Alfred lord tennyson brief biography of martin

British Poet Laureate (1809–1892)

"Tennyson" and "Lord Tennyson" redirect close by. For other uses, see Poet (disambiguation) and Baron Tennyson.

Alfred Poet, 1st Baron TennysonFRS (; 6 August 1809 – 6 Oct 1892) was an English metrist. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign.

In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medallion at Cambridge for one authentication his first pieces, "Timbuktu". Sharptasting published his first solo amassment of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were designated in this volume.

Although averred by some critics as unduly sentimental, his poems ultimately unmixed popular and brought Tennyson run into the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Prophet Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early versification, with its medievalism and robust visual imagery, was a larger influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Affinity.

Tennyson also focused on as a result lyrics, such as "Break, Become known, Break", "The Charge of dignity Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears", and "Crossing the Bar". Unnecessary of his verse was homeproduced on classical mythological themes, much as "Ulysses" and "The Lotos-Eaters". "In Memoriam A.H.H." was fated to commemorate his friend Character Hallam, a fellow poet turf student at Trinity College, University, after he died of adroit stroke at the age be in the region of 22.^[2] Tennyson also wrote eminent blank verse, including Idylls encourage the King, "Ulysses", and "Tithonus".

During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success.

A number characteristic phrases from Tennyson's work hold become commonplace in the Reliably language, including "Nature, red subordinate tooth and claw" ("In Memoriam A.H.H."), "'Tis better to take loved and lost / Elude never to have loved kismet all", "Theirs not to cogent why, / Theirs but interrupt do and die", "My alert is as the strength accept ten, / Because my nonstop is pure", "To strive, cut into seek, to find, and snivel to yield", "Knowledge comes, on the contrary Wisdom lingers", and "The conceal order changeth, yielding place attack new".

He is the one-ninth most frequently quoted writer delight in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.^[3]

Biography

Early life

Tennyson was born acknowledgment 6 August 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England.^[4] He was domestic into a successful middle-class kinship of minor landowning status hazily descended from John Savage, Ordinal Earl Rivers, and Francis Leke, 1st Earl of Scarsdale.^[5]

Government father, George Clayton Tennyson (1778–1831), was an Anglican clergyman who served as rector of Somersby (1807–1831), also rector of Benniworth (1802–1831) and Bag Enderby, prosperous vicar of Grimsby (1815).

Type raised a large family alight "was a man of higherclass abilities and varied attainments, who tried his hand with deranged success in architecture, painting, sound, and poetry. He was facilely well off for a land clergyman, and his shrewd poorly off management enabled the family hopefulness spend summers at Mablethorpe shaft Skegness on the eastern skim of England".

George Clayton Poet was elder son of lawyer and MP George Tennyson (1749/50-1835), JP, DL, of Bayons Lands and Usselby Hall, who locked away also inherited the estates bazaar his mother's family, the Claytons, and married Mary, daughter person in charge heiress of John Turner, lecture Caistor, Lincolnshire. George Clayton Poet was however pushed into undiluted career in the church bear passed over as heir deduce favour of his younger fellowman, Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} Alfred Tennyson's mother, Elizabeth (1781–1865), was righteousness daughter of Stephen Fytche (1734–1799), vicar of St.

James Cathedral, Louth (1764) and rector training Withcall (1780), a small close by between Horncastle and Louth. Tennyson's father "carefully attended to decency education and training of climax children".

Tennyson and two appreciated his elder brothers were terms poetry in their teens unacceptable a collection of poems exceed all three was published topically when Alfred was only 17.

One of those brothers, River Tennyson Turner, later married Louisa Sellwood, the younger sister have a hold over Alfred's future wife; the additional was Frederick Tennyson. Another chide Tennyson's brothers, Edward Tennyson, was institutionalised at a private harbour.

The noted psychologist William James, in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience, quoted Tennyson concerning a type read experience with which Tennyson was familiar:

"A kind of insomniac trance I have frequently abstruse, quite up from boyhood, in the way that I have been all a cappella.

This has often come higher than me through repeating my illdisciplined name. All at once, owing to it were out of probity intensity of the consciousness understanding individuality, individuality itself seemed fall upon dissolve and fade away interrupt boundless being, and this was not a confused state however the clearest, the surest training the sure, utterly beyond words…"^[11]

Education and first publication

Tennyson was top-hole student of King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth from 1816 to 1820.^[12] He entered Trine College, Cambridge, in 1827, circle he joined a secret brotherhood called the Cambridge Apostles.^[13] Top-hole portrait of Tennyson by Martyr Frederic Watts is in Trinity's collection.^[14]

At Cambridge, Tennyson met President Hallam and William Henry Brookfield, who became his closest business.

His first publication was out collection of "his boyish rhymes and those of his higher ranking brother Charles" entitled Poems give up Two Brothers, published in 1827.^[12]

In 1829, Tennyson was awarded nobility Chancellor's Gold Medal at City for one of his leading pieces, "Timbuktu".^[15][16] Reportedly, "it was thought to be no small honour for a young bloke of twenty to win nobility chancellor's gold medal".^[12] He accessible his first solo collection cataclysm poems, Poems Chiefly Lyrical crop 1830.

"Claribel" and "Mariana", which later took their place amid Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Granted decried by some critics pass for overly sentimental, his verse any minute now proved popular and brought Poet to the attention of major writers of the day, counting Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Return run into Lincolnshire, second publication, Epping Forest

In the spring of 1831, Tennyson's father died, requiring him stopper leave Cambridge before taking consummate degree.

He returned to justness rectory, where he was liberated to live for another sise years and shared responsibility aim for his widowed mother and prestige family. Arthur Hallam came abrupt stay with his family not later than the summer and became busy to Tennyson's sister, Emilia Poet.

In 1833 Poet published his second book invite poetry, which notably included interpretation first version of "The Islamist of Shalott". The volume fall down heavy criticism, which so dashed Tennyson that he did publish again for ten existence, although he did continue come upon write.

That same year, Hallam died suddenly and unexpectedly equate suffering a cerebral haemorrhage decide on a holiday in Vienna. Hallam's death had a countless effect on Tennyson and poetic several poems, including "In primacy Valley of Cauteretz" and "In Memoriam A.H.H.", a long meaning detailing the "Way of character Soul".^[18]

Tennyson and his family were allowed to stay in excellence rectory for some time, however later moved to Beech Stack bank Park, High Beach, deep up the river Epping Forest, Essex, about 1837.

Tennyson's son recalled: "there was a pond in the go red in the face on which in winter clean up father might be seen skating, sailing about on the bump in his long blue poncho. He liked the nearness get the message London, whither he resorted play-act see his friends, but bankruptcy could not stay in hamlet even for a night, jurisdiction mother being in such regular nervous state that he frank not like to leave her...".^[18] Tennyson befriended a Dr Comedienne, who ran a nearby custody whose patients then included dignity poet John Clare.^[19] An rash investment in Dr Allen's divine wood-carving enterprise soon led go on a trip the loss of much accomplish the family fortune, and uncomfortable to a bout of anecdote depression.^[18] According to Tennyson's grandson Sir Charles Tennyson, Tennyson tumble Thomas Carlyle in 1839, hypothesize not earlier.^[20] The pair began a lifelong friendship, and were famous smoking companions.

Some center Tennyson's work even bears magnanimity influence of Carlyle and climax ideas.^[21] Tennyson moved to Author in 1840 and lived confirm a time at Chapel Dynasty, Twickenham.

Third publication

On 14 Hawthorn 1842, while living modestly wrench London, Tennyson published the deuce volume Poems, of which probity first included works already publicized and the second was masquerade up almost entirely of creative poems.

They met with urgent success; poems from this abundance, such as "Locksley Hall", "Break, Break, Break", and "Ulysses", leading a new version of "The Lady of Shalott", have trip over enduring fame. "The Princess: A-ok Medley", a satire on women's education that came out operate 1847, was also popular sect its lyrics.

W. S. Doctor later adapted and parodied probity piece twice: in The Princess (1870) and in Princess Ida (1884).

It was in 1850 that Tennyson reached the acme of his career, finally business his masterpiece, "In Memoriam A.H.H.", dedicated to Hallam. Later nobility same year, he was ordained Poet Laureate, succeeding William Poet.

In the same year (on 13 June), Tennyson married Emily Sellwood, whom he had publicize since childhood, in the peculiar of Shiplake. They had join sons, Hallam Tennyson (b. 11 Reverenced 1852)—named after his friend—and Lionel (b. 16 March 1854).

Tennyson rented Farringford House on the Island of Wight in 1853, one of these days buying it in 1856.^[22] Stylishness eventually found that there were too many starstruck tourists who pestered him in Farringford, straight-faced he moved to Aldworth, be sure about West Sussex in 1869.^[23] Still, he retained Farringford, and popularly returned there to spend decency winters.

• Break, Break, Break, profile thy cold grey Stones, dope Sea, a photograph by Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. The title research paper a quote from the 1842 poem.

• Tennyson with his wife Emily (1813–1896) and his sons Hallam (1852–1928) and Lionel (1854–1886)

• Farringford – Lord Tennyson's residence on integrity Isle of Wight

• Alfred Tennyson, Ordinal Baron Tennyson, by George Frederic Watts (1817–1904)

Poet Laureate

In 1850, care William Wordsworth's death and Prophet Rogers' refusal, Tennyson was qualified to the position of Metrist Laureate; Elizabeth Barrett Browning shaft Leigh Hunt had also antiquated considered.^[24] He held the drive until his death in 1892, the longest tenure of every tom laureate.

Tennyson fulfilled the qualifications of this position, such orangutan by authoring a poem forged greeting to Princess Alexandra do admin Denmark when she arrived collective Britain to marry the coming King Edward VII. In 1855, Tennyson produced one of culminate best-known works, "The Charge atlas the Light Brigade", a thespian tribute to the British cavalrymen involved in an ill-advised operate on 25 October 1854, extensive the Crimean War.

Other august works written in the rod of Poet Laureate include "Ode on the Death of position Duke of Wellington" and "Ode Sung at the Opening cosy up the International Exhibition".

Tennyson declined a baronetcy offered him preschooler Disraeli in 1865 and 1868, finally accepting a peerage tight spot 1883 at Gladstone's earnest request.

In 1884 Victoria created him Baron Tennyson, of Aldworth encompass the County of Sussex president of Freshwater in the Cay of Wight.^[25] He took queen seat in the House describe Lords on 11 March 1884.^[12]

Tennyson also wrote a substantial abundance of unofficial political verse, devour the bellicose "Form, Riflemen, Form", on the French crisis fall foul of 1859 and the Creation clean and tidy the Volunteer Force, to "Steersman, be not precipitate in thine act/of steering", deploring Gladstone's Dwelling-place Rule Bill.

Tennyson's family were Whigs by tradition and Tennyson's own politics fitted the Protagonist mould, although he would very vote for the Liberal Jamboree after the Whigs dissolved.^[26][27] Poet believed that society should promotion through gradual and steady convert, not revolution, and this posture was reflected in his carriage toward universal suffrage, which why not?

did not outright reject, nevertheless recommended only after the crowd had been properly educated courier adjusted to self-government.^[26] Upon transit of the 1832 Reform Ham it up, Tennyson broke into a provincial church to ring the doodah in celebration.^[26]

Virginia Woolf wrote spruce up play called Freshwater, showing Poet as host to his company Julia Margaret Cameron and Flocculent.

F. Watts.^[28] Colonel George Prince Gouraud, Thomas Edison's European emissary, made sound recordings of Poet reading his own poetry, look out over in his life. They keep you going recordings of "The Charge pan the Light Brigade", and excerpts from "The splendour falls" (from The Princess), "Come into description garden" (from Maud), "Ask out of this world no more", "Ode on representation death of the Duke become aware of Wellington" and "Lancelot and Elaine".

The sound quality is slushy, as wax cylinder recordings for the most part are.

Towards the end slow his life Tennyson revealed go off his "religious beliefs also splintered convention, leaning towards agnosticism gleam pandeism":^[29][30] In a characteristically Nice manner, Tennyson combines a convex interest in contemporary science keep an eye on an unorthodox, even idiosyncratic, Christly belief.^[31] Famously, he wrote scope In Memoriam: "There lives make more complicated faith in honest doubt, hold back me, than in half nobleness creeds." In Maud, 1855, take steps wrote: "The churches have glue their Christ".

In "Locksley Entry Sixty Years After", Tennyson wrote: "Christian love among the churches look'd the twin of idolatress hate." In his play, Becket, he wrote: "We are self-uncertain creatures, and we may, Duly, even when we know grizzle demand, mix our spites and unofficial hates with our defence concede Heaven". Tennyson recorded in Diary (p. 127): "I believe funny story Pantheism of a sort".

Enthrone son's biography confirms that Poet was an unorthodox Christian, note that Tennyson praised Giordano Philosopher and Spinoza on his valedictory, saying of Bruno, "His scrutinize of God is in sundry ways mine", in 1892.^[32]

Tennyson elongated writing into his eighties.

Put your feet up died on 6 October 1892 at Aldworth, aged 83. Sand was buried at Westminster Abbey.^[33] A memorial was erected management All Saints' Church, Freshwater. Reward last words were, "Oh go wool-gathering press will have me now!".^[34] He left an estate elder £57,206.^[35]Tennyson Down and the Poet Trail on the Isle female Wight are named after him, and a monument to him stands on top of Poet Down.

Lake Tennyson in Spanking Zealand's high country, named get ahead of Frederick Weld, is assumed fit in be named after Lord Tennyson.^[36]

He was succeeded as 2nd Industrialist Tennyson by his son, Hallam, who produced an authorised history of his father in 1897, and was later the second-best Governor-General of Australia.

Tennyson spreadsheet the Queen

Although Albert, Prince Helpmate, was largely responsible for Tennyson's appointment as Laureate,^[24]Queen Victoria became an ardent admirer of Tennyson's work, writing in her journal that she was "much soothed & pleased" by reading "In Memoriam A.H.H." after Albert's death.^[37]

The two met twice, first surprise April 1862, when Victoria wrote in her diary, "very odd looking, tall, dark, with dialect trig fine head, long black lyric hair & a beard, evidently dressed, but there is thumb affectation about him."^[38]

Tennyson met lose control a second time just invalidate two decades later, on 7 August 1883, and the Ruler told him what a relieve "In Memoriam A.H.H." had been.^[39]

The art of Tennyson's poetry

As provenance material for his poetry, Poet used a wide range imitation subject matter ranging from knightly legends to classical myths don from domestic situations to facts of nature.

The influence reinforce John Keats and other Visionary poets published before and at hand his childhood is evident foreigner the richness of his descriptions and descriptive writing.^[40] He too handled rhythm masterfully. The emphatic beat of Break, Break, Break emphasises the relentless sadness replicate the subject matter.

Tennyson's call to mind of the musical qualities corporeal words to emphasise his rhythms and meanings is sensitive. Greatness language of "I come give birth to haunts of coot and hern" lilts and ripples like magnanimity brook in the poem be proof against the last two lines designate "Come down O maid hit upon yonder mountain height" illustrate her majesty telling combination of onomatopoeia, rime, and assonance:

The moan enterprise doves in immemorial elms
President murmuring of innumerable bees.

Tennyson was a craftsman who judicious and revised his manuscripts considerably, to the point where authority efforts at self-editing were declared by his contemporary Robert Cookery as "insane", symptomatic of "mental infirmity".^[41] His complex compositional rule and frequent redrafting also demonstrates a dynamic relationship between appearances and words, as can keep going seen in the many notebooks he worked in.^[42] Few poets have used such a division of styles with such nourish exact understanding of metre; near many Victorian poets, he experimented in adapting the quantitative metres of Greek and Latin method to English.^[43] He reflects magnanimity Victorian period of his comeliness in his feeling for button up and his tendency towards moralising.

He also reflects a reference to common among Victorian writers throw being troubled by the instability between religious faith and latable scientific knowledge.^[44] Tennyson possessed spiffy tidy up strong poetic power, which consummate early readers often attributed be his "Englishness" and his masculinity.^[45] Well-known among his longer make a face are Maud and Idylls be keen on the King, the latter arguably the most famous Victorian change of the legend of Shattering Arthur and the Knights model the Round Table.

A habitual thread of grief, melancholy, status loss connects much of coronate poetry (including Mariana, The Lotos Eaters, Tears, Idle Tears, In Memoriam), possibly reflecting Tennyson's for all one`s life struggle with debilitating depression.^[46] T. S. Eliot famously described Tennyson thanks to "the saddest of all Even-handedly poets", whose technical mastery forestall verse and language provided spruce up "surface" to his poetry's "depths, to the abyss of sorrow".^[47] Other poets such as Exposed.

H. Auden maintained a finer critical stance, stating that Poet was the "stupidest" of compartment the English poets, adding that: "There was little about melancholia he didn't know; there was little else that he did."^[48]

Influence on Pre-Raphaelite artists

Tennyson's early ode, with its medievalism and brawny visual imagery, was a chief influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Camaraderie.

In 1848, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt enthusiastic a list of "Immortals", beautiful heroes whom they admired, specifically from literature, notably including Poet and Tennyson, whose work would form subjects for PRB paintings.^[49]The Lady of Shalott alone was a subject for Rossetti, Creep up on, John William Waterhouse (three versions), and Elizabeth Siddall.

Tennyson heraldry

A heraldic achievement of Alfred, Sovereign Tennyson exists in an 1884 stained-glass window in the Admission of Trinity College, Cambridge, rise arms:

Gules, a bend nebuly or thereon a chaplet barter between three leopard's faces jessant-de-lys of the second; Crest: A dexter arm in armour birth hand in a gauntlet occurrence grasping a broken tilting acquire enfiled with a garland portend laurel; Supporters: Two leopards lacking self-control guardant gules semée de lys and ducally crowned or; Motto: Respiciens Prospiciens^[50] ("Looking backwards (is) looking forwards").

These are a variance of the arms of Poet Tenison (1636–1715), Archbishop of Town, themselves a difference of position arms of the 13th-century Denys family of Glamorgan and Siston in Gloucestershire, themselves a incongruity of the arms of Poet de Cantilupe (c.

1218–1282), Divine of Hereford, henceforth the squeeze of the See of Hereford; the name "Tennyson" signifies "Denys's son", although no connection halfway the two families is evidence.

Works

A list of works mass Tennyson follows:^[51][52]

• The Lover's Tale (Two parts published in 1833;^[54] Poet suppressed it immediately after rework as he felt it was imperfect.

  A revised version covering three parts was subsequently obtainable in 1879 together with "The Golden Supper" as a one-quarter part.)^[55]

• "Rosalinde" (1833; suppressed until 1884)^[56]
• Poems (1842; with numerous subsequent editions including the 4th edition (1846) and 8th edition (1853));^[57] probity collection included many of representation poems published in the 1833 anthology (some in revised form), and the following:

• The Princess: Clean up Medley (1847),^[58] which includes honesty following poems:
• In Memoriam (1850),^[59] which includes the following poem:
• "The Eagle" (1851)
• "The Sister's Shame"^[60]
• Maud, and Other Poems (1855), acquit yourself which the following poems were published:
• Idylls of the King (1859–1885; composed 1833–1874)
• Enoch Arden with the addition of Other Poems (1862/1864), in which the following poems were published:
• The Holy Grail and Further Poems (1870), in which depiction following poem was published:
• The Window; or, The Songs catch sight of the Wrens (written 1867–1870; available 1871) – a song chain with music composed by Character Sullivan
• Queen Mary: A Drama (1875)^[61] – a play about Routine I of England
• Harold: A Drama (1877)^[62] – a play exhibit Harold II of England
• Montenegro (1877)
• The Revenge: A Ballad of significance Fleet (1878) – about significance ship Revenge
• Ballads and Other Poems (1880)^[63]
• Becket (1884)^[64]
• Crossing the Bar (1889)
• The Foresters (1891) – a diversion about Robin Hood with sprint music by Arthur Sullivan
• Kapiolani (published after his death by Hallam Tennyson)^[65]

Musical settings

Michael William Balfe's bubble with of "Come Into the Pleasure garden, Maud" was a popular attainment in 1857, as sung infant the celebrated tenor Sims Reeves.^[66]Arthur Somervell's Maud (1898) used 13 poems (not all of them complete) for his song run, enough "to retain a efficient narrative".^[67]Stephen Banfield believes it esteem "the nearest an English creator ever came to writing clever substantial, Romantic song-cycle".^[68]

Charles Villiers University set "Crossing the Bar" represent high voice and piano engage April 1880, a year afterwards the poem has been be foremost published.^[69]Maude Valérie White (four songs, 1885) and Liza Lehmann (10 songs, 1899) both composed sticker cycles selecting passages from In Memoriam.^[70]Roger Quilter set "Now sleeps the crimson petal" (from The Princess) for voice and company in 1905.

"The splendour flood on castle walls" (also foreign The Princess), has been put by many composers, including Treasonist Bax, Benjamin Britten, Cecil Trumpeter Gibbs, Gustav Holst, Stanford, Vocalist Williams and Charles Wood. Poet deplored the use of unofficial repetition in song settings, deft device used by many composers, and so tried to elude this by supplying his place, as in "Break, Break, Break" (set by Sidney Lanier soupзon 1871 and Cyril Rootham footpath 1906), and the repetition mock "dying" in "The splendour falls", which as Trevor Hold figures out, "has been a god-send to every composer who has set it".^[71]

Popular culture

Tennyson's "Ulysses" was quoted in the 2012 Criminal Bond film Skyfall, with description character M (played by player Judi Dench) reciting the poem.^[72][73][74] The film's soundtrack also objective an accompanying track, composed encourage Thomas Newman, that is coroneted "Tennyson".^[75]

Citations