Tennyson

Dr. Ramirez
English Literature III

Lord Alfred Tennyson 1809-1892 (83)

Poet Laureate after Wordsworth. Considered one of the greatest Victorian poets.
Belonged to family of 12 children; son of Reverend George Tennyson in Somersby.
Attended Cambridge but did not graduate.
Engaged to Emily Sellwood but, because of financial difficulties, could not marry her until 1850.

In Memoriam (1850) published. (Poem written from 1833-50)

Themes:

Death (physical--also what happens to the spirit)
Personification of sorrow
Passing of seasons, passage of time (image of old yew)
Reason versus doubt/faith
analogies to express grief (ex. a widower, a lover)
Use of three Christmas celebrations
Recognition of geology and astronomy
self consciousness of writing and poet's role and the inadequacy of language
Visitation to familiar places that Hallam had been
Use of dream mode--speaker imagines himself outside of his body like a dove
Desire to move on

Summary of sections in In Memoriam:
1
sweeter to dance with death
2
envy of unchanging yew growing in graveyard
3
a strong mind or sorrow's lies?
4
the sense of loss is worse at night
5
large grief dulls an empty heart and mind
6
I feel the sorrow of the family's loss
7
sunlight can't break Death's hold
8
places are dark without your presence
9
bring my friend; he is dearest to me
10
the sea as a place of burial
11
after death, things become calm
12
In death, is this the end?
13
a new experience of sorrow through widowed death
14
he'd be happy if he could raise dead
15
wearily dragged through each passing day
19
my grieving is like the tide
21
I sing the melody of the bird's mournful song
22
longing for friendship and intimacy suddenly lost
23
Nature meanders through the vein we shared
24
Dreams of our past cloud our present view
25
knowing Hallam made the day's burdens sweet

26
Expression of ambivalence towards love and death
27
better to have loved and lost
28
speaker decides to isolate himself at Christmas
29
How dare we celebrate life?
30
Christmas a reminder of pain
34
Anxious to die; he deliberates to be patient
35
Hope for life after death

39
Old Yew gives hope for the next stage of existence, but also it is a dark image
47
soul continues after death; he will reunite with Hallam in afterlife

Reading Response Study Questions:
How is the poem a tribute to Hallam? Be specific.
How is the poem Romantic?
How is the poem Victorian?
The role of Science in "In Memoriam:" Astronomy, Biology/evolution
References to times of the year (Christmas)
God and Nature are at strife--God=creation; Nature=natural selection, evolution
Finding Hallam in Nature
Senses (physical world) and the spirit world