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Tennyson: Poems
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a more complex writer than his status as Queen Victoria's favorite poet might suggest. Though capable of rendering rapture and delight in the most exquisite verse, in another mode Tennyson is brother in spirit to Poe and Baudelaire, the author of dark, passionate reveries. And though he treasured poetic tradition, his work nevertheless engaged directly with the great issues of his time, from industrialization and the crisis of faith to scientific progress and women's rights. A master of the short, intense lyric, he can also be sardonic, humorous, voluptuous, earthy, and satirical.
This collection includes, of course, such famous poems as "The Lady of Shalott" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade." There are extracts from all the major masterpieces--"Idylls of the King," "The Princess," "In Memoriam"--and several complete long poems, such as "Ulysses" and "Demeter and Persephone," that demonstrate his narrative grace. Finally, there are many of the short lyrical poems, such as "Come into the Garden, Maud" and "Break, Break, Break," for which he is justly celebrated.
This collection includes, of course, such famous poems as "The Lady of Shalott" and "The Charge of the Light Brigade." There are extracts from all the major masterpieces--"Idylls of the King," "The Princess," "In Memoriam"--and several complete long poems, such as "Ulysses" and "Demeter and Persephone," that demonstrate his narrative grace. Finally, there are many of the short lyrical poems, such as "Come into the Garden, Maud" and "Break, Break, Break," for which he is justly celebrated.
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First published January 1, 1892
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About the author
Alfred Tennyson
2,143 books1,442 followersWorks, including
In Memoriam
in 1850 and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854, of Alfred Tennyson, first baron, known as lord, appointed British poet laureate in 1850, reflect Victorian sentiments and aesthetics.
Elizabeth Tennyson, wife, bore Alfred Tennyson, the fourth of twelve children, to George Tennyson, clergyman; he inevitably wrote his books. In 1816, parents sent Tennyson was sent to grammar school of Louth.
Alfred Tennyson disliked school so intensely that from 1820, home educated him. At the age of 18 years in 1827, Alfred joined his two brothers at Trinity College, Cambridge and with Charles Tennyson, his brother, published Poems by Two Brothers , his book, in the same year.
Alfred Tennyson published Poems Chiefly Lyrical , his second book, in 1830. In 1833, Arthur Henry Hallam, best friend of Tennyson, engaged to wed his sister, died, and thus inspired some best Ulysses and the Passing of Arthur .
Following William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson in 1850 married Emily Sellwood Tenyson, his childhood friend. She bore Hallam Tennyson in 1852 and Lionel Tennyson in 1854, two years later.
Alfred Tennyson continued throughout his life and in the 1870s also to write a number of plays.
In 1884, the queen raised Alfred Tennyson, a great favorite of Albert, prince, thereafter to the peerage of Aldworth. She granted such a high rank for solely literary distinction to this only Englishman.
Alfred Tennyson died at the age of 83 years, and people buried his body in abbey of Westminster.
Elizabeth Tennyson, wife, bore Alfred Tennyson, the fourth of twelve children, to George Tennyson, clergyman; he inevitably wrote his books. In 1816, parents sent Tennyson was sent to grammar school of Louth.
Alfred Tennyson disliked school so intensely that from 1820, home educated him. At the age of 18 years in 1827, Alfred joined his two brothers at Trinity College, Cambridge and with Charles Tennyson, his brother, published Poems by Two Brothers , his book, in the same year.
Alfred Tennyson published Poems Chiefly Lyrical , his second book, in 1830. In 1833, Arthur Henry Hallam, best friend of Tennyson, engaged to wed his sister, died, and thus inspired some best Ulysses and the Passing of Arthur .
Following William Wordsworth, Alfred Tennyson in 1850 married Emily Sellwood Tenyson, his childhood friend. She bore Hallam Tennyson in 1852 and Lionel Tennyson in 1854, two years later.
Alfred Tennyson continued throughout his life and in the 1870s also to write a number of plays.
In 1884, the queen raised Alfred Tennyson, a great favorite of Albert, prince, thereafter to the peerage of Aldworth. She granted such a high rank for solely literary distinction to this only Englishman.
Alfred Tennyson died at the age of 83 years, and people buried his body in abbey of Westminster.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
March 31, 2024
I used to think poetry was for people much smarter than me... people who have English degrees and can sit down and deeply analyze the words in front of them. I was too intimidated. And I never did very well in my English classes in high school. But I so, SO glad that I got over this fear of poetry and decided to first read Robert Frost a few years ago, then The Lady of Shalott last year. There's no going back. And Tennyson, it's safe to say, will forever be a favourite poet.
November 1, 2020
"But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies;
The sad mechanic exercise,
Like dull narcotics, numbing pain."
Tennyson first peaked my interest with 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', when I had to analyze the poem in a literature course at university about half a year ago. His sentimental approach to something so gruesome and terrible intrigued me and I got this collection for my birthday a few months later. It took me a while to pick it up, I struggled to give it a chance. I am so glad I finally did. My favourite poems from this collection are 'On His Stillborn Son' and 'In Memoriam A. H. H.'. The latter left me speechless and even a bit emotional. Of course there were poems that didn't really do it for me but I will revisit many others.
"Poetry is not my thing!" is a sentiment I have repeated over and over again. As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. I couldn't understand why people enjoyed poetry but I do now. Don't ask me to explain it, because I think it is a thing best experienced rather than explained.
A use in measured language lies;
The sad mechanic exercise,
Like dull narcotics, numbing pain."
Tennyson first peaked my interest with 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', when I had to analyze the poem in a literature course at university about half a year ago. His sentimental approach to something so gruesome and terrible intrigued me and I got this collection for my birthday a few months later. It took me a while to pick it up, I struggled to give it a chance. I am so glad I finally did. My favourite poems from this collection are 'On His Stillborn Son' and 'In Memoriam A. H. H.'. The latter left me speechless and even a bit emotional. Of course there were poems that didn't really do it for me but I will revisit many others.
"Poetry is not my thing!" is a sentiment I have repeated over and over again. As it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong. I couldn't understand why people enjoyed poetry but I do now. Don't ask me to explain it, because I think it is a thing best experienced rather than explained.
April 11, 2022
I adore I adore I adore
December 10, 2021
I own an absolute brick of a Complete Tennyson, but I baulked at subjecting myself to 1000 pages of him. Instead, I went for the Everyman collection, and I’m glad I did. While Ulysses never fails to make me cry, and I can appreciate Shalott, Eagle, and Light Brigade, outside of the fan favourites I found nothing to tempt me. I am not a Tennyson stan, beyond the obvious. Sorry not sorry.
Three Sonnets to a Coquette:
“For Hope is other Hope and wanders far,
Nor cares to lisp in love’s delicious creeds;
And Fancy watches in the wilderness,
Poor Fancy sadder than a single star,
That sets at twilight in a land of reeds.”
The Princess:
“O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.”
“Dear as remembered kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned
On lips that are for others;”
Maud:
“O let the solid ground
Not fail beneath my feet
Before my life has found
What some have found so sweet;
Then let come what come may,
What matter if I go mad,
I shall have had my day.”
“My heart would hear her and beat,
Were it earth in an earthy bed;
My dust would hear her and beat,
Had I lain for a century dead;
Would start and tremble under her feet,
And blossom in purple and red.”
The Lotus Eaters:
“All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave
In silence; ripen, fall and cease:
Give us long rest or death, dark death,
or dreamful ease.”
Tithonus:
“The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,
The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,
Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,
And after many a summer dies the swan.
Me only cruel immortality
Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms,
Here at the quiet limit of the world,
A white-haired shadow roaming like a dream
The ever-silent spaces of the East,
Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.”
Of Old Sat Freedom on the Heights:
“Grave mother of majestic works,
From her isle-alter gazing down,
Who, God-like, grasps the triple forks,
And, King-like, wears the crown:”
The Charge of the Light Brigade:
“Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”
In Memoriam:
“That loss is common would not make
My own less bitter, rather more:
Too common! Never morning wore
To evening, but some heart did break.”
“Or that the past will always win
A glory from its being far;
And orb into the perfect star
We saw not, when we moved therein?”
Favourites: The Eagle; The Lady of Shalott; Ulysses; The Charge of the Light Brigade.
Three Sonnets to a Coquette:
“For Hope is other Hope and wanders far,
Nor cares to lisp in love’s delicious creeds;
And Fancy watches in the wilderness,
Poor Fancy sadder than a single star,
That sets at twilight in a land of reeds.”
The Princess:
“O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.”
“Dear as remembered kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned
On lips that are for others;”
Maud:
“O let the solid ground
Not fail beneath my feet
Before my life has found
What some have found so sweet;
Then let come what come may,
What matter if I go mad,
I shall have had my day.”
“My heart would hear her and beat,
Were it earth in an earthy bed;
My dust would hear her and beat,
Had I lain for a century dead;
Would start and tremble under her feet,
And blossom in purple and red.”
The Lotus Eaters:
“All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave
In silence; ripen, fall and cease:
Give us long rest or death, dark death,
or dreamful ease.”
Tithonus:
“The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,
The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,
Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,
And after many a summer dies the swan.
Me only cruel immortality
Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms,
Here at the quiet limit of the world,
A white-haired shadow roaming like a dream
The ever-silent spaces of the East,
Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.”
Of Old Sat Freedom on the Heights:
“Grave mother of majestic works,
From her isle-alter gazing down,
Who, God-like, grasps the triple forks,
And, King-like, wears the crown:”
The Charge of the Light Brigade:
“Their’s not to make reply,
Their’s not to reason why,
Their’s but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.”
In Memoriam:
“That loss is common would not make
My own less bitter, rather more:
Too common! Never morning wore
To evening, but some heart did break.”
“Or that the past will always win
A glory from its being far;
And orb into the perfect star
We saw not, when we moved therein?”
Favourites: The Eagle; The Lady of Shalott; Ulysses; The Charge of the Light Brigade.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2023
Very lovely poems.
April 5, 2014
Lovely, flowing, lyrical verses.
Out of all poets I've ever read, Tennyson by far ranks as my favourite - followed closely by Browning and Wordsworth.
It had been ages since I'd made a concerted effort to read poetry, but thanks to Goodreads' recommendation, the love affair with beautiful verse was 'rekindled'(Excuse the pun!) whate'er befall;
Although I loved reading almost all his works, some of my favourites are 'The Lady of Shalott', 'Break break break', 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and oh, one of the most haunting tales of hope tinged with sadness: 'In Memoriam'
I hold it true,
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all..
Out of all poets I've ever read, Tennyson by far ranks as my favourite - followed closely by Browning and Wordsworth.
It had been ages since I'd made a concerted effort to read poetry, but thanks to Goodreads' recommendation, the love affair with beautiful verse was 'rekindled'(Excuse the pun!) whate'er befall;
Although I loved reading almost all his works, some of my favourites are 'The Lady of Shalott', 'Break break break', 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' and oh, one of the most haunting tales of hope tinged with sadness: 'In Memoriam'
I hold it true,
I feel it when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all..
January 23, 2022
This selection is divided into six parts: "Songs Lyric and Dramatic", "Narrative Poems", "About Poetry", "Public Verse", and "Fragments and Experiments", and "In Memoriam"...
From "Songs Lyric and Dramatic"...
From "Narrative Poems"...
From "About Poetry"...
From "Public Verse"...
From "Fragments and Experiments"...
From "In Memoriam"...
From "Songs Lyric and Dramatic"...
As when with downcast eyes we muse and brood,
And ebb into a former life, or seem
To lapse far back in some confused dream
To state of mystical similitude;
If one but speaks or hems or stirs his chair,
Ever the wonder waxeth more and more,
So that we say, 'All this hath been before,
All this hath been, I know not when or where.'
So, friend, when first I looked upon your face,
Our thought gave answer, each to each, so true,
Opposed mirrors each reflecting each -
That though I knew not in what time or place,
Methought that I had often met with you,
And each had lived in either's heart and speech.- Sonnet, pg. 25
From "Narrative Poems"...
I
On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.
Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.
By the margin, willow veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?
Only reapers, reaping early
In among the bearded barley,
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly,
Down to tower'd Camelot:
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers " 'Tis the fairy
Lady of Shalott."
II
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.
And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot:
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village-churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls,
Pass onward from Shalott.
Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad,
Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two:
She hath no loyal knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.
But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot:
Or when the moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed:
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.
III
A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley-sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.
The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armour rung,
Beside remote Shalott.
All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over still Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces thro' the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.
IV
In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining,
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And round about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.
And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seër in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance—
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.
Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right—
The leaves upon her falling light—
Thro' the noises of the night
She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
The Lady of Shalott.
Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darken'd wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.
Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and burgher, lord and dame,
And round the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.
Who is this? and what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they cross'd themselves for fear,
All the knights at Camelot:
But Lancelot mused a little space;
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."- The Lady of Shalott, pg. 81-87
From "About Poetry"...
The rain had fallen, the Poet arose,
He passed by the town and out of the street,
A light wind blew from the gates of the sun,
And waves of shadow went over the wheat,
And he sat him down in a lonely place,
And chanted a melody loud and sweet,
That made the wild-swan pause in her cloud,
And the lark drop down at his feet.
The swallow stopt as he hunted the bee,
The snake slipt under a spray,
The wild hawk stood with the down on his beak,
And stared, with his foot on the prey,
And the nightingale thought, 'I have sung
many songs,
But never a one so gay,
For he sings of what the world will be
When the years have died away.'- The Poet's Song, pg. 127
From "Public Verse"...
I
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
II
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismayed?
Not though the soldier knew
Someone had blundered.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
III
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.
IV
Flashed all their sabres bare,
Flashed as they turned in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wondered.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right through the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeled from the sabre stroke
Shattered and sundered.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
V
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell.
They that had fought so well
Came through the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
VI
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!- The Charge of the Light Brigade, pg. 150-152
From "Fragments and Experiments"...
O mighty-mouth'd inventor of harmonies,
O skill'd to sing of Time or Eternity,
God-gifted organ-voice of England,
Milton, a name to resound for ages;
Whose Titan angels, Gabriel, Abdiel,
Starr'd from Jehovah's gorgeous armouries,
Tower, as the deep-domed empyrean
Rings to the roar of an angel onset—
Me rather all that bowery loneliness,
The brooks of Eden mazily murmuring,
And bloom profuse and cedar arches
Charm, as a wanderer out in ocean,
Where some refulgent sunset of India
Streams o'er a rich ambrosial ocean isle,
And crimson-hued the stately palm-woods
Whisper in odorous heights of even.- Milton - Alcaics, pg. 179-180
From "In Memoriam"...
Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.
Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.- Crossing the Bar, pg. 255
June 3, 2010
Tennyson first began to achieve critical success with the publication of his Poems in 1842, a work that include “Ulysses,” “Tithonus,” and other famous short lyrics about mythical and philosophical subjects. At the time of publication, England had seen the death of Coleridge, Shelley, Byron, Keats, and indeed all of the great Romantic poets except Wordsworth; Tennyson thus filled a lacuna in the English literary scene. In 1845, he began receiving a small government pension for his poetry. In 1850, Wordsworth, who had been Britain’s Poet Laureate, died at the age of 80; upon the publication of “In Memoriam,” Tennyson was named to succeed him in this honor. With this title he became the most popular poet in Victorian England and could finally afford to marry Emily Sellwood, whom he had loved since 1836. The marriage began sadly—the couple’s first son was stillborn in 1851—but the couple soon found happiness: in 1853 they were able to move to a secluded country house on the Isle of Wight, where they raised two sons named Hallam and Lionel.
Tennyson continued to write and to gain popularity. His later poetry primarily followed a narrative rather than lyrical style; as the novel began to emerge as the most popular literary form, poets began searching for new ways of telling stories in verse. For example, in Tennyson’s poem “Maud,” a speaker tells his story in a sequence of short lyrics in varying meters; Tennyson described the work as an experimental “monodrama.” Not only were his later verses concerned with dramatic fiction, they also examined current national political drama. As Poet Laureate, Tennyson represented the literary voice of the nation and, as such, he made occasional pronouncements on political affairs. For example, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854) described a disastrous battle in the Crimean War and praised the heroism of the British soldiers there. In 1859, Tennyson published the first four Idylls of the King, a group of twelve blank-verse narrative poems tracing the story of the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This collection, dedicated to Prince Albert, enjoyed much popularity among the royal family, who saw Arthur’s lengthy reign as a representation of Queen Victoria’s 64-year rule (1837-1901).
Tennyson’s poetic output covers a breadth difficult to comprehend in a single system of thematics: his various works treat issues of political and historical concern, as well as scientific matters, classical mythology, and deeply personal thoughts and feelings. Tennyson is both a poet of penetrating introspection and a poet of the people; he plumbs the depths of his own consciousness while also giving voice to the national consciousness of Victorian society.
As a child, Tennyson was influenced profoundly by the poetry of Byron and Scott, and his earliest poems reflect the lyric intensity and meditative expressiveness of his Romantic forebears. These early poems demonstrate his ability to link external scenery to interior states of mind. However, unlike the Romantics, whose nature poems present a scene that raises an emotional or psychological problem, Tennyson uses nature as a psychological category. In “Mariana,” for example, he uses Keatsian descriptions of the natural world to describe a woman’s state of mind; he conveys via his natural setting the consciousness of a woman waiting vainly for her lover, and her increasing hopelessness.
Not only is Tennyson a poet of the natural and psychological landscape, he also attends frequently to the past, and historical events. “The Lady of Shalott” and the poems within Idylls of the King take place in medieval England and capture a world of knights in shining armor and their damsels in distress. In addition to treating the history of his nation, Tennyson also explores the mythological past, as articulated in classical works of Homer, Virgil, and Dante. His “Ulysses” and “The Lotos-Eaters”draw upon actual incidents in Homer’s Odyssey . Likewise, his ode “To Virgil” abounds with allusions to incidents in the great poet’s Aeneid , especially the fall of Troy. Tennyson thus looked both to historical and mythological pasts as repositories for his poetry.
Tennyson’s personal past, too, figures prominently in his work. The sudden death of his closest friend Arthur Henry Hallam when Tennyson was just 24 dealt a great emotional blow to the young poet, who spent the next ten years writing over a hundred poems dedicated to his departed friend, later collected and published as “In Memoriam” in 1850. This lengthy work describes Tennyson’s memories of the time he spent with Hallam, including their Cambridge days, when Hallam would read poetry aloud to his friends: thus Tennyson writes, “O bliss, when all in circle drawn / About him, heart and ear were fed / To hear him, as he lay and read / The Tuscan poets on the lawn!” Tennyson grapples with the tremendous grief he feels after the loss of such a dear friend, concluding famously that “ ’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.”
“In Memoriam” also reflects Tennyson’s struggle with the Victorians’ growing awareness of another sort of past: the vast expanse of geological time and evolutionary history. The new discoveries in biology, astronomy, and geology implied a view of humanity that much distressed many Victorians, including Tennyson. In Maud, for example, he describes the stars as “cold fires, yet with power to burn and brand/ His nothingness into man”; unlike the Romantics, he possessed a painful awareness of the brutality and indifference of “Nature red in tooth and claw.” Although Tennyson associated evolution with progress, he also worried that the notion seemed to contradict the Biblical story of creation and long-held assumptions about man’s place in the world. Nonetheless, in “In Memoriam,” he insists that we must keep our faith despite the latest discoveries of science: he writes, “Strong Son of God, immortal Love / Whom we, that have not seen they face, / By faith, and faith alone, embrace / Believing where we cannot prove.” At the end of the poem, he concludes that God’s eternal plan includes purposive biological development; thus he reassures his Victorian readers that the new science does not mean the end of the old faith.
Tennyson also spoke to his Victorian contemporaries about issues of urgent social and political concern. In “The Princess” he addresses the relations between the sexes and argues for women’s rights in higher education. In “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” he speaks out in favor of a controversial diplomatic maneuver, the disastrous charge on the Russian army by British troops in the Crimean War. Thus, for all his love of the past, Tennyson also maintained a lively interest in the developments of his day, remaining deeply committed to reforming the society in which he lived and to which he gave voice.
Tennyson lived during a period of great scientific advancement, and he used his poetry to work out the conflict between religious faith and scientific discoveries. Notable scientific findings and theories of the Victorian period include stratigraphy, the geological study of rock layers used to date the earth, in 1811; the first sighting of an asteroid in 1801 and galaxies in the1840s; and Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection in 1859. In the second half of the century, scientists, such as Fülöp Semmelweis, Joseph Lister, and Louis Pasteur, began the experiments and work that would eventually lead to germ theory and our modern understanding of microorganisms and diseases. These discoveries challenged traditional religious understandings of nature and natural history.
For most of his career, Tennyson was deeply interested in and troubled by these discoveries. His poem “Locksley Hall” (1842) expresses his ambivalence about technology and scientific progress. There the speaker feels tempted to abandon modern civilization and return to a savage life in the jungle. In the end, he chooses to live a civilized, modern life and enthusiastically endorses technology. In Memoriam connects the despair Tennyson felt over the loss of his friend Arthur Hallam and the despair he felt when contemplating a godless world. In the end, the poem affirms both religious faith and faith in human progress. Nevertheless, Tennyson continued to struggle with the reconciliation of science and religion, as illustrated by some of his later work. For example, “Locksley Hall Sixty Years After” (1886) takes as its protagonist the speaker from the original “Locksley Hall,” but now he is an old man, who looks back on his youthful optimism and faith in progress with scorn and skepticism.
Tennyson took a great interest in the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century, and his poetry manifests this interest in its reliance on scientific language. “The Kraken” (1830), which describes an ancient, slumbering sea beast, mentions a “cell” (8) and “polypi” (9). Section 21 of In Memoriamalludes to the 1846 discovery of Neptune. There, a traveler tells the speaker not to grieve for his friend. Rather than grieve, the traveler says, the speaker should rejoice in the marvelous possibilities of science. Section 120, in contrast, features the speaker wondering what good science might do in a world full of religious doubt and despair. Other poems praise technological discoveries and inventions, including the steamships and railways discussed in “Locksley Hall,” or mention specific plants and flowers, as does “The Lotos-Eaters” (1832, 1842). Taking metaphors and poetic diction from science allowed Tennyson to connect to his age and to modernize his sometimes antiquarian language and archaic verse forms.
Tennyson continued to write and to gain popularity. His later poetry primarily followed a narrative rather than lyrical style; as the novel began to emerge as the most popular literary form, poets began searching for new ways of telling stories in verse. For example, in Tennyson’s poem “Maud,” a speaker tells his story in a sequence of short lyrics in varying meters; Tennyson described the work as an experimental “monodrama.” Not only were his later verses concerned with dramatic fiction, they also examined current national political drama. As Poet Laureate, Tennyson represented the literary voice of the nation and, as such, he made occasional pronouncements on political affairs. For example, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854) described a disastrous battle in the Crimean War and praised the heroism of the British soldiers there. In 1859, Tennyson published the first four Idylls of the King, a group of twelve blank-verse narrative poems tracing the story of the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This collection, dedicated to Prince Albert, enjoyed much popularity among the royal family, who saw Arthur’s lengthy reign as a representation of Queen Victoria’s 64-year rule (1837-1901).
Tennyson’s poetic output covers a breadth difficult to comprehend in a single system of thematics: his various works treat issues of political and historical concern, as well as scientific matters, classical mythology, and deeply personal thoughts and feelings. Tennyson is both a poet of penetrating introspection and a poet of the people; he plumbs the depths of his own consciousness while also giving voice to the national consciousness of Victorian society.
As a child, Tennyson was influenced profoundly by the poetry of Byron and Scott, and his earliest poems reflect the lyric intensity and meditative expressiveness of his Romantic forebears. These early poems demonstrate his ability to link external scenery to interior states of mind. However, unlike the Romantics, whose nature poems present a scene that raises an emotional or psychological problem, Tennyson uses nature as a psychological category. In “Mariana,” for example, he uses Keatsian descriptions of the natural world to describe a woman’s state of mind; he conveys via his natural setting the consciousness of a woman waiting vainly for her lover, and her increasing hopelessness.
Not only is Tennyson a poet of the natural and psychological landscape, he also attends frequently to the past, and historical events. “The Lady of Shalott” and the poems within Idylls of the King take place in medieval England and capture a world of knights in shining armor and their damsels in distress. In addition to treating the history of his nation, Tennyson also explores the mythological past, as articulated in classical works of Homer, Virgil, and Dante. His “Ulysses” and “The Lotos-Eaters”draw upon actual incidents in Homer’s Odyssey . Likewise, his ode “To Virgil” abounds with allusions to incidents in the great poet’s Aeneid , especially the fall of Troy. Tennyson thus looked both to historical and mythological pasts as repositories for his poetry.
Tennyson’s personal past, too, figures prominently in his work. The sudden death of his closest friend Arthur Henry Hallam when Tennyson was just 24 dealt a great emotional blow to the young poet, who spent the next ten years writing over a hundred poems dedicated to his departed friend, later collected and published as “In Memoriam” in 1850. This lengthy work describes Tennyson’s memories of the time he spent with Hallam, including their Cambridge days, when Hallam would read poetry aloud to his friends: thus Tennyson writes, “O bliss, when all in circle drawn / About him, heart and ear were fed / To hear him, as he lay and read / The Tuscan poets on the lawn!” Tennyson grapples with the tremendous grief he feels after the loss of such a dear friend, concluding famously that “ ’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all.”
“In Memoriam” also reflects Tennyson’s struggle with the Victorians’ growing awareness of another sort of past: the vast expanse of geological time and evolutionary history. The new discoveries in biology, astronomy, and geology implied a view of humanity that much distressed many Victorians, including Tennyson. In Maud, for example, he describes the stars as “cold fires, yet with power to burn and brand/ His nothingness into man”; unlike the Romantics, he possessed a painful awareness of the brutality and indifference of “Nature red in tooth and claw.” Although Tennyson associated evolution with progress, he also worried that the notion seemed to contradict the Biblical story of creation and long-held assumptions about man’s place in the world. Nonetheless, in “In Memoriam,” he insists that we must keep our faith despite the latest discoveries of science: he writes, “Strong Son of God, immortal Love / Whom we, that have not seen they face, / By faith, and faith alone, embrace / Believing where we cannot prove.” At the end of the poem, he concludes that God’s eternal plan includes purposive biological development; thus he reassures his Victorian readers that the new science does not mean the end of the old faith.
Tennyson also spoke to his Victorian contemporaries about issues of urgent social and political concern. In “The Princess” he addresses the relations between the sexes and argues for women’s rights in higher education. In “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” he speaks out in favor of a controversial diplomatic maneuver, the disastrous charge on the Russian army by British troops in the Crimean War. Thus, for all his love of the past, Tennyson also maintained a lively interest in the developments of his day, remaining deeply committed to reforming the society in which he lived and to which he gave voice.
Tennyson lived during a period of great scientific advancement, and he used his poetry to work out the conflict between religious faith and scientific discoveries. Notable scientific findings and theories of the Victorian period include stratigraphy, the geological study of rock layers used to date the earth, in 1811; the first sighting of an asteroid in 1801 and galaxies in the1840s; and Darwin’s theory of evolution and natural selection in 1859. In the second half of the century, scientists, such as Fülöp Semmelweis, Joseph Lister, and Louis Pasteur, began the experiments and work that would eventually lead to germ theory and our modern understanding of microorganisms and diseases. These discoveries challenged traditional religious understandings of nature and natural history.
For most of his career, Tennyson was deeply interested in and troubled by these discoveries. His poem “Locksley Hall” (1842) expresses his ambivalence about technology and scientific progress. There the speaker feels tempted to abandon modern civilization and return to a savage life in the jungle. In the end, he chooses to live a civilized, modern life and enthusiastically endorses technology. In Memoriam connects the despair Tennyson felt over the loss of his friend Arthur Hallam and the despair he felt when contemplating a godless world. In the end, the poem affirms both religious faith and faith in human progress. Nevertheless, Tennyson continued to struggle with the reconciliation of science and religion, as illustrated by some of his later work. For example, “Locksley Hall Sixty Years After” (1886) takes as its protagonist the speaker from the original “Locksley Hall,” but now he is an old man, who looks back on his youthful optimism and faith in progress with scorn and skepticism.
Tennyson took a great interest in the scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century, and his poetry manifests this interest in its reliance on scientific language. “The Kraken” (1830), which describes an ancient, slumbering sea beast, mentions a “cell” (8) and “polypi” (9). Section 21 of In Memoriamalludes to the 1846 discovery of Neptune. There, a traveler tells the speaker not to grieve for his friend. Rather than grieve, the traveler says, the speaker should rejoice in the marvelous possibilities of science. Section 120, in contrast, features the speaker wondering what good science might do in a world full of religious doubt and despair. Other poems praise technological discoveries and inventions, including the steamships and railways discussed in “Locksley Hall,” or mention specific plants and flowers, as does “The Lotos-Eaters” (1832, 1842). Taking metaphors and poetic diction from science allowed Tennyson to connect to his age and to modernize his sometimes antiquarian language and archaic verse forms.
April 13, 2017
I really love Tennysons's poetry
May 25, 2016
My introduction to Tennyson actually came from 'Anne of Green Gables' as Anne quotes from his poetry. I sought out his poems 'to be like Anne' as a kid, and loved the flow of his writing, but only fully appreciated his works as I got older. He is in my top 5 poets of all time.
October 23, 2015
4.75 probs really
November 26, 2021
I purchased several volumes of these of Everyman's Library Pocket Poets. There is a wide selection of excellent poets; it's hard to take umbrage with the choice of authors. They are a great size in hand, and the paper, covers, and dust jackets are beautiful. The production value is high, and there is a convenient ribbon sewed in. All and all, this is the sort of book that Elizabeth might pull off the shelf in Mr. Darcy's library and spend an afternoon perusing in a sunny reading chair.
Those are the good points. The problem with these books, all of them, is they just don't fit the bill, any bill. Without a brief biography of the poet, it's hard to put the work in context. Without a bit of editorializing on why the (admittedly necessarily heavily curated, given the size) choices were made as to what was included, what was truncated, the selection of poems, and the intentions behind chopping up particular poems, it's just not possible to dive deep into the works. At first glance, given their brevity, these should be introductory works. But without the elements I've described, they're a poor introduction. And they don't seem to serve any other purpose. Big fans looking for a bit of joy looking at already familiar materials might find something here. But back to Mr. Darcy's library, these are made to take up a few shelves altogether, and given what is missing from these, those shelves are lacking.
I always start with five stars - minus one for the lack of information on the poet, one more for the choppy, seemingly ad hoc contents. I recommend these books to people who are already fans; others should look for other versions.
Those are the good points. The problem with these books, all of them, is they just don't fit the bill, any bill. Without a brief biography of the poet, it's hard to put the work in context. Without a bit of editorializing on why the (admittedly necessarily heavily curated, given the size) choices were made as to what was included, what was truncated, the selection of poems, and the intentions behind chopping up particular poems, it's just not possible to dive deep into the works. At first glance, given their brevity, these should be introductory works. But without the elements I've described, they're a poor introduction. And they don't seem to serve any other purpose. Big fans looking for a bit of joy looking at already familiar materials might find something here. But back to Mr. Darcy's library, these are made to take up a few shelves altogether, and given what is missing from these, those shelves are lacking.
I always start with five stars - minus one for the lack of information on the poet, one more for the choppy, seemingly ad hoc contents. I recommend these books to people who are already fans; others should look for other versions.
March 13, 2020
Still a novice at reading poetry, I enjoyed Tennyson. My favorites were his narrative poems such as Ulysses, St. Simeon Stylites, The Lady of Shallot, Morte d’ Arthur and Tithonus. Picked up his ‘Idylls of the King’ and will try.
This collection has excerpts from Maud and In Memoriam A.H.H. with other examples of Tennyson’s varied types of poetry from the Charge of the Light Brigade to Break, break, break.
On His Stillborn Son
Little bosom not yet cold,
Noble forehead made for thought,
Little hands of mighty mould
Clenched as in the fight which they had fought.
He had done battle to be born,
But some brute force of Nature had prevailed
And the little warrior failed.
Whate’er thou wert, whate’er thou art,
Whose life was ended ere thy breath begun,
Thou nine months neighbor of my dear one’s heart,
And howsoe’er thou liest blind and mute,
Thou lookest bold and resolute,
God bless thee dearest son.
This collection has excerpts from Maud and In Memoriam A.H.H. with other examples of Tennyson’s varied types of poetry from the Charge of the Light Brigade to Break, break, break.
On His Stillborn Son
Little bosom not yet cold,
Noble forehead made for thought,
Little hands of mighty mould
Clenched as in the fight which they had fought.
He had done battle to be born,
But some brute force of Nature had prevailed
And the little warrior failed.
Whate’er thou wert, whate’er thou art,
Whose life was ended ere thy breath begun,
Thou nine months neighbor of my dear one’s heart,
And howsoe’er thou liest blind and mute,
Thou lookest bold and resolute,
God bless thee dearest son.
Read
September 28, 2020Ulysses and Tithonus:
Ulysses, a mortal, yearns for eternal exploration and dynamism. He wants, in other words, never to die. On the other hand, Tithonus, an immortal, yearns to stop changing (to stop ageing) and to drop dead. The contrast between Ulysses and Tithonus furthers the ironic nature of Ulysses which is made noticeable by Tennyson quoting Milton at the end of the poem. Ultimately, the two together are about wanting what cannot be had, or more accurately, the fact that no matter what wishes are granted, we are dissatisfied. Ulysses and Tithonus are alike in that both fault the blameless. Ulysses harbours a resentment of his wife and of Ithaca. Tithonus resents Eos. Both the objects of resentment are not at fault for the both achieving what they originally wanted. Ulysses and Tithonus concern themselves with what lies at the edge of life, a double-faced death which is to be both resisted and accepted. Human arrogance is revealed to simply be a facet of human frailty.
Ulysses, a mortal, yearns for eternal exploration and dynamism. He wants, in other words, never to die. On the other hand, Tithonus, an immortal, yearns to stop changing (to stop ageing) and to drop dead. The contrast between Ulysses and Tithonus furthers the ironic nature of Ulysses which is made noticeable by Tennyson quoting Milton at the end of the poem. Ultimately, the two together are about wanting what cannot be had, or more accurately, the fact that no matter what wishes are granted, we are dissatisfied. Ulysses and Tithonus are alike in that both fault the blameless. Ulysses harbours a resentment of his wife and of Ithaca. Tithonus resents Eos. Both the objects of resentment are not at fault for the both achieving what they originally wanted. Ulysses and Tithonus concern themselves with what lies at the edge of life, a double-faced death which is to be both resisted and accepted. Human arrogance is revealed to simply be a facet of human frailty.
March 12, 2025
Tennyson mixes all kinds of emotions --sad and happy-- with the softness of fleeting instances.
"I go: the day steals on.
Henceforth I hate the skies.
I go: my hope is gone.
Yet let me kiss thine eyes!
I go: not yet! yet one,
One Kiss between thine eyes!
How sweet to stand embraced
Till I grow stiff and cold
In folding thy dear waist
Which I no more shall fold;
Dear lips! Dear eyes! Dear waist!
Which I no more shall fold.
The world is nothing worth,
Here let me fall and lie;
What is there else on earth?
’Twere better far to die!
Lay lip to lip! Pluck forth
My heart that I may die!"
"I go: the day steals on.
Henceforth I hate the skies.
I go: my hope is gone.
Yet let me kiss thine eyes!
I go: not yet! yet one,
One Kiss between thine eyes!
How sweet to stand embraced
Till I grow stiff and cold
In folding thy dear waist
Which I no more shall fold;
Dear lips! Dear eyes! Dear waist!
Which I no more shall fold.
The world is nothing worth,
Here let me fall and lie;
What is there else on earth?
’Twere better far to die!
Lay lip to lip! Pluck forth
My heart that I may die!"
March 24, 2019
'Twas my first real foray into poetry, and I have to admit, it was stunning. I found Tennyson's writing quite obtuse at times and had to read beyond slow and repeat certain phrases, but--that guy had some serious linguistic skills on him. My favourite piece was The Lady of Shallott. Such a whimsical but tragic poem. This definitely isn't a breeze-through book of poetry, on the contrary, it's quite intense--but there are some real gems to be found!
April 20, 2020
Tennyson writes so beautifully, and his poems are some of my favorites to get lost in. There are some, of course, that don't hold my attention (that's with everything though, it's rare I love every single thing an author or poet has written), but for the most part I can just devour his collected works like this.
If you are a poetry lover and haven't read Tennyson before, what are you waiting for!?
If you are a poetry lover and haven't read Tennyson before, what are you waiting for!?
December 30, 2020
Always I long to creep
Into some still cavern deep,
There to weep, and weep, and weep
My whole soul out to thee.
I find that I return to poetry when I need reminding of what I like about reading in the first place. Stories enchant, but the way they are written either enhance or reduce the quality of the narrative.
Tennyson's poems effortlessly enchant and captivate - I will be sure to revisit his work many times in the future.
Into some still cavern deep,
There to weep, and weep, and weep
My whole soul out to thee.
I find that I return to poetry when I need reminding of what I like about reading in the first place. Stories enchant, but the way they are written either enhance or reduce the quality of the narrative.
Tennyson's poems effortlessly enchant and captivate - I will be sure to revisit his work many times in the future.
March 17, 2020
“Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking in the happy Autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.”
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking in the happy Autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.”
Read
December 4, 2024Started with the best, for my first poem anthology. My favourites were:
- Love’s Latest Hour Is This
- Flower In The Crannied Wall
- In The Valley Of Cauteretz
- Morte D’Arthur
- The Charge Of The Light Brigade
- Ode On The Death Of The Duke Of Wellington
- In Memoriam A.H.H
- Love’s Latest Hour Is This
- Flower In The Crannied Wall
- In The Valley Of Cauteretz
- Morte D’Arthur
- The Charge Of The Light Brigade
- Ode On The Death Of The Duke Of Wellington
- In Memoriam A.H.H
April 10, 2018
Elegiac
December 8, 2018
Fantastic collection of Tennyson's poetry.
February 27, 2020
How could anyone not enjoy Tennyson? He's such a classic!
May 1, 2020
Only enjoyed the poems I knew before beginning: Ulysses, Charge of the Light Brigade,
June 2, 2020
I'm a total newbie to Poetry, but even a beginner like me could hardly believe someone could write as beautiful as Tennyson. I'll come back to this again.
July 3, 2021
Admirers merge with Tennyson in reminiscent imagery.
January 18, 2022
It is a good sampling of Tennyson’s poems.
December 2, 2023
Wonderful poetry, and a fantastic edition.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews