Tennyson, Alfred. (1809 - 1892).

W o r k

- a poet of the countryside, the classical past, but also the present progress

- uses dignified blank verse

> Poet Laureate (1850 - 1892)

E a r l y  P e r i o d :

- melancholic and self-absorptive, preoccupied with death-like states and death as a releasing experience

- employed hypnotic echoes, repetitions, and subtle lyricism

> “The Kraken”, “The Lady of Shalott”, “The Lotos-Eaters”, etc.

M a t u r e  P e r i o d :

- influenced by the death of his friend Arthur Hallam, his religious uncertainties, and extensive study of science

“Ulysses” (1842):

- a dramatic monologue poem on the idea of progressive development

The Princess: A Medley (1847):

- a long narrative fantasy poem on the idea of women's education

- princess Ida experiments with a women’s college x but: repents of her Amazonian scheme to be united with the prince

In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850):

- a long elegiac tribute to Arthur Hallam

- examines our relation to God and to nature: includes both grief x belief in resurrection, exploration of doubts x assertion of faith, the reasoning mind x craving for present comfort, etc.

> won him full critical recognition and the post of Poet Laureate

Maud: and Other Poems (1855):

> “Maud”:

- a long experimental monologue poem, a love-poem x but: opens starkly with the words ‘I hate’

- displays the bitterness its alienated protagonist feels towards society

> “The Charge of the Light Brigade”:

- ‘newspaper verse’, a public utterance on the Crimean War

L a t e r  P e r i o d :

- marked by accentuated mannerism

Idylls of the King (1859):

- a large-scale epic using the body of the Arthurian legend to develop a vision of the rise and fall of civilisation