Tennyson: Poet and Prophet

by Philip Henderson

HENDERSON, P,: TENNYSON POET AND PROPHET, LONDON, 1978, xix 225 p, laminas,Encuadernacion original, Nuevo,

Hardcover

First published March 1, 1978

Reviews

[Alastair Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a catchy title but the book didn't support the claim that Tennyson was a prophet, and to say that he was a poet was unecessary. Still, alliteration is important to some people and the title is snappy.  The chapters are untitled, and chapter 1 begins with a beautiful appreciation of the country of Lincolnshire, and Alfred's father's circumstances. 



The book consists of a collection of observations and details mainly by Alfed's son, Hallam, of his daily life, and frequent excerpts of poems with Henderson's observations and appreciations, as well as considerations of historical background as contributing factors to the details and themes.  Open conjecture towards his homosexuality, and manic-depressive condition, more like a detached admirer than a qualified expert. Henderson even had some trouble deciding if Tennyson was wealthy or not, which to be fair was a condition that changed. Some of the weighting of attention to poems didn't suit my concerns with minimal tenxtual anlyasis of The Charge Of The Light Brigade and little debate on it's anti-war possibility.

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a easy read as it discusses the poems in some detail,which makes it useful and interesting but they do demand concentration.Good pictures.Tennyson's life was not particularly interesting or dramatic but it was useful to see how contemporaries viewed him,not always positively.The mystery,to me,is still his relationship to Hallam,the reason for his first great poem,"In Memorium" - did he sublimate his homosexual feeling into his idealised love for Hallam and why did he delay marriage until his 40s after knowing his future wife for over 10 years? Victorians did use flowery language so perhaps friendships seem more intense than they actually were.Anyway worth the read even if it just proved that I could still read serious books.