Alfred Lord Tennyson's Victorian Poetry PDF

INTRODUCTION TO VICTORIAN POETRY ALFRED LORD TENNYSON 1809-1892 WEEK II  Born on the 6th of August in 1809 at Somersby, Lincolnshire, in England, Alfred Lord Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children of George and Elizabeth ALFRED, Tennyson. His childhood has ne...

INTRODUCTION TO VICTORIAN POETRY ALFRED LORD TENNYSON 1809-1892 WEEK II  Born on the 6th of August in 1809 at Somersby, Lincolnshire, in England, Alfred Lord Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children of George and Elizabeth ALFRED, Tennyson. His childhood has never been called upon prosperity since he had a lifelong fear of mental LORD illness, for several men in his family had a mild form of epilepsy, which was then thought a shameful TENNYSO disease. His father and brother Arthur made their cases worse by excessive drinking” (Everett 2004). Despite N experiencing numerous painful incidents such as economic problems, chronic illnesses of his family 1809- members, and the disastrous loss of his beloved friend Arthur Hallam, Tennyson managed to become one of 1892 the major poets in England. In 1850, he succeeded William Wordsworth and earned the honour of being the Poet Laureate. ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON 1809-1892 Titled as the poet laureate of Great Britain and Ireland in 1850, Tennyson carried the significant values and ideas of the Victorian period, as Mina Urgan suggests. Accordingly, it was argued that the only difference between the thoughts of Tennyson and Queen Victoria was that the former’s words had “a more fortunate literary style” (1518). In 1883, Tennyson was honoured with the “Lord” title, which he tended to reject at first –just like he rejected the “Sir” title. However, he accepted it after some time, thinking, “Why should I be selfish and not suffer an honour to be done to literature in my name?” In this way, he became “Lord Tennyson”, being the only poet to acquire the title not by birth (in contrast to Lord Byron) (1518). All these titles and honours put a heavy responsibility on his shoulders. Especially as the poet of the state, he was expected to internalise and reflect the official ideology and patriotism during the Victorian Era.  Tennyson’s two poems, “The Lotos THE Eaters” and “Ulysses,” signify his aims in using mythological stories in LOTOS their creation concerning the personal motivation for writing in EATERS different contexts and the and representation of Victorian England simultaneously. ULYSSES  For several reasons, Tennyson wrote many poems using classical models used in contemporary materials. It was fashionable during the era, and Tennyson was not the only Victorian poet to take his subject matters from Greek and Roman mythology. According to Carol Christ, the fashion of taking classics as models was expected, and it functioned as a means through which “Victorian poets rifle history and legend for characters THE and stories that ground and give resonance to thickly detailed representations of sensibility” (8). For Tennyson, mythology served as a LOTOS plentiful source to reflect his mood and the spirit of the Victorian Age. To Richard Jenkyns, “[t]he classical myth is an object against which the EATERS poet’s subjectivity can play; it licenses an indirect exploration of private emotion which, given directly, might seem too raw or self-regarding (239). Tennyson returned to the classical to give his deeper feelings a and voice in a universally recognisable way. Mythology always attracted him; he used myth to control, order and shape his feelings. Nevertheless, what ULYSSES made him different is that he managed to use myth as a web into which his feelings could be woven and evolve from the depth of his subjective experience and became images of enormously and increasingly suggestive social significance. Thus, Tennyson managed to transmit his fictional figures to a social level rather than confining them in a subjective context.  THE LOTOS EATERS and ULYSSES Before becoming the Poet Laureate of England in 1850, Tennyson had written many poems through which he already became the mouthpiece of his society. As G.M. Young asserts, “For the rest of his life Tennyson was the poet: and to the people, poetry was the sort of thing that Tennyson wrote” (25). Yet, he was destined to pay the price for his fame. Tennyson was intended to be a subjective poet and was forced by circumstances into fifty years of unnatural objectivity. In the same vein, one may claim that Tennyson’s poetry could be read as the embodiment of conflicts that were the natural outcome of being stuck between his personal feelings and the expectations of society. In this context, by reflecting on his disputes with the mythological characters he constantly used in his poems, Tennyson achieved a new level of psychological depth in his poetic figures.  THE LOTOS EATERS and ULYSSES Moreover, Tennyson was not only in between subjectivity and the necessity of social objectivity. He was also the object of the ambivalence between the struggles of man and nature. Thanks to several discoveries and inventions in all walks of science and geography, Victorian society might have experienced the strongest traumas. Through the later ages of his life, Tennyson once utters that their age was the time of unfaith. In his own words, “[o]ne can easily lose all belief, through giving up the continual thought and care for spiritual things” (Tennyson 2012: 309).  LOTOS EATERS In parallel to the spirit of the age, the poem “Lotos-Eaters” was written in 1832. The poem is based on the adventure of Homer’s Odysseus and his men, who leave their spiritual persuasion when they reach the island of the Lotus. Homer does not describe the country of the ‘lotus-eaters’; Tennyson describes his imaginative island in detail, as well as the special effects of the plant and the ones who taste it. The setting is a pastoral ideal where a sandy shore gives way to a land of fruitful abundance capped by picturesque mountains. The plants on the soil appear to be fully grown and ready to be eaten: “The flower ripens in its place / Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil / Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil” (81-83). The landscape is a romantic space where no labour is necessary for its inhabitants. In this respect, it is evident in these lines that ‘The Lotos-Eaters’ is a critique of British work habits and imperial duty.  LOTOS EATERS The constant insistence on resting and bearing no responsibility might be considered a kind of sympathy felt through romantic escapism against the dutiful ideals of Victorian England. The speaker mentions: “Surely, surely, slumber is more sweet than toil, the shore / Than labour in the deep mid-ocean, wind and wave and oar; / O, rest ye, brother mariners, we will not wander more” (171-73). The idea of romantic escapism in “The Lotos-Eaters” might account for the criticism of expansion as one of the negative aspects of industrialism in the Victorian Era.  It is a well-known fact that, in that period, England transformed into an industrial country from an agricultural one. The new social conditions might have disturbed many people in urban cities. In parallel, the poem starts with the voice of THE Odysseus, the speaker of the poem, “Courage! […] This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon” LOTOS (1-2). The speaker directs his man to land in a space where sleep, inaction, joy and rest are the EATERS common qualities. These qualities are the opposites of the industrial motto of duty and heavy work. The land is described as so appealing that the sailors would never leave there.  THE LOTOS EATERS There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass, Or night-dews on still waters between walls Of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass; Music that gentler on the spirit lies, Than tired7 eyelids upon tired eyes; Music that brings sweet sleep down from the blissful skies. Here are cool mosses deep, And through the moss the ivies creep, And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep, And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep. (46-56)  The landscape is more than idyllic and pastoral; the sailors even get tired and sleep without any work. It relates to the Victorian context because there were two kinds of public opinion. The first idea was that England had expanded enough and no longer needed to advance. Yet, the supporters of the second LOTOS opinion were highly ambitious for new journeys. Hence, Tennyson might have likened the ‘lotos EATERS eaters’ to the supporters of the first opinion opposed to the expansion at that length. They were haunted by inaction as they ate the lotos, which helped them to leave all their responsibilities for Victorian ideals.  LOTOS EATERS Another critical point is that the poem “The Lotos-Eaters” could embody the poet's connectedness and source of influence. In this poem, Tennyson uses a public domain myth to give form to the creative experience and to find some symbolic equivalent for the artist’s relationship to his environment. According to Alan Grob, the poem has a direct relationship between the poet and the process of creativeness. As he argues, eating ‘lotos’ signifies “the mind into a realm of imaginative experience where pleasures and perceptions are so intense and compelling that all appetite for normal experience is quickly forgotten” (123).  LOTOS EATERS It is a dreamy, conscious state where the urge to write is triggered out of the mundane of daily life. It implicitly references the “fine frenzy so often associated by the romantic poet with the creative act” (Grob 124). In this respect, the Lotos plant is a means for a sudden reversal from the land of reality to the land of imagination. It is truly a symbol of poetic creation.  ULYSSES On the other hand, Tennyson wrote his poem “Ulysses” in 1833, which appears to be a retelling of the story of Homer and then Dante. In W. W. Robson’s words, the poem Ulysses is “Homer’s Odysseus felt through Dante” (156). Yet, it is not the product of an emotion which could be held as a Victorian poet’s response to the Renaissance ideals. It includes dominant personal aspects of Tennyson as a poet, “as a man alive in his own time” (Robson 156). The poem bears several personal qualities since it was written immediately after the death of Arthur Hallam, a close friend of Tennyson, who left him in great despair.  ULYSSES Tennyson stated in his own words that the poem was written to emphasise the “‘need of going forward and braving the struggle of life’ after the death of Arthur Hallam” (qtd in Greenblatt 1123). In this respect, the poem is the artistic reflection of “the point of juncture between the poet as a private individual, with his private sorrows, and as a responsible social being, conscious of a public world in which he has duties” (Robson 156). In other words, “[j]ust as ‘The Lotos-Eaters’ proclaims Tennyson’s faith in (and fear) of dogmatic Christianity, so does “Ulysses” crystalise the poet’s need to find a new version of faith to cope with anguish” (Ratcliffe 17). That is to say, the context of the poem suits the contradictions of his age.  ULYSSES The Victorian Era was the period of a renowned clash between faith and doubt. Tennyson, in a sense, the spokesman of the authority, was on the side of faith. In Tennyson’s ideals, faith includes his country’s well-being and hope for a divine being. He was not strictly religious, though, and he believed in the progress of England in all walks of life. Nonetheless, he came on the verge of losing his faith because of his grief, which caused him to lose his persuasion. In this respect, Tennyson, through his “Ulysses”, achieved to portray two distinctive dimensions of his personal view of life. Ignoring Hallam’s devastating effect on Tennyson’s state of mind is impossible.  ULYSSES Yet, he had already become the mouthpiece of the society, which caused him to remain ambivalent since despair was a contradictory motto for the zeitgeist of Victorian England. “There is plenty of evidence that Tennyson felt himself compelled, as a Laureate and mouthpiece of Society” (Robson 159). In “Ulysses”, one may come across the traces of both. The voice of Tennyson in the poem could be analysed in two ways; first, it is the voice of the proud King as the responsible social being who constantly complains about staying behind his adventures and seeking new journeys. Second, it is the voice of a depressed individual, seeking the real meaning of life as well as proper reasons to go on living by laying down all his misery to cope with the loss of the meaning of life.  ULYSSES Arthur Hallam was the embodiment of this meaning. Utilising this myth on two different levels by referring to Homer and Dante simultaneously, Tennyson exposed his ambivalence. Homer’s version of the story ends with a happy union. After long and tiring journeys, Odysseus returns to his land, Ithaca. He reunions with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. Nevertheless, in Dante’s version, Ulysses appears to be unsatisfied. He is portrayed as the one who is thirsty for new adventures. His dissatisfaction results in a new journey during which his shipwrecks and everybody on board dies.  ULYSSES In the same vein, Tennyson’s poem, written as a dramatic monologue, opens with the complaints of Ulysses the King. To his claims, he feels himself “idle […] among these barren crags” (1-2). The constant use of ‘I’, ‘My’, and ‘Myself’ implies the King’s pride as he always “have enjoyed greatly, have suffered greatly” (7-8). One may notice that Ulysses is above an average man and deserves to have more than others. Nevertheless, his thirst for new journeys and expansion throughout the poem makes him closer to the Dantesque figure. He does not favour his own position where he is “matched with an aged wife” (3). He is eager to “drink [l]ife to the lees” (7). Regarding Tennyson’s religious beliefs, Ulysses appears to symbolise weakness. Especially after the loss of Arthur Hallam, Tennyson begins to doubt the Church of England. The principles of the church lay idle and unused, as Tennyson cannot apply them to untangle the grief that Hallam’s death has inflicted. For Tennyson, his faith no longer shouts, ‘Courage!’ but instead sits before a cold hearth, worn and frustrated.  ULYSSES Nonetheless, Tennyson is not totally in despair. He leaves the reader with some room for choice: As though to breathe were life! Life piled on life Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains; but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. (24-32)  ULYSSES Tennyson tried to find a system of belief for himself after the loss of Arthur Hallam. The poem “Ulysses” turns out to be the ‘bringer of new things.’ Nevertheless, it is unclear whether he reformed his religious beliefs. Since the poem was composed of a dramatic monologue, the readers could only witness the inner sounds of the speaker. There is no action at the end. Ulysses only mentions the need for new journeys, yet he does not start one: “Just as Ulysses remains still, so do Tennyson’s beliefs; yet the poem represents the moment of understanding that formulaic worship cannot help Tennyson cope with his sorrow” (Ratcliffe 29).  IN CONCLUSION “The Lotos Eaters” and “Ulysses” were written in two years. These two poems are significant because they take their topics from mythological stories. Tennyson took those stories for his subject matter for several reasons. In “The Lotos Eaters”, he became the voice of the Victorians. It was the age of industrialisation and modernisation. Such a unique change made society look through the past to reunite with social cohesion and idealised tradition. They needed to return to the ancient Greeks as the base for all European civilisations to fulfil such a desire. It is a mutual past for Europe.  IN CONCLUSION Using their myths could function effectively to make a parallel to the Greeks. The society was split into two, the first of which was the expansion supporters. The second, on the other hand, was the critic of that expansion, and they were eager to calm down and did not want to go further. Nevertheless, both groups had a point in common. The union was stimulated, and people could rely on a shared past, traditions, and history. After all, these points create a culture; if it is sufficiently valuable, it can become a civilisation.  IN CONCLUSION As the spokesman of the Victorian Era, Tennyson holds it as a duty. Other than this dutiful representation, “The Lotos Eaters” and “Ulysses” became the poet’s voice who questions the source of his inspiration and his aims in writing poetry. Despite the devastating effect of Arthur Hallam’s death, he was also urged not to remain in misery. The need for progress became the primary point for the poet and the society simultaneously.  FOR FURTHER READING Christ, Carol. “Victorian Poetics.” A Companion to Victorian Poetry. Ed. Richard Cronin, Alison Chapman, and Antony H. Harrison. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 1-23. Print. Cody, David. “A Critique of Empire and Toil in Alfred Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Lotus-Eaters’”. victorianweb.org 19 March 2007. Acc. 12 Oct. 2017. Drobot, Irina-Ana. “Political Causes of Returning to Ancient Greek Culture in the English Romantic Period: Liberalism.” The Scientific Journal of Humanistic Studies. Vol. 9, No 16, 2017: 78-78. EBSCO. Everett, Glenn. “Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Brief Biography”. victorianweb.org. 30 Nov. 2007. Acc. 14 Oct. 2017.  FOR FURTHER READING Greenblatt, Stephen. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th ed. Vol. 2. USA: W.W: Norton & Company Inc., 2006. Print. Grob, Alan. “Tennyson’s ‘The Lotos-Eaters’: Two Versions of Art.” Modern Philology, Vol. 62, No. 2, 1964: 118-29. JSTOR. Jenkyns, Richard. “The Classical Tradition” A Companion to Victorian Poetry. Ed. Richard Cronin, Alison Chapman, and Antony H. Harrison. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. 229-46. Print. Petch, Simon S. “Tennyson: Mood and Myth.” Sydney Studies in English. Ed. G.A. Wilkes, Vol. 4. 1979: 18-31. openjournals.library.sydney.edu. Ratcliff, Carleen Lara Miller. “The Classic and the Christian: Tennyson’s Grief and Spiritual Shift from ‘The Lotos-Eaters’ to ‘Ulysses’.” Diss. Wake Forest U, 2011. ProQuest. 2016. Web. 14 Oct. 2017  FOR FURTHER READING Robson, W. W. “The Dilemma of Tennyson.” Critical Essays on Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ed. Herbert F. Tucker. G.K. Hall, 1993: 155-164. Print. Stange, G. Robert. “Tennyson’s Mythology: A Study of Demeter and Persephone.” Critical Essays on the Poetry of Tennyson, Ed. John Killham. Routledge, 1967: 137-53. Print. Tennyson, Hallam. Alfred, Lord Tennyson: A Memoir. Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print. Young, G. M. “The Age of Tennyson.” Critical Essays on the Poetry of Tennyson, Ed. John Killham. Routledge, 1967: 25-41. Print.