Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)

This is probably the ultimate mid-Victorian poem, everything you need to know about British culture around the time of the Great Exhibition condensed into one novella-length (just under 3000 lines) piece of verse. Reflecting on his reaction to the sudden death of his college friend Arthur Hallam at the age of 22 in 1833, Tennyson analyses the process of grieving and recovery, and examines what death means to him in the context of Christian (Anglican) religious ideas and the way they have show more been shaken up by recent scientific discoveries. Fossils, descent from apes, age of the planet, Nature "So careful of the type ... So careless of the single life", and all the rest of it. You name it, it's in there somewhere.

The sections of the poem follow a roughly chronological sequence, starting with the poet reacting to news of his friend's death and following in his imagination the progress of the ship bringing his remains back to Britain, and ending years later with the happy marriage of the poet's sister Emilia, who had been engaged to marry Arthur. Along the way he goes back and forward through different ways of dealing with grief and loss, sometimes depressed and desperate, sometimes reconciled to the idea that "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all."

And of course this is a poem full of lines that have entered the language, from "Nature red in tooth and claw" to "Ring out, wild bells". It was a huge hit in its time, and copies flew off the presses, especially after Queen Victoria announced that she had taken great consolation from it after the death of her husband in 1862. Tennyson ended up with the Laureateship and a peerage, with a standing more like that of a former prime minister than a poet.

Reading it 170 years on, of course there's a lot that feels archaic, and the endless pattern of tetrameter quatrains in ABBA rhyme-scheme can seem a bit mechanical, but there's also a lot in his insight into the way we deal with loss and death that still feels relevant and helpful: I don't suppose many people read this without thinking about the way the poet's reflections would map onto a loss in their own lives, and probably feeling better about it as a result. show less

Poetic version of the arthurian legends. I have to say i have zero interest in arthurian mythology but thats ok because this isn't about myths and legends this is about people.
These poems have a remarkable amount of humanity in them. There are so many surprises and characters act in very human but unexpected ways. Also the magical elements of the myths are mostly minimized or made ambiguous.
Other poetry epics like Orlando Furiouso or the Faerie Queene tend to be very good on the action this show more less so with most action taking place between the lines. However thats ok because it's again about people not events.
The only real flaw is that each section is a bit long for a comfortable read in one go at least for me.
One other small complaint is that it mixes in the Tristan and Isolde legend, so is your not familiar with that you may get confused as it assumes you already know it, i had to wiki it.
This is really like a modern film adaptation taking modern issues and viewpoints and clothing them in the arthurian lengendry, i like. show less

Rest in peace Arthur 3
I was skeptical going into this at first since it’s a 19th century text and I was curious as to how much Tennyson would change from Malory and earlier works. I really enjoyed it, though. I think it’s beautifully written and I love all the imagery Tennyson uses. Malory’s Grail Quest is still my favorite version of it, but I do still *really* like Tennyson’s take on it. Writing it in past tense and hearing it through Percival instead of reading it as the quest was show more going on was a choice I really liked. The Grail Quest has always felt like the beginning of the end to me and I think Percival’s recollection really adds it that. I also loved the last line of ‘The Last Tournament’ - “And Mordred thought ‘the time is hard at hand’” hell yeah dude it’s your time to shine go kill your dad !!
Also the art in my edition is absolutely gorgeous. The only character that’s drawn different from my mental image of them is Geraint/Erec and the Bedivere and Galahad portraits are my favorite. Also Gawain looks extremely fruity in his but of course he does. show less

A very long poem lamenting the loss of a friend and brother-in-law. I don't give ratings based on quality only enjoyment. And overall i thought this was pretty meh.
There are times when it sparkles but the quality seems very uneven. I like poetry best when its telling a story or painting a picture.
I understand this was written over 17 years but it feels like there was a significant gap before the final 5th, as suddenly it becomes more philosophical and the grief seems severely reduced from show more the first 4/5ths.
The read does raise some interesting questions though. Due to its length it can come across (perhaps quite wrongly) as self-centered, being so focused on the authors grief with seemingly no thought for anyone else's. Including his sister who was married to the deceased. In fact she barely gets a mention until the end.
I also wonder how much of this affection was returned. Call me cynical but in my experience love/friendship is never mutually strong.
I've always had trouble processing/appreciating poetry that isn't story based (like [b: Idyll's of the King|393636|Idylls of the King|Alfred Tennyson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380979896s/393636.jpg|937372] which is awesome!) and this read has none nothing to show that i've grown over the years :) . show less