Tennyson

The reign of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901) was a time of change; as a writer of the "Edinburgh Review" said in July 1858: the nineteenth century is an "age of transition: a period when changes, deeply and permanently affecting the whole condition of mankind, are occuring more rapidly . . . than at any prior time in human history." The main reason for this period of change was the Industrial Revolution and the increasingly larger rift between social classes as a result of it. Also affecting change was the stronger leadership of Victoria and the new British policy of imperialism.

One of the aspects of the literature of the Victorian Age was the once-radical Romantic style of the early 19th century. By the time of the Victorian Age, Romanticism had become mainstream. The most popular poet of the time, in fact, was a romantic: Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson's works display many Romantic characteristics: a sense of idealism, a mystical, mysterious feeling, use of the imagination, a magical, fantastic aura, and an appreciation of tradition and the past, especially the medieval themes of the Arthurian legend. Tennyson held an optimistic view of the future and thought that people were generally good. As a result of his poetic skill, Tennyson was named Poet Laureate in 1850.

In his works, Tennyson makes classical allusions. The poems "Ulysses" and "The Lotos-Eaters," in fact, are based on classical Greek legends. An example of a specific allusion is in "Ulysses," when Ulysses tells his sailors that it is "not too late to . . . touch the Happy Isles." Here, the "Happy Isles" refer to Elysium, the dwelling place of virtuous people after death. Also in "Ulysses," Tennyson presents the idealistic view that Ulysses may not be too old to sail again. Tennyson expresses this idealism in "Crossing the Bar" by thinking all will be well after he dies and in "In Memoriam A.H.H." by thinking that Arthur Hallam will be found in Nature. In "The Lady of Shalott," there is a magical mood as the lady spins her web and looks out through her mirror. "A red-cross knight forever kneeled to a lady in his shield" is a quote that exemplifies the romantic feeling and medieval themes of Tennyson's poems. The expanded version of two Greek legends and the creation of a new Arthurian legend demonstrate Tennyson's use of the imagination. Tennyson's appreciation of the past is the theme of "Tears, Idle Tears": "So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more."

Romantic ideas continued into the Victorian Age. Alfred, Lord Tennyson was the premier romantic poet of that time. As a romantic, Tennyson presented an optimistic view of the future, despite the revolutionary changes of the time. With the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the British Empire, the society under Queen Victoria would change forever.