# Assignment: Paper No. 104 Victorian Era #
This Blog is part of an Assignment of sem -1 Paper no. 101 Literature of the Victorian era Assigned by Dr. Dilip Bard sir Department of English,mkbu. In this assignment I am dealing with the topic:
Tennyson as poet :
•Personal Information:
Name : Kavita N. Chauhan
Roll No. : 17
Enrollment No. : 5108230010
Semester : 1st
Paper No. : 104
Paper Code : 22394
Paper Name : Literature of Victorian Period
Topic : Tennyson as poet
Submitted to: Smt.S.B.Gardi,Department of English,MKBU
E-mail : kavitanchauhan2002@gmail.com
•Introduction:
“Tennyson is a great poet, for reasons that are perfectly clear. He has three
qualities which are seldom found together except in the greatest poets:
abundance, variety, and complete competence.” - T. S. Eliot
Tennyson stands in the same relation to his times as Chaucer does to the 14th century and Alexander Pope to the early 18th century. Tennyson faithfully reflected the various aspects of Victorian life in his poetry. He expressed in his poetry the hopes and aspirations, the doubts and skepticism of the age. The faith, griefs and victories of the Victorians were reflected in his poetry.
•Biography of Tennyson :
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in full Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater, (born August 6, 1809, Somersby, Lincolnshire, England—died October 6, 1892, Aldworth, Surrey), English poet often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age
in poetry. He was raised to the peerage in 1884.
 |
| Alfred Tennyson |
•Early life:
Tennyson was the fourth of 12 children, born into an old Lincolnshire family, his father a rector. Alfred, with two of his brothers, Frederick and Charles, was sent in 1815 to Louth grammar school—where he was unhappy. He left in 1820, but, though home conditions were difficult, his father managed to give him a wide literary education. Alfred was precocious, and before his teens he had composed in the styles of Alexander Pope, Sir Walter Scott, and John Milton. To his youth also belongs The Devil and the Lady (a collection of previously unpublished poems published posthumously in 1930), which shows an astonishing understanding of Elizabethan dramatic verse. Lord Byron was a dominant influence on the young Tennyson.
At the lonely rectory in Somersby the children were thrown upon their own resources. All writers on Tennyson emphasize the influence of the Lincolnshire countryside on his poetry: the plain, the sea about his home, “the sand-built ridge of heaped hills that mound the sea,” and “the waste enormous marsh.”
In 1824 the health of Tennyson’s father began to break down, and he took refuge in drink. Alfred, though depressed by unhappiness at home, continued to write, collaborating with Frederick and Charles in Poems by Two Brothers (1826; dated 1827). His contributions (more than half the volume) are mostly in fashionable styles of the day.
•Tennyson as victorian poet:
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was the most highly regarded poet of his period and the most widely read of all English poets. The quality of his work varied greatly for he included in his poetry themes and subjects that were of intense interest to the Victorians. Tennyson's technical skill and prosody were unsurpassed. Perhaps the most perceptive evaluation of his work is embodied in Tennyson's own remark to Carlyle:
“I don't think that since Shakespeare there has been such a master of the English language as I — to be sure, I have nothing to say.”
Tennyson actually breathed the spirit of his age into his poetry. That is
why his poems are a reflection of his age. Various characteristics of the Victorian age could be seen in the works of Tennyson. The age was an age of democratic spirit and common people were fighting for their equal rights and political freedom. Tennyson himself belonged to the upper middle class and could not go beyond the limitations of his middle class. He favored peaceful and slow evolution rather than any kind of struggle or revolution.
One of the major features of the Victorian age was the rise of scientific spirit. Tennyson’s attitude towards scientific progress was skeptical. He always swung between the two extremes of science and religion. In such a situation he sought to preach a compromise.
Being a true Victorian poet Tennyson played the role of a moral teacher. Generally speaking, the Victorians had a keen fascination for moralizing and preaching. Tennyson understood people’s expectations and thus he admirably played the role of a philosopher. According to Tennyson the poet’s function was not to delight only but to teach the masses, the statesman and even the intellectuals. In hours of confusion the statesmen turned to time for light and wisdom. He taught people to be moderate, patient and tolerant. His message of action is truly represented in his poem:
“Ulysses” when he writes; “To strive, to
seek, to find and not to yield”.
The Victorians believed in conjugal love rather than romance. Tennyson supported this view most sincerely. He could not allow passion in love. Any relation between man and woman other than the married one was not sanctioned by him. However he preferred spiritual love to physical love.
The Victorian people were intensely patriotic. They took pride in their Queen and national glories. Tennyson shared these feelings of his countrymen. In his poetry the sense of national pride and glory is well sounded. He represents English life and manners with utmost sincerity. Tennyson’s praise for his own country is the expression of a Victorian patriot who considered his country superior to all other countries of the world. He says;
“There is no land like England
Where’er the light of day be”
Tennyson treats Nature as an accompaniment of human emotions and sentiments. He never thinks of Nature without man. Man is always there in his Nature-paintings. Nature in Tennyson reflects the joys and sorrows of his men and women. Nature to Tennyson is always a background for reflecting some human emotions. In his poem “The Lotus Eaters” this aspect of his approach towards nature can be seen;
“There is sweet music here that softer falls
Than petals from blown roses on the grass
Or night dews on still waters between walls.
Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass.”
Tennyson was a great poetic artist. Right from the beginning of his poetic career
He practiced to attain perfection in poetry. Art. As an artist he shows unity of impression and construction in his poems. He always selected the suitable words and appropriate phraseology to convey his ideas. This uniqueness can be seen when Tennyson writes in his poem “Ulysses”;”I cannot rest from travel/ I
will drink life to the lease”
Tennyson’s art is abundantly rich in its pictorial effect. In this respect he follows his predecessors. He rises upon exact details, dresses them in expressive and musical phrases and presents a radiant image before the reader’s eye. His poem “The Lotus Eaters” is full of superb pictures; “far off, three mountain-tops/ Three silent pinnacles of aged snow,/Stood sunset-flushed”
Thus, Tennyson presented in his poems all the essential features of Victorian life. His poetry represents the time itself with full intensity and glory.
•Tennyson's Major poem:
1. In Memoriam.
2. ‘Tithonus‘.
3. ‘The Lady of Shalott‘.
4. ‘Mariana‘.
5. ‘Crossing the Bar‘.
6. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade‘.
7. ‘Break, Break, Break‘.
8. ‘Morte d’Arthur‘.
9. ‘Ulysses‘.
10. ‘The Lotos- Eaters‘.
•Major Themes of Tennyson's Poetry:
Death:
It is observed that most of the poets had a special liking for the theme of death. Similarly Tennyson too was highly attracted to it and especially after the sudden death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, he had an obsession for the same. A careful reading of Tennyson’s poems reveal that he treats Death in a truly sustained and deeply personal manner. His friend’s untimely death in a way had paved the way for his writing many great poems of this genre. Some of his poems dealing with the theme of death are: Ulysses,
Tithonus, The two Voices, In Memoriam, Crossing the Bar etc. on his profound agony at the death of Arthur Henry Hallam and also his deep desire to know and experience what happens after death and his soul-stirring longing to die which will join him with his friend.
Nature:
Another theme to which Tennyson had a great affinity was none other Than Nature which plays a pivotal role in his poetry. Sometimes she is portrayed as both beguiling and sensuous. The best example for this is the poem Lotus. Eaters. As far as Tennyson is concerned, Nature is also an omnipresent reminder of the cycle of life from birth to death and if anyone dares to exist outside of that cycle, the
outcome will definitely be grief, separation and loneliness-from a human being’s mortal self, the result of which can most probably be disastrous. On
On many occasions, the poet portrays Nature as a reminder of the vitality of life and one’s existence, but sometimes the same Nature serves as a metaphor for death. Break, Break, Break is the best example for the former and Crossing the Bar for the latter. In some other poems Nature is presented as chaotic, hostile and totally indifferent to Man. Though
Tennyson depicts Nature in its myriad hues and moods, each and every poem of his dealing with Nature is characteristically imbued with that Tennysonian touch.
Spirituality:
Though in many of his poems Tennyson’s devout faith in Christianity is clearly manifested, it is at its supreme in the poem In Memoriam and hence only that is mentioned here. Though he mourns for the irreparable loss of his friend in the beginning of the poem, slowly the poet’s adherence to Christian faith comes to his rescue and in the end of the poem the sad and the hopeless tone of the beginning is transformed to one of great optimism. Here it is seen that Tennyson’s lapses in faith are reconciled and from the dim path of doubt the brightness of acceptance dawns before him. Leaving all his doubts, complains and desolations quite
strongly he realizes and accepts that God almighty has a clear plan for every human being
created by him.
Time:
A detailed analysis of the different poems of Tennyson reveals that many of his poems reflect the poet’s working through the implications of time. The general assumption reflected in these poems can be summed up as life is very short and fleeting fast, generally it is seen that many people simply sit and groan, blame others for one’s own shortcomings and make a hell on earth and pine away…..forgetting and neglecting all the beauty and blessings bestowed on them by God. The poet strongly opines that such a life is a mere wastage and he exhorts one and all to savor and live happily and meaningfully when the great gift of life is open before
them.
Courage:
It’s a characteristic feature of Tennyson that his greatest poems commemorate giants with Himalayan personality fighting valiantly against challenges or exhibiting great courage and unique defiance of spirit. Even under duress also these great heroes of Tennyson are
delineated as embodiments of infinite courage and potential. Some poems that serve as best example are The Charge of the light Brigade, The Princess: a Medley, Morte’ Arthur
and Ulysses. Tennyson’s heroes and heroines are so mighty and boldly brave that they dare to defy death even. The character of Princess Ida and Ulysses are unquestionable and irrevocable examples. Thus it can be asserted beyond any doubt that the Greatest
Tennysonian virtue is none other than Courage itself.
•Legacy:
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was the leading poet of the Victorian Age in England and by the mid-19th century had come to occupy a position similar to that of Alexander Pope in the 18th. Tennyson was a consummate poetic artist, consolidating and refining the traditions bequeathed to him by his predecessors in the Romantic movement—especially Wordsworth, Byron, and Keats. His poetry is remarkable for its metrical variety, rich descriptive imagery, and exquisite verbal melodies. But Tennyson was also regarded as the preeminent spokesman for the educated middle-class Englishman, in moral and religious outlook and in political and social consciousness no less than in matters of taste and sentiment. His poetry dealt often with the doubts and difficulties of an age in which established Christian faith and traditional assumptions about man’s nature and destiny were increasingly called into question by science and modern progress. His poetry dealt with these misgivings, moreover, as the intimate personal problems of a sensitive and troubled individual inclined to melancholy. Yet through his poetic mastery—the spaciousness and nobility of his best verse, its classical aptness of phrase, its distinctive harmony—he conveyed to sympathetic readers a feeling of implicit reassurance, even serenity. Tennyson may be seen as the first great English poet to be fully aware of the new picture of man’s place in the universe revealed by modern science.
•Tennyson and Browning:
Tennyson and Browning differed from each other's poets. However, combined together they reflected the entire poetry of the Victorian Age. Tennyson was the representative poet of the Victorian Age. The social, political,economic and religious problems of the age were represented by Tennyson in his poetry.Browning kept himself completely aloof from the social, religious and political problems of his times. Tennyson was an Englishman out and out and he was a great artist. Browning was a cosmopolitan poet. In Tennyson the landscape is more important than man. In Browning man is more important than nature. However, all the main tendencies Of Poetry of the Victorian Age is reflected in the poetry of Tennyson and Browning.
•Conclusion:
Alfred Lord Tennyson is a famous Victorian poet who had authored popular lyric poems like The Charge of the Light Brigade, Break, Break, Break,
Tears Idle Tears, The Lady of Shallot and the longer works In Memoriam and Idylls of the King. It can be proved beyond any doubt that he is a master of rhythm and of rich, descriptive imagery who had successfully created poems in a variety of poetic styles, that too
encompassing a wide range of subject matter. It is quite well known that he had great affinity and love for Victorian England and he had successfully manifested this beautifully through the different themes he had dealt with picturesquely in his myriad poems. Thus quite confidently it can be said that Alfred Lord Tennyson is unquestionably a great Victorian poet whose contribution to the realm of English poetry is truly immense and highly rich.
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•work cited
Baldwin, Emma. "Alfred Lord Tennyson: The Victorian Poet Laureate". <em>Poem Analysis</em>, <a id="site_link" href="https://poemanalysis.com/alfred-tennyson/biography/"> https://poemanalysis.com/alfred-tennyson/biography/</a>. Accessed 6 November 2023
https://vikramuniv.ac.in/files/wp-content/uploads/Tennyson_as_a_representative_poet_of_his_age-_Dr_Rooble_Verma.
https://www.easyenglishpoint.com/2021/12/tennyson-as-representative-poet-of-victorian-age.html.
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