Tennyson's Poetry and Views
Alfred Lord Tennyson and his works have been an important part of canonical literature for over a century. He is as important as he is because his work is exceptional in many ways. One of these exceptional differences, in my opinion, is the conflicting view of women Tennyson portrays in his poetry, especially his poem "Locksley Hall." Tennyson's "Locksley Hall" is, in my opinion, a poem that would benefit greatly from an ideological discussion concerning Tennyson's views of women. This poem poses the questions: Are Tennyson's words describing a set of beliefs felt only by the narrator of the poem, or does Tennyson himself share these beliefs? Is the condescending, yet powerful view of women only the speaking character's view, or does Tennyson at least partly share that same condescending view? After all, Tennyson was a member of Victorian society.
At the time Tennyson wrote "Locksley Hall in the 1800s," women's rights were just beginning to be questioned. Previous to this time of questioning, women were thought to be totally inferior to men:
…it was argued that as a woman's brain was smaller in cubic content it was therefore inevitable that she was unable to reason or to generalize or to pursue a connected line of thought as well as a man could. It was the accepted belief that she was both mentally and physically inferior to man; that she was, in fact, a relative creature… (Crow, 146)
But at the same time, Victorian men were putting women on pedestals. Yet, this privilege of being put upon a pedestal was really more condescension than a privilege. Duncan Crow, author of The Victorian Woman writes, "They were not privileges at all, but a code of prison rules; and the women were not queens, ...
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...all" as he did?
Perhaps Tennyson never actually made known his opinion of women and the woman's place, but he did seem to think this jilted youth's rant was typical of his time. Tennyson was writing for a Victorian audience that could sympathize with this jilted youth. I believe for one such as Tennyson to even compose such a work he, at the very least, was very familiar with the conflicting Victorian view of women. This, to me, makes "Locksley Hall" somewhat of an extension of his own ideas and beliefs, concerning women, that had been thusly shaped and influenced by his own culture.
Works Cited
Buckler, William E., ed. The Major Victorian Poets: Tennyson, Browning, Arnold. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1973.
Tennyson, Alfred Lord. "Locksley Hall." The Poetic and Dramatic Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Ed. W. J. Rolfe. NY: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1898.
Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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...en one cannot see it. While the morality of men is still there, Tennyson no longer seems to care when it comes. He now has God on his side and he knows that God shaped him for a reason… He will not let Tennyson rest until that reason is fulfilled. While Hallam’s death is still tragic, he still exists today, in Tennyson’s memories. Tennyson finishes his series with the phrase, “I shall not lose thee tho’ I die” (CXXX 16). Although Hallam no longer exists physically, his life has extended past that into the spiritual world and in the minds of those who loved him. Even today, he is still remembered thanks to Tennyson’s works of poetry. Unintentionally, Tennyson has answered his own questions about the morality of mankind. That even though our bodies might die, what we did and what we wrote will remain immortalized. Perhaps that is what God intended after all…