Analysis of Alfred Tennyson´s Three Poems

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater is known as one of the greatest poetic figure of the Victorian Age. Tennyson started writing poetry at an early age and at the age of twelve he wrote a 6,000 line poem. His poems consisted of medieval legends, myths, and everyday life and nature. When he was appointed laureate a position he held for 42 years, the longest of any laureate, he wrote about historical events and one of his famous works was Ode on the Death of Duke of Wellington. Three of his poems that I chose and stood out above all others are Mariana, In Memoriam A.H.H., and Ulysses. Mariana was Tennyson’s widely acclaimed in which he creates imagery from the environment to express a woman’s emotional state. In Memoriam A.H.H. describes Tennyson’s recollections of the moments he shared with Arthur to whom it is dedicated to furthermore it focuses on the depressed time the Victorians went through. And Ulysses serves as an aftermath of In Memoriam A.H.H. of Tennyson finally moving on from the grief he experienced after losing Arthur. All three poems connect with Tennyson’s life each serving as a step towards Tennyson’s greatness and his status as one of the most influential poets of the Victorian era.

Lord Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire in a middle class family as the fourth child of George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth Fytche. George Tennyson was disinherited after some disagreements between him and his father and was removed from being the heir of the Tennyson property and had no choice but to join the ministry. Being cut out of the will resulted in all twelve kids having to deal with their drunk and drug addicted father. Though the family had not inherited any pro...

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... her lover to come to her but when the sun has set and the day has ended she comes to realize that he will not come and she has to endure the pain of being alone. The poem gives a sense that she can not escape from the emotional trauma she is going through and the environment around her also creates a gloomy mood as well however giving a silver-green color to the poplar tree gives hope that maybe not all ends in a tragedy but there is always hope. Mariana going through depression and feeling tired of life foreshadowed Tennyson going through depression and having a breakdown as well. Furthermore how she waited for her lover to come and she was miserable because of it similar thing occurred with Tennyson when his friend Arthur Hallam would die later on affecting much of Tennyson’s work and causing him to write about nothing but grief and going though pain and misery.