Alfred, Lord Tennyson was an English poet who lived from 1809 to 1892. He came from a large family in Somersby, England, where his father was an abusive alcoholic. Tennyson began writing poetry at a young age to escape his unhappy home situation. He later attended Trinity College in Cambridge. Tennyson wrote many poems dealing with themes of death, grief, isolation, and nature. His most famous works included In Memoriam AHH, Idylls of the King, and Crossing the Bar. Tennyson was offered a peerage multiple times before accepting in 1884. He represented Victorian ideals and was considered the most representative literary man of the Victorian era.

1. Alfred, Lord Tennyson
English poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
1809 –1892

2. Childhood & Early Life
• Alfred Tennyson was born on 6 August 1809, in Somersby,
England. His father, George Clayton Tennyson, was a
country clergyman, occupying the position of the rector
at Somersby.
• Alfred was the fourth of his parents twelve children.
While the eldest died at infancy, his second and third
elder brothers, Frederick Tennyson and Charles Tennyson
Turner, were also poets. That apart, Alfred had four
brothers and four sisters, younger to him.

3. • George Clayton was also a very embittered man. He often
took drugs and drinks, taking his ire on his wife and
children, physically threatening them
• Young Alfred began to write poetries from a very early
age, in part to take his mind off from the unhappy
situation at home. Around the age of 13 or 14, he wrote a
six-thousand-line epic in imitation of Sir Walter Scott in
addition to a drama in blank verse.
• In 1827, Alfred entered Trinity College, Cambridge, more
as a means of escaping the disturbing ambience of his
home. Another important event of this year was the
publication of his works in ‘Poems by Two Brothers’.
Although it also contained poems by Frederick and
Charles, he was the major contributor.

4. Tennyson's Themes
Death
• Many of his greatest works were written in the
aftermath of the death of his closest friend, Arthur
Henry Hallam.
• “Ulysses” is about the great hero searching for life in
spite of old age and coming death
• “The Two Voices” is a debate about whether or not to
commit suicide.
• “In Memoriam” is the poet’s lengthy meditation on his
profound grief and his desire to know what happens
after death as well as his occasional musing that he
wishes to die and join his friend.

5. Greif
• Grief permeates Tennyson’s poetry and was a major
feature of Tennyson’s emotional life. He endured the
deaths of his parents, the ensuing mental illness and
addictions of many of his family members and, as a
kind of muse, the death of his close friend Arthur
Henry Hallam.
• In some of the poems his grief is overwhelming, and
he does not know if he wants to continue living. In
others he finds ways to manage his grief, coming to
accept that sorrow may always be a part of one’s life,
while acknowledging other things in life inspire
happiness and hope.

6. Artistic Isolation
• Tennyson struggled with the question of whether great
art had to be produced in artistic isolation or if
engagement with the world was acceptable and would
not cloud artistic vision.
• In “The Lady of Shalott” he examines this question.
The poem suggests that the end of artistic isolation
brings a loss of creativity and artistic power.
Nature
• Nature plays many roles in Tennyson’s poetry.
Occasionally she is beguiling and sensuous.
• In the poem “The Lotos-Eaters” the men sojourning on
the isle are entranced by their natural surroundings
and do not want to return to their normal lives.

7. Courage
• Many of Tennyson’s greatest poems feature individuals
displaying great courage, especially under duress.
• Courage is a universally admired virtue, “The Charge of
the Light Brigade” features the “noble” six hundred
soldiers who rush into a battle even though they know
they will probably perish; their courage and willingness
to follow orders are exemplary.
• Similarly, he created a highly sympathetic character
from “The Princess: A Medley.” Who’s firmly
committed to her vision and does not yield to those
who wish to dissuade her from her noble goal of
securing gender equality.

8. Major Works
• Alfred Tennyson is best remembered for his short lyrics
such as ‘Break, Break, Break’, ‘The Brook’, ‘The Charge
of the Light Brigade, ‘Tears, Idle Tears’, ‘Crossing the
Bar’ etc. In addition, he also wrote quite a few blank
verses among which the most famous are: ‘Idylls of the
King’, ‘Ulysses’, and ‘Tithonus’.
• He is also remembered for his ’In Memoriam AHH’, a
requiem for his Cambridge friend Arthur Henry
Hallam. It contains nearly 3000 lines, which have been
divided into 131 sections, with prologue and epilogue.
Although it grew out of his personal grief it speaks for
everybody.

9. Awards & Achievements
• Tennyson was offered peerage first in 1865 and then in
1868; but each time, he declined the offer. Finally in
1883, he agreed to accept the honor at the solicitation
of Prime Minister Gladstone. Finally in 1884, he was
created Baron Tennyson, of Aldworth in the County of
Sussex and of Freshwater in the Isle of Wight by Queen
Victoria.
• He received honorary doctorates from the universities
of Oxford and Edinburgh. Thrice he had invitation from
the University of Cambridge to accept an honorary
degree, but declined

10. Tennyson as a representative
of Victorian age.
• His praise for his own country is the expression of a
Victorian patriot who considered his country superior
to other countries of the world.
• Tennyson is essentially a Victorian in his concept of
love and his high regard for domestic virtues.
• In his attitude towards women he is also a true
Victorian. The Victorians did not approve of women’s
struggle for rights of equality with men. That they are
only good for household. Tennyson presents this faith
in “The Princes”.

11. • The Victorians condemned illegal gratification of the sex
urge. Tennyson reflects them in his love-poems that true
love can be found no where except a married life, Thus,
he idealises married life which we can find in “The
Miller’s Daughter”.
• The Victorians who upheld moral virtues in domestic life
were moralists at heart. In this respect, Tennyson is the
mouthpiece of the Victorians. The legendary “Ulysses”
imparts the message, giving to his readers the proper
guidance for the wise conduct of life.
• Tennyson presented all the essential features of Victorian
life, the ideas and tastes in his poetry and for this reason
we can rightly call him the most representative literary
man of the Victorian era as W.J. Long has said earlier.

12. Thank you.