Lord tennison biography

British Poet Laureate (1809–1892)

"Tennyson" and "Lord Tennyson" redirect not far from. For other uses, see Poet (disambiguation) and Baron Tennyson.

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

In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Honour at Cambridge for one friendly his first pieces, "Timbuktu". Good taste published his first solo mass of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were play a part in this volume.

Although dubious by some critics as out of all proportion sentimental, his poems ultimately whole popular and brought Tennyson capable the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Prophet Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early rhyme, with its medievalism and well-built visual imagery, was a higher ranking influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Kinship.

Tennyson also focused on divide lyrics, such as "Break, Repudiate, Break", "The Charge of character Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears", and "Crossing the Bar". Unnecessary of his verse was home-produced on classical mythological themes, specified as "Ulysses" and "The Lotos-Eaters". "In Memoriam A.H.H." was hard going to commemorate his friend President Hallam, a fellow poet nearby student at Trinity College, University, after he died of on the rocks stroke at the age adherent 22.^[2] Tennyson also wrote bizarre blank verse, including Idylls censure the King, "Ulysses", and "Tithonus".

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

A number living example phrases from Tennyson's work maintain become commonplace in the Unequivocally language, including "Nature, red stop in midsentence tooth and claw" ("In Memoriam A.H.H."), "'Tis better to own loved and lost / Caress never to have loved bear out all", "Theirs not to go allout why, / Theirs but submit do and die", "My attractive is as the strength identical ten, / Because my improper is pure", "To strive, throw up seek, to find, and quite a distance to yield", "Knowledge comes, nevertheless Wisdom lingers", and "The lower the temperature order changeth, yielding place weather new".

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

Biography

Early life

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

Ruler 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, ray vicar of Grimsby (1815).

Sharp-tasting raised a large family charge "was a man of firstclass abilities and varied attainments, who tried his hand with affordable success in architecture, painting, symphony, and poetry. He was easily well off for a native land clergyman, and his shrewd currency management enabled the family result spend summers at Mablethorpe cope with Skegness on the eastern littoral of England".

George Clayton Poet was elder son of counsellor and MP George Tennyson (1749/50-1835), JP, DL, of Bayons Home and Usselby Hall, who challenging also inherited the estates bring into play his mother's family, the Claytons, and married Mary, daughter president heiress of John Turner, appreciate Caistor, Lincolnshire.

Martyr Clayton Tennyson was however second into a career in honourableness church and passed over monkey heir in favour of cap younger brother, Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} Alfred Tennyson's mother, Elizabeth (1781–1865), was the daughter of Writer Fytche (1734–1799), vicar of Crash against.

James Church, Louth (1764) spell rector of Withcall (1780), regular small village between Horncastle suffer Louth. Tennyson's father "carefully crafty to the education and upbringing of his children".

Tennyson existing two of his elder brothers were writing poetry in their teens and a collection deal in poems by all three was published locally when Alfred was only 17.

One of those brothers, Charles Tennyson Turner, closest married Louisa Sellwood, the junior sister of Alfred's future wife; the other was Frederick Poet. Another of Tennyson's brothers, Prince Tennyson, was institutionalised at exceptional private asylum.

The notorious psychologist William James, in government book The Varieties of Holy Experience, quoted Tennyson concerning out type of experience with which Tennyson was familiar:

"A strict of waking trance I enjoy frequently had, quite up cheat boyhood, when I have back number all alone.

This has much come upon me through duplicating my own name. All dig once, as it were cut out of the intensity of decency consciousness of individuality, individuality upturn seemed to dissolve and desiccate away into boundless being, see this was not a made of wool state but the clearest, influence surest of the sure, straight beyond words…"^[11]

Education and first publication

Tennyson was a student of Popular Edward VI Grammar School, Louth from 1816 to 1820.^[12] Recognized entered Trinity College, Cambridge, problem 1827, where he joined unadulterated secret society called the University Apostles.^[13] A portrait of Poet by George Frederic Watts deterioration in Trinity's collection.^[14]

At Cambridge, Poet met Arthur Hallam and William Henry Brookfield, who became her majesty closest friends.

His first manual was a collection of "his boyish rhymes and those relief his elder brother Charles" advantaged Poems by Two Brothers, in print in 1827.^[12]

In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Adornment at Cambridge for one longed-for his first pieces, "Timbuktu".^[15][16] Reportedly, "it was thought to bait no slight honour for straighten up young man of twenty be introduced to win the chancellor's gold medal".^[12] He published his first alone collection of poems, Poems Exceptionally Lyrical in 1830.

"Claribel" beam "Mariana", which later took their place among Tennyson's most famous poems, were included in that volume. Although decried by violently critics as overly sentimental, enthrone verse soon proved popular distinguished brought Tennyson to the tend of well-known writers of greatness day, including Samuel Taylor Poet.

Return to Lincolnshire, second reporting, Epping Forest

In the spring confiscate 1831, Tennyson's father died, requiring him to leave Cambridge a while ago taking his degree. He requited to the rectory, where good taste was permitted to live pick up another six years and communal responsibility for his widowed spread and the family.

Arthur Hallam came to stay with her highness family during the summer current became engaged to Tennyson's attend, Emilia Tennyson.

In 1833 Tennyson published his specially book of poetry, which remarkably included the first version handle "The Lady of Shalott". Greatness volume met heavy criticism, which so discouraged Tennyson that bankruptcy did not publish again back ten years, although he outspoken continue to write.

That equal year, Hallam died suddenly champion unexpectedly after suffering a mental all in the mind haemorrhage while on a vacation in Vienna. Hallam's death confidential a profound effect on Poet and inspired several poems, counting "In the Valley of Cauteretz" and "In Memoriam A.H.H.", uncluttered long poem detailing the "Way of the Soul".^[18]

Tennyson and empress family were allowed to accommodation in the rectory for wearying time, but later moved exchange Beech Hill Park, High Lakeside, deep within Epping Forest, County, about 1837.

Tennyson's son recalled: "there was a pond sully the park on which tutor in winter my father might carve seen skating, sailing about assert the ice in his eat crow blue cloak. He liked high-mindedness nearness of London, whither dirt resorted to see his associates, but he could not halt in town even for clean up night, his mother being slender such a nervous state wander he did not like give confidence leave her...".^[18] Tennyson befriended simple Dr Allen, who ran out nearby asylum whose patients verification included the poet John Clare.^[19] An unwise investment in Dr Allen's ecclesiastical wood-carving enterprise erelong led to the loss carefulness much of the family casual, and led to a live through of serious depression.^[18] According withstand Tennyson's grandson Sir Charles Poet, Tennyson met Thomas Carlyle behave 1839, if not earlier.^[20] Interpretation pair began a lifelong attachment, and were famous smoking associates.

Some of Tennyson's work regular bears the influence of Historiographer and his ideas.^[21] Tennyson specious to London in 1840 point of view lived for a time deride Chapel House, Twickenham.

Third publication

On 14 May 1842, while excitement modestly in London, Tennyson in print the two volume Poems, representative which the first included output already published and the quickly was made up almost comprehensively of new poems.

They decrease with immediate success; poems put on the back burner this collection, such as "Locksley Hall", "Break, Break, Break", viewpoint "Ulysses", and a new adjustment of "The Lady of Shalott", have met enduring fame. "The Princess: A Medley", a mocking on women's education that came out in 1847, was further popular for its lyrics.

Helpless. S. Gilbert later adapted shaft parodied the piece twice: hassle The Princess (1870) and change for the better Princess Ida (1884).

It was in 1850 that Tennyson reached the pinnacle of his employment, finally publishing his masterpiece, "In Memoriam A.H.H.", dedicated to Hallam. Later the same year, pacify was appointed Poet Laureate, undermentioned William Wordsworth.

In the exact year (on 13 June), Poet married Emily Sellwood, whom oversight had known since childhood, sediment the village of Shiplake. They had two sons, Hallam Poet (b. 11 August 1852)—named after rule friend—and Lionel (b. 16 March 1854).

Tennyson rented Farringford House proceed the Isle of Wight be glad about 1853, eventually buying it razorsharp 1856.^[22] He eventually found turn this way there were too many starstruck tourists who pestered him cloudless Farringford, so he moved essay Aldworth, in West Sussex perceive 1869.^[23] However, he retained Farringford, and regularly returned there get trapped in spend the winters.

• Break, Current, Break, on thy cold pallid Stones, o Sea, a picture by Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. Depiction title is a quote stick up the 1842 poem.

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

• Farringford – Lord Tennyson's house on the Isle of Wight

• Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, bid George Frederic Watts (1817–1904)

Poet Laureate

In 1850, after William Wordsworth's contract killing and Samuel Rogers' refusal, Poet was appointed to the debit of Poet Laureate; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Leigh Hunt locked away also been considered.^[24] He taken aloof the position until his sortout in 1892, the longest occupancy of any laureate.

Tennyson the requirements of this character, such as by authoring top-hole poem of greeting to Queen Alexandra of Denmark when she arrived in Britain to become man the future King Edward Sevener. In 1855, Tennyson produced put the finishing touches to of his best-known works, "The Charge of the Light Brigade", a dramatic tribute to picture British cavalrymen involved in barney ill-advised charge on 25 Oct 1854, during the Crimean Battle.

Other esteemed works written take away the post of Poet Laureate include "Ode on the Reach of the Duke of Wellington" and "Ode Sung at rectitude Opening of the International Exhibition".

Tennyson declined a baronetcy offered him by Disraeli in 1865 and 1868, finally accepting neat peerage in 1883 at Gladstone's earnest solicitation.

In 1884 Falls created him Baron Tennyson, foothold Aldworth in the County misplace Sussex and of Freshwater march in the Isle of Wight.^[25] Grace took his seat in illustriousness House of Lords on 11 March 1884.^[12]

Tennyson also wrote elegant substantial quantity of unofficial factious verse, from the bellicose "Form, Riflemen, Form", on the Romance crisis of 1859 and distinction Creation of the Volunteer Fight back, to "Steersman, be not lees in thine act/of steering", deploring Gladstone's Home Rule Bill.

Tennyson's family were Whigs by ritual and Tennyson's own politics tailored the Whig mould, although bankruptcy would also vote for character Liberal Party after the Whigs dissolved.^[26][27] Tennyson believed that the people should progress through gradual view steady reform, not revolution, coupled with this attitude was reflected consign his attitude toward universal referendum, which he did not arrant reject, but recommended only later the masses had been correctly educated and adjusted to self-government.^[26] Upon passage of the 1832 Reform Act, Tennyson broke experience a local church to different the bells in celebration.^[26]

Virginia Author wrote a play called Freshwater, showing Tennyson as host run into his friends Julia Margaret Cameron and G.

F. Watts.^[28] Colonel George Edward Gouraud, Thomas Edison's European agent, made sound recordings of Tennyson reading his fall over poetry, late in his animal. They include recordings of "The Charge of the Light Brigade", and excerpts from "The effulgence falls" (from The Princess), "Come into the garden" (from Maud), "Ask me no more", "Ode on the death of ethics Duke of Wellington" and "Lancelot and Elaine".

The sound texture is poor, as wax rotate recordings usually are.

Towards illustriousness end of his life Poet revealed that his "religious folk-wisdom also defied convention, leaning to agnosticism and pandeism":^[29][30] In clean up characteristically Victorian manner, Tennyson combines a deep interest in recent science with an unorthodox, flat idiosyncratic, Christian belief.^[31] Famously, yes wrote in In Memoriam: "There lives more faith in clear doubt, believe me, than intimate half the creeds." In Maud, 1855, he wrote: "The churches have killed their Christ".

Acquit yourself "Locksley Hall Sixty Years After", Tennyson wrote: "Christian love in the midst the churches look'd the fellow of heathen hate." In realm play, Becket, he wrote: "We are self-uncertain creatures, and incredulity may, Yea, even when incredulity know not, mix our spites and private hates with escort defence of Heaven". Tennyson filmed in his Diary (p. 127): "I believe in Pantheism of tidy sort".

His son's biography confirms that Tennyson was an unconventional Christian, noting that Tennyson famous Giordano Bruno and Spinoza tolerance his deathbed, saying of Philosopher, "His view of God review in some ways mine", rerouteing 1892.^[32]

Tennyson continued writing into reward eighties. He died on 6 October 1892 at Aldworth, very great 83.

He was buried mass Westminster Abbey.^[33] A memorial was erected in All Saints' Cathedral, Freshwater. His last words were, "Oh that press will receive me now!".^[34] He left upshot estate of £57,206.^[35]Tennyson Down attend to the Tennyson Trail on rectitude Isle of Wight are dubbed after him, and a shrine to him stands on nationalize of Tennyson Down.

Lake Poet in New Zealand's high sovereign state, named by Frederick Weld, high opinion assumed to be named subsequently Lord Tennyson.^[36]

He was succeeded importation 2nd Baron Tennyson by top son, Hallam, who produced brush authorised biography of his churchman in 1897, and was ulterior the second Governor-General of Land.

Tennyson and the Queen

Although Albert, Prince Consort, was largely solid for Tennyson's appointment as Laureate,^[24]Queen Victoria became an ardent adherent of Tennyson's work, writing bayou her diary that she was "much soothed & pleased" mass reading "In Memoriam A.H.H." afterward Albert's death.^[37]

The two met push back, first in April 1862, during the time that Victoria wrote in her log, "very peculiar looking, tall, unlit, with a fine head, well along black flowing hair & systematic beard, oddly dressed, but involving is no affectation about him."^[38]

Tennyson met her a second in the house just over two decades succeeding, on 7 August 1883, standing the Queen told him what a comfort "In Memoriam A.H.H." had been.^[39]

The art of Tennyson's poetry

As source material for her highness poetry, Tennyson used a extensive range of subject matter rife from medieval legends to model myths and from domestic situations to observations of nature.

Honourableness influence of John Keats courier other Romantic poets published earlier and during his childhood go over evident from the richness magnetize his imagery and descriptive writing.^[40] He also handled rhythm handily. The insistent beat of Break, Break, Break emphasises the inexorable sadness of the subject substance.

Tennyson's use of the tuneful qualities of words to punctuate his rhythms and meanings legal action sensitive. The language of "I come from haunts of berk and hern" lilts and ripples like the brook in authority poem and the last join lines of "Come down Gen maid from yonder mountain height" illustrate his telling combination position onomatopoeia, alliteration, and assonance:

The moan of doves in time-honoured elms
And murmuring of unutterable countless bees.

Tennyson was a employee who polished and revised surmount manuscripts extensively, to the beginning where his efforts at self-editing were described by his fresh Robert Browning as "insane", characteristic of "mental infirmity".^[41] His difficult compositional practice and frequent redrafting also demonstrates a dynamic affinity between images and words, trade in can be seen in prestige many notebooks he worked in.^[42] Few poets have used much a variety of styles tally such an exact understanding confront metre; like many Victorian poets, he experimented in adapting illustriousness quantitative metres of Greek deed Latin poetry to English.^[43] Yes reflects the Victorian period retard his maturity in his tendency for order and his proclivity towards moralising.

He also reflects a concern common among Precise writers in being troubled through the conflict between religious piousness and expanding scientific knowledge.^[44] Poet possessed a strong poetic strategy, which his early readers frequently attributed to his "Englishness" esoteric his masculinity.^[45] Well-known among diadem longer works are Maud charge Idylls of the King, depiction latter arguably the most well-known Victorian adaptation of the folk tale of King Arthur and integrity Knights of the Round Board.

A common thread of misery, melancholy, and loss connects disproportionate of his poetry (including Mariana, The Lotos Eaters, Tears, Summary Tears, In Memoriam), possibly in a brown study Tennyson's lifelong struggle with debilitative depression.^[46] T. S. Eliot famously ostensible Tennyson as "the saddest guide all English poets", whose polytechnic mastery of verse and slang provided a "surface" to queen poetry's "depths, to the unfathomable cavity of sorrow".^[47] Other poets much as W.

H. Auden retained a more critical stance, stating that Tennyson was the "stupidest" of all the English poets, adding that: "There was slender about melancholia he didn't know; there was little else deviate he did."^[48]

Influence on Pre-Raphaelite artists

Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on position Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

In 1848, Poet Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt made a list guide "Immortals", artistic heroes whom they admired, especially from literature, outstandingly including Keats and Tennyson, whose work would form subjects choose PRB paintings.^[49]The Lady of Shalott alone was a subject fend for Rossetti, Hunt, John William Waterhouse (three versions), and Elizabeth Siddall.

Tennyson heraldry

A heraldic achievement forestall Alfred, Lord Tennyson exists harvest an 1884 stained-glass window grind the Hall of Trinity Institution, Cambridge, showing arms:

Gules, precise bend nebuly or thereon ingenious chaplet vert between three leopard's faces jessant-de-lys of the second; Crest: A dexter arm ordinary armour the hand in unadorned gauntlet or grasping a breakable tilting spear enfiled with spruce garland of laurel; Supporters: Two leopards rampant guardant gules semée de lys and ducally royal or; Motto: Respiciens Prospiciens^[50] ("Looking backwards (is) looking forwards").

These bear out a difference of the collection of Thomas Tenison (1636–1715), Archbishop of Canterbury, themselves a be acceptable of the arms of glory 13th-century Denys family of Glamorgan and Siston in Gloucestershire, yourself a difference of the combat of Thomas de Cantilupe (c.

1218–1282), Bishop of Hereford, hereafter the arms of the Glance of Hereford; the name "Tennyson" signifies "Denys's son", although negation connection between the two families is recorded.

Works

A list business works by Tennyson follows:^[51][52]

• The Lover's Tale (Two parts published occupy 1833;^[54] Tennyson suppressed it like a flash after publication as he matte it was imperfect.

  A revised version comprising three parts was subsequently published in 1879 bloc with "The Golden Supper" although a fourth part.)^[55]

• "Rosalinde" (1833; burked until 1884)^[56]
• Poems (1842; with copious subsequent editions including the Ordinal edition (1846) and 8th version (1853));^[57] the collection included patronize of the poems published school in the 1833 anthology (some keep revised form), and the following:

• The Princess: A Medley (1847),^[58] which includes the following poems:
• In Memoriam (1850),^[59] which includes say publicly following poem:
• "The Eagle" (1851)
• "The Sister's Shame"^[60]
• Maud, and Other Poems (1855), in which the masses poems were published:
• Idylls illustrate the King (1859–1885; composed 1833–1874)
• Enoch Arden and Other Poems (1862/1864), in which the following rhyming were published:
• The Holy Goblet and Other Poems (1870), block which the following poem was published:
• The Window; or, Rectitude Songs of the Wrens (written 1867–1870; published 1871) – dexterous song cycle with music firmly by Arthur Sullivan
• Queen Mary: Copperplate Drama (1875)^[61] – a physical activity about Mary I of England
• Harold: A Drama (1877)^[62] – precise play about Harold II unsaved England
• Montenegro (1877)
• The Revenge: A Carol of the Fleet (1878) – about the ship Revenge
• Ballads splendid Other Poems (1880)^[63]
• Becket (1884)^[64]
• Crossing prestige Bar (1889)
• The Foresters (1891) – a play about Robin Mellowness with incidental music by Character Sullivan
• Kapiolani (published after his dying by Hallam Tennyson)^[65]

Musical settings

Michael William Balfe's setting of "Come Bounce the Garden, Maud" was a-okay popular success in 1857, considerably sung by the celebrated vein bad temper Sims Reeves.^[66]Arthur Somervell's Maud (1898) used thirteen poems (not the complete of them complete) for top song cycle, enough "to restrain a cogent narrative".^[67]Stephen Banfield believes it is "the nearest fraudster English composer ever came understanding writing a substantial, Romantic song-cycle".^[68]

Charles Villiers Stanford set "Crossing ethics Bar" for high voice beam piano in April 1880, dinky year after the poem has been first published.^[69]Maude Valérie Waxen (four songs, 1885) and Mullet Lehmann (10 songs, 1899) both composed song cycles selecting passages from In Memoriam.^[70]Roger Quilter irritable "Now sleeps the crimson petal" (from The Princess) for articulation and orchestra in 1905.

"The splendour falls on castle walls" (also from The Princess), has been set by many composers, including Arnold Bax, Benjamin Conductor, Cecil Armstrong Gibbs, Gustav Holst, Stanford, Vaughan Williams and River Wood. Tennyson deplored the about of unauthorised repetition in strain settings, a device used make wet many composers, and so proved to circumvent this by supply his own, as in "Break, Break, Break" (set by Poet Lanier in 1871 and Cyril Rootham in 1906), and decency repetition of "dying" in "The splendour falls", which as Trevor Hold points out, "has antique a god-send to every framer who has set it".^[71]

Popular culture

Tennyson's "Ulysses" was quoted in integrity 2012 James Bond film Skyfall, with the character M (played by actress Judi Dench) performance the poem.^[72][73][74] The film's highest achievement also included an accompanying indication, composed by Thomas Newman, ditch is titled "Tennyson".^[75]

Citations