852–1928) and Lionel (1854–1886) File:Farringford - Lord Tennyson's residence - c1910 - Project Gutenberg eText 17296.jpg, Farringford – Lord Tennyson's residence on the Isle of Wight File:Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson by George Frederic Watts.jpg, ''Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson'', by George Frederic Watts (1817–1904)


Poet Laureate

In 1850, after William Wordsworth's death and Samuel Rogers' refusal, Tennyson was appointed to the position of Poet Laureate; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
had also been considered.Batchelor, John. ''Tennyson: To Strive, To Seek, To Find.'' London: Chatto and Windus, 2012. He held the position until his death in 1892, the longest tenure of any laureate. Tennyson fulfilled the requirements of this position, such as by authoring a poem of greeting to Princess Alexandra of Denmark when she arrived in Britain to marry the future King
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
. In 1855, Tennyson produced one of his best-known works, " The Charge of the Light Brigade", a dramatic tribute to the British cavalrymen involved in an ill-advised charge on 25 October 1854, during the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
. Other esteemed works written in the post of Poet Laureate include "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" and "Ode Sung at the Opening of the International Exhibition". Tennyson declined a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
cy offered him by Disraeli in 1865 and 1868, finally accepting a
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
in 1883 at Gladstone's earnest solicitation. In 1884 Victoria created him Baron Tennyson, of Aldworth in the County of Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight. He took his seat in the House of Lords on 11 March 1884. Tennyson also wrote a substantial quantity of unofficial political verse, from the bellicose "Form, Riflemen, Form", on the French crisis of 1859 and the Creation of the Volunteer Force, to "Steersman, be not precipitate in thine act/of steering", deploring Gladstone's Home Rule Bill. Tennyson's family were Whigs by tradition and Tennyson's own politics fitted the Whig mould, although he would also vote for the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
after the Whigs dissolved. Tennyson believed that society should progress through gradual and steady reform, not revolution, and this attitude was reflected in his attitude toward universal suffrage, which he did not outright reject, but recommended only after the masses had been properly educated and adjusted to self-government. Upon passage of the
Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...
, Tennyson broke into a local church to ring the bells in celebration.
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
wrote a play called ''Freshwater'', showing Tennyson as host to his friends
Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was an English photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her Soft focus, soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian era, ...
and G. F. Watts. Colonel George Edward Gouraud,
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
's European agent, made sound recordings of Tennyson reading his own poetry, late in his life. They include recordings of "The Charge of the Light Brigade", and excerpts from "The splendour falls" (from The Princess), "Come into the garden" (from Maud), "Ask me no more", "Ode on the death of the Duke of Wellington" and "Lancelot and Elaine". The sound quality is poor, as wax cylinder recordings usually are. Towards the end of his life Tennyson revealed that his "religious beliefs also defied convention, leaning towards agnosticism and pandeism": In a characteristically Victorian manner, Tennyson combines a deep interest in contemporary science with an unorthodox, even idiosyncratic, Christian belief. Famously, he wrote in ''In Memoriam'': "There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds." In ''Maud'', 1855, he wrote: "The churches have killed their Christ". In " Locksley Hall Sixty Years After", Tennyson wrote: "Christian love among the churches look'd the twin of heathen hate." In his play '' Becket'', he wrote: "We are self-uncertain creatures, and we may, Yea, even when we know not, mix our spites and private hates with our defence of Heaven". Tennyson recorded in his ''Diary'' (p. 127): "I believe in Pantheism of a sort". His son's biography confirms that Tennyson was an unorthodox Christian, noting that Tennyson praised
Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...
and Spinoza on his deathbed, saying of Bruno, "His view of God is in some ways mine", in 1892. Tennyson continued writing into his eighties. He died on 6 October 1892 at Aldworth, aged 83. He was buried at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
. A memorial was erected in All Saints' Church, Freshwater. His last words were, "Oh that press will have me now!". He left an estate of £57,206. Tennyson Down and the Tennyson Trail on the Isle of Wight are named after him, and a monument to him stands on top of Tennyson Down. Lake Tennyson in New Zealand's high country, named by Frederick Weld, is assumed to be named after Lord Tennyson. He was succeeded as 2nd Baron Tennyson by his son
Hallam Hallam may refer to: Places * Hallam, Victoria, Australia ** Hallam railway station UK * Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England, UK ** Royal Hallamshire Hospital ** Sheffield Hallam (UK Parliament constituency) ** Sheffield Hallam Univer ...
, who produced an authorised biography of his father in 1897, and was later the second Governor-General of Australia.


Tennyson and the Queen

Although Albert, Prince Consort, was largely responsible for Tennyson's appointment as Laureate,
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
became an ardent admirer of Tennyson's work, writing in her diary that she was "much soothed & pleased" by reading " In Memoriam A.H.H." after Albert's death. The two met twice, first in April 1862, when Victoria wrote in her diary, "very peculiar looking, tall, dark, with a fine head, long black flowing hair & a beard, oddly dressed, but there is no affectation about him." Tennyson met her a second time just over two decades later, on 7 August 1883, and the Queen told him what a comfort "In Memoriam A.H.H." had been.


The art of Tennyson's poetry

As source material for his poetry, Tennyson used a wide range of subject matter ranging from medieval legends to classical myths and from domestic situations to observations of nature. The influence of John Keats and other Romantic poets published before and during his childhood is evident from the richness of his imagery and descriptive writing. He also handled rhythm masterfully. The insistent beat of " Break, Break, Break" emphasises the relentless sadness of the subject matter. Tennyson's use of the musical qualities of words to emphasise his rhythms and meanings is sensitive. The language of "I come from haunts of coot and hern" lilts and ripples like the brook in the poem and the last two lines of "Come down O maid from yonder mountain height" illustrate his telling combination of
onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...
,
alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...
, and assonance: Tennyson was a craftsman who polished and revised his manuscripts extensively, to the point where his efforts at self-editing were described by his contemporary
Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian literature, Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentar ...
as "insane", symptomatic of "mental infirmity". His complex compositional practice and frequent redrafting also demonstrates a dynamic relationship between images and words, as can be seen in the many notebooks he worked in. Few poets have used such a variety of styles with such an exact understanding of
metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
; like many Victorian poets, he experimented in adapting the quantitative metres of Greek and Latin poetry to English. He reflects the Victorian period of his maturity in his feeling for order and his tendency towards moralising. He also reflects a concern common among
Victorian writers Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian litera ...
in being troubled by the conflict between religious faith and expanding scientific knowledge. Tennyson possessed a strong poetic power, which his early readers often attributed to his "Englishness" and his masculinity. Well-known among his longer works are ''Maud'' and '' Idylls of the King'', the latter arguably the most famous Victorian adaptation of the legend of
King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...
and the Knights of the Round Table. A common thread of grief, melancholy, and loss connects much of his poetry (including "Mariana", "The Lotos Eaters", "Tears, Idle Tears", "In Memoriam"), possibly reflecting Tennyson's lifelong struggle with debilitating depression. T. S. Eliot famously described Tennyson as "the saddest of all English poets", whose technical mastery of verse and language provided a "surface" to his poetry's "depths, to the abyss of sorrow". Other poets such as W. H. Auden maintained a more critical stance, stating that Tennyson was the "stupidest" of all the English poets, adding that: "There was little about melancholia he didn't know; there was little else that he did."


Influence on Pre-Raphaelite artists

Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In 1848,
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...
and William Holman Hunt made a list of "Immortals", artistic heroes whom they admired, especially from literature, notably including Keats and Tennyson, whose work would form subjects for PRB paintings. ''The Lady of Shalott'' alone was a subject for Rossetti, Hunt, John William Waterhouse (three versions), and Elizabeth Siddall.


Tennyson heraldry

A heraldic achievement of Alfred, Lord Tennyson exists in an 1884 stained-glass window in the Hall of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, showing arms: These are a difference of the arms of Thomas Tenison (1636–1715),
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, themselves a difference of the arms of the 13th-century Denys family of
Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
and Siston in Gloucestershire, themselves a difference of the arms of Thomas de Cantilupe (c. 1218–1282), Bishop of Hereford, henceforth the arms of the See of Hereford; the name "Tennyson" signifies "Denys's son", although no connection between the two families is recorded.


Works

A list of works by Tennyson follows: * '' Poems by Two Brothers'' (published 1826; dated 1827 on title page; written with Charles Tennyson) * "Timbuctoo" (for which he won the chancellor's gold medal and was printed in ''Prolusiones Academicæ'') * '' Poems, Chiefly Lyrical'' (1830), in which the following poems were published: * " No More", '" Anacreontics" and " A Fragment" contributed to ''The Gem: A Literary Annual'' (1831) * "Sonnet" (Check every outflash, every ruder sally) in The Englishman's Magazine (August 1831) and later reprinted in Friendship's Offering (1833) * ''Poems'' (published 1832, but dated 1833 on title page), in which the following poems were published: * ''The Lover's Tale'' (Two parts published in 1833; Tennyson suppressed it immediately after publication as he felt it was imperfect. A revised version comprising three parts was subsequently published in 1879 together with "The Golden Supper" as a fourth part.) * "Rosalinde" (1833; suppressed until 1884) * ''
Poems Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
'' (1842; with numerous subsequent editions including the 4th edition (1846) and 8th edition (1853)); the collection included many of the poems published in the 1833 anthology (some in revised form), and the following: * '' The Princess: A Medley'' (1847), which includes the following poems: ** " Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal" – later appeared as a song in the film '' Vanity Fair'' (2004), with musical arrangement by Mychael Danna ** " Tears, Idle Tears" * '' In Memoriam'' (1850), which includes the following poem: ** " Ring Out, Wild Bells" (1850) * " The Eagle" (1851) * "The Sister's Shame" * '' Maud, and Other Poems'' (1855), in which the following poems were published: ** "Maud" ** "The Brook; an Idyl" ** " The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854) – an early recording exists of Tennyson reading this * '' Idylls of the King'' (1859–1885; composed 1833–1874) * ''Enoch Arden and Other Poems'' (1862/1864), in which the following poems were published: ** " Enoch Arden" ** " Tithonus" ** Ode for the Opening of the Exhibition (1862) with music composed by William Sterndale Bennett * ''The Holy Grail and Other Poems'' (1870), in which the following poem was published: ** " Flower in the Crannied Wall" (1869) * '' The Window; or, The Songs of the Wrens'' (written 1867–1870; published 1871) – a
song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...
with music composed by
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
* ''Queen Mary: A Drama'' (1875) – a play about
Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...
* ''Harold: A Drama'' (1877) – a play about Harold II of England * ''Montenegro'' (1877) * '' The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet'' (1878) – about the ship ''Revenge'' * ''Ballads and Other Poems'' (1880) * '' Becket'' (1884) * '' Crossing the Bar'' (1889) * '' The Foresters'' (1891) – a play about
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
with
incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...
by Arthur Sullivan * '' Kapiolani'' (published after his death by Hallam Tennyson)


Musical settings

Michael William Balfe's setting of "Come Into the Garden, Maud" was a popular success in 1857, as sung by the celebrated tenor Sims Reeves. Arthur Somervell's ''Maud'' (1898) used thirteen poems (not all of them complete) for his song cycle, enough "to retain a cogent narrative". Stephen Banfield believes it is "the nearest an English composer ever came to writing a substantial, Romantic song-cycle". Charles Villiers Stanford set "Crossing the Bar" for high voice and piano in April 1880, a year after the poem has been first published. Maude Valérie White (four songs, 1885) and Liza Lehmann (10 songs, 1899) both composed song cycles selecting passages from ''In Memoriam''. Roger Quilter set "Now sleeps the crimson petal" (from ''The Princess'') for voice and orchestra in 1905. "The splendour falls on castle walls" (also from ''The Princess''), has been set by many composers, including Arnold Bax, Benjamin Britten, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Gustav Holst, Stanford, Vaughan Williams and Charles Wood. Tennyson deplored the use of unauthorised repetition in song settings, a device used by many composers, and so tried to circumvent this by supplying his own, as in "Break, Break, Break" (set by Sidney Lanier in 1871 and Cyril Rootham in 1906), and the repetition of "dying" in "The splendour falls", which as Trevor Hold points out, "has been a god-send to every composer who has set it".


Popular culture

Tennyson's "Ulysses" was quoted in the 2012
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film '' Skyfall'', with the character M (played by actress Judi Dench) reciting the poem. The film's soundtrack also included an accompanying track, composed by
Thomas Newman Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is best known for his film scores, earning accolades of six Grammy Award, Grammy Awards, an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award, two British Academy F ...
, that is titled "Tennyson".


Citations


General bibliography

* Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1989). ''Tennyson: A Selected Edition''. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. (hbk.) or (pbk.). Edited with a preface and notes by
Christopher Ricks Sir Christopher Bruce Ricks (born 18 September 1933) is a British literary critic and scholar. He is the William M. and Sara B. Warren Professor of the Humanities at Boston University (US), co-director of the Editorial Institute at Boston ...
. Selections from the definitive edition ''The Poems of Tennyson'', with readings from the Trinity MSS; long works such as '' Maud'' and '' In Memoriam A. H. H.'' are printed in full. *


External links

; Digital collections of works * * * *
Alfred Lord Tennyson: Profile and Poems at Poets.org

Recording of Tennyson reciting "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
* Archival material at
Settings of Alfred Tennyson's poetry in the Choral Public Domain Library
; Institutional collections of works * Th
Baron Alfred Tennyson
digital collection from the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. * Alfred Tennyson Collection. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. * A substantia
collection of Tennyson's works
are held at Special Collections and Archives, Cardiff University.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
at the British Library
Tennyson's Notebooks
in the collections of the Wren Library, fully digitised in Cambridge Digital Library
The Twickenham Museum – Alfred Lord Tennyson in Twickenham
; Additional biographical information * * *

; Other works


Farringford Holiday Cottages and Restaurant, Home of Tennyson, Isle of Wight
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennyson, Alfred Alfred 1809 births 1892 deaths 19th-century English poets 19th-century English writers 19th-century British translators Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1 British poets laureate Burials at Westminster Abbey Culture on the Isle of Wight English Anglicans English male poets Fellows of the Royal Society Literary peers Mythopoeic writers Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth People from East Lindsey District People from Freshwater, Isle of Wight Presidents of the Society of Authors Savage family Alfred Translators from Old English Victorian poets English-language spelling reform advocates