Tennyson and Romanticism

Alfred Lord Tennyson was not called a romantic poet in his homeland of England, but his work contained aspects of romantic literature. Highlighting these aspects of romanticism in Tennyson’s work is difficult without first defining romanticism and identifying its underlying principles.

According to Webster’s Dictionary romanticism is “a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement originating in the 18th century, characterized chiefly by a reaction against neoclassicism and an emphasis on the imagination and emotions.” Neoclassicism was the artistic form used prior to the romantic period that focused on an acceptance of the established forms of religion and an emphasis on style similar to the ancient Greek and Roman poetry. Religion was not the only establishment upheld in classical or neoclassical writing; social and gender roles acceptable to their time era were also upheld. Romanticism, rather than blindly accept these establishments, questioned them through deep emotions and great imagination.

Webster’s dictionary goes on to say romanticism used “…autobiographical material, an exaltation of the primitive and the common man, an appreciation of external nature, an interest in the remote, a predilection for melancholy…” Romantic poetry often focused on nature with great description, especially the lonely, hidden aspects of nature. Whether in nature or in a more urban environment the characters of romantic poetry are seen having great emotional swings, with death as a reoccurring theme.

Tennyson’s poem The Lady of Shalott, poses an interesting picture of breaking away from social norms. The Lady is confined to a tower to weave shadows of a life she cannot live and begins to feel discontent in her role. “What a seclud...

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... the expected, exploring new ideas, ultimately ending in death or disappointment. He also uses a lot of natural description allowing one to see vivid pictures with in the mind. Identifying romanticism and its underlying principles helps to highlight Tennyson’s poems, and better understand there meaning. To better see the conflict and the beauty hidden within Tennyson’s work.

Works Cited

Christ T. Carlo, Robson Catherine, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, The Victorian Age. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Buckley Hamilton Jerome, Tennyson The Growth of a Poet. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961.

Brook A. Stopford, Tennyson: His Art and Relation to Modern Life. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 1916.

Kincaid R. James, Tennyson’s Major Poems The Comic and Ironic Patterns. London: Yale University press, 1975.