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Early Life and Family
Childhood in Somersby
Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6,1809, in Somersby, a quiet village in Lincolnshire, England. He was the fourth of twelve children—eleven survived infancy—born to George Clayton Tennyson, a rector (like a local priest), and Elizabeth Fytche. The family lived in a rectory surrounded by fields, marshes, and nearby coastline, which sparked Alfred’s love for nature. You can see this in the restless, sea-driven imagery of his poem “Ulysses,” where the hero yearns to sail again. But home life wasn’t always peaceful. His father was a scholar who loved poetry but struggled with depression and alcoholism, sometimes becoming violent. This made the household tense, and several of Alfred’s siblings faced their own struggles—his brother Edward was confined to an asylum, and others dealt with drinking or drug issues. These family troubles made Alfred worry about his own mental health, a fear that shows up in the introspective tone of “Ulysses,” where the speaker grapples with purpose and mortality.
Early Talent for Poetry
Alfred was a gifted kid who started writing young. At age 12, he wrote a 6,000-line epic poem, which is wild for a preteen! He was a bit of a prodigy. His father taught him and his brothers Latin, Greek, and literature, filling Alfred’s head with classical myths like the story of Ulysses from Homer’s Odyssey. By 14, he wrote a play mimicking Shakespeare, showing he was already serious about words. In 1827, at 17, he and his brothers Charles and Frederick published Poems by Two Brothers (though all three contributed). The collection was full of youthful, dreamy poems and got some attention in Lincolnshire, giving Alfred an early taste of recognition.
Education and Early Career
Time at Cambridge
In 1827, Alfred enrolled at Trinity College, Cambridge, with his brothers Charles and Edward. College was a turning point. He joined the Apostles, a group of brainy students who loved debating big ideas about philosophy, politics, and art. There, he met Arthur Henry Hallam, a brilliant young poet who became his best friend. Hallam’s encouragement shaped Alfred’s early work, and their friendship was one of the deepest bonds of his life. In 1829, Alfred won the Chancellor’s Gold Medal for his poem “Timbuktu,” which put him on the map as a rising talent.
First Publications and Criticism
In 1830, Alfred published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, his first solo collection, with poems like “Mariana” that showed his gift for vivid, emotional imagery. It got mixed reviews—some loved his style, others thought it was too flowery. In 1832, he published another Poems collection, including early versions of works like “The Lady of Shalott.” Critics panned it, calling it overly sentimental, and Alfred, who was super sensitive to criticism, took it hard. He stopped publishing for nearly a decade, though he kept writing privately. This period of doubt mirrors the restless spirit in “Ulysses,” where the hero refuses to settle for a quiet life.Read More
The Loss of Arthur Hallam
In 1833, Alfred’s world fell apart when Arthur Hallam died suddenly of a stroke at age 22. Hallam was engaged to Alfred’s sister Emily, and his death devastated the family. For Alfred, it was a gut punch—Hallam was his biggest supporter and closest friend. This grief inspired “Ulysses,” written soon after, where Alfred channels his need to push forward despite loss into the voice of a hero who vows “to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” Hallam’s death also led to Alfred’s masterpiece, In Memoriam A.H.H.a long elegy, which he worked on for 17 years.
Struggles and Resilience
Family and Financial Troubles
The 1830s were rough. Alfred’s father died in 1831, leaving the family broke, so Alfred had to leave Cambridge without a degree. He moved back to Somersby, then to London, supporting his family while writing poetry instead of taking a “proper” job like becoming a clergyman, which his family pushed for. In 1836, he fell in love with Emily Sellwood, a family friend, and they got engaged, but Alfred’s money troubles and fears about inheriting epilepsy (a family concern) led him to break it off in 1840. Things got worse in 1842 when he lost most of his inheritance in a failed wood-carving business investment. This sent him into a nervous breakdown, and he spent time in a sanitarium, worried he was losing his mind.
Breakthrough with Poems (1842)
Alfred bounced back in 1842 with a two-volume collection called Poems. It included revised versions of earlier works like “The Lady of Shalott” and new poems like “Ulysses” and “Morte d’Arthur.” This time, critics and readers loved it, and Alfred’s reputation soared. The pension he received in 1845—£200 a year from the government acting as a patron—gave him some financial stability, letting him focus on writing. “Ulysses” reflects this moment of resilience, with its call to keep exploring despite setbacks, much like Alfred refusing to let grief and failure stop him.
Rise to Fame
In Memoriam and Poet Laureate
By 1850, Alfred was a literary star. He published In Memoriam A.H.H., his long elegy for Hallam, which wrestled with grief, faith, and science in a way that spoke to Victorian readers. Lines like “’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all” became famous. Queen Victoria, grieving her husband Albert’s death in 1861, found comfort in the poem, which boosted Alfred’s fame. In 1850, he was named Poet Laureate after William Wordsworth’s death, a role he held for 42 years—the longest ever. That same year, he married Emily Sellwood after a 13-year engagement. They moved to Twickenham, near London, and started a family.
Family Life and New Works
Alfred and Emily had two sons, Hallam (born 1852) and Lionel (born 1854), though their first child was stillborn. In 1853, they settled at Farringford, a peaceful home on the Isle of Wight, where Alfred wrote some of his best work. He became a celebrity, known for his deep voice when reading poetry and his quirky look—big beard, cloak, and wide-brimmed hat. As Poet Laureate, he wrote for national events, like “The Charge of the Light Brigade” (1854) about a Crimean War battle and “Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington” (1852). His biggest project was Idylls of the King, a series of poems about King Arthur, started in 1859 and expanded over years. Like “Ulysses,” it drew on myths to explore themes of duty and heroism, reflecting Alfred’s role as a public poet.
Later Years and Legacy
Continued Success and Challenges
In the 1860s and 1870s, Alfred’s fame grew, and he earned big money from his poetry—sometimes £10,000 a year, huge for the time. In 1869, he bought a second home, Aldworth, in Surrey, for more privacy. He tried writing plays like Queen Mary (1875) and Becket (1884), but they flopped—poetry was his true gift. Personal losses hit hard: his son Lionel died in 1886 at 32 from an illness caught in India, which broke Alfred’s heart. He poured this grief into Demeter and Other Poems (1889). In 1883, he accepted a peerage from Prime Minister Gladstone, becoming Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater, and joined the House of Lords in 1884. He wasn’t thrilled about the title, saying he’d miss his “simple name,” but it showed his status as a national figure.
Final Years and Death
By the late 1880s, Alfred’s health was declining. He suffered from gout, which worsened in 1892. On October 6, 1892, he died at Aldworth, age 83, surrounded by family, with a Shakespeare book open beside him. He was buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner, and thousands attended his funeral, with Queen Victoria sending a laurel wreath. His last poem, “Crossing the Bar,” was read at the service, set to music, and captured his view of death as a journey, much like the voyage in “Ulysses.” Emily died in 1896, and their son Hallam published Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir in 1897, a key source on his life.
Legacy
Tennyson was Victorian England’s poetic voice, blending classical myths, nature, and big questions about life, faith, and progress. Poems like “Ulysses,” with its call to keep striving, reflect his own battles with grief, doubt, and the drive to create. His work influenced generations, and lines from “Ulysses” and “In Memoriam” are still quoted today. He captured the spirit of his era while speaking to universal human struggles, making him one of England’s greatest poets.
Glossary of Difficult Words
- Rector: A priest or minister in charge of a church parish.
- Asylum: A hospital or institution for people with mental illnesses, often with harsh conditions in the 19th century.
- Prodigy: A young person with exceptional talent.
- Sentimental: Overly emotional or focused on feelings, sometimes seen as excessive.
- Elegy: A poem mourning someone who has died.
- Laureate: An official poet appointed to write for the government or monarchy.
- Peerage: A title of nobility, like baron, granted by the monarch.
- Gout: A painful disease causing joint inflammation, often in the feet.
- Sanitarium: A facility for treating long-term illnesses, like mental health issues or tuberculosis, in the 19th century.
- Patron: Someone who financially supports an artist or writer (e.g., the government giving Tennyson a pension).
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