Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 – 1892)

The 4th of 12 children, was worried about money all
his life, as a result of the fact that his father had been
disinherited and strived with financial problems. He
also lived in perpetual fear of a mental disease, which
seemed to run in the family – his father and brother
were affected.

At Trinity College he joined THE APOSTLES – a secret
undergraduate society that met to discuss major
issues of the day. There he befriended ARTHUR
HALLAM, who became engaged to Emily Tennyson.
After the young man’s sudden death, Tennyson wrote
‘IN MEMORIAM’.

• Tennyson was appointed POET

LAUREATE in 1850 and in
1853 received peerage from
Queen Victoria (he had
refused the title twice before)

• He held the position until his

death (longevity was
apparently hereditary as
well!)

• He was the first to be raised

to British Peerage for his
writing!

‘THE LADY OF SHALOTT’

• A Victorian ballad, recasting loosely an Arturian

legend, reflects the pre-Raphaelite fascination
with Arthuriana.

• THE PRE-RAPHAELITE MOVEMENT:
mid. 19c. Founders: Rossetti, Ruskin, Millais.
Believed that art became too artificial and strove

replace it with naivety and grace, paid meticulous
attention to details, used bright colours, even
distribution of light (as opposed to the teachings

the Academy)

“I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS,” SAID

THE LADY OF SHALOTT

BY JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE, 1916

THE LADY OF SHALOTT LOOKING AT LANCELOT

BY JOHN WILLIAM WATERHOUSE, 1894

The Lady of Shalott J.W. Waterhouse

The poem as a commentary on the

role of the Victorian woman:

What are the qualities that she should

embody?

What kind of life should she lead and in what

realm?

What is the source of tension?

What role is assigned to her and what are

the consequences of a refusal to comply
with it?

And what if... the poem is about

the role of an artist? 

• The Lady is a dedicated artist. What kind of art

does she produce and what is the relation of
art to the reality?

• What is the source of an artist’s internal

conflict?

• Does she abandon art completely after fleeing

Shalott?

• How would you fit the Plato’s Parable of the

Cave into the message of the poem? (light and
shadow, the status of an artist in The Republic)

‘CROSSING THE BAR’

What is ‘THE BAR’?

???

NO!!!

A shoal, sandbar (or just bar in context), a
somewhat linear landform within or extending into a
body of water, typically composed of sand or
small pebbles. A bar may separate a lake from the sea.

• At Tennyson’s request made towards

the end of his life, it is traditionally
the last poem closing the collection
of his works.

• ‘Crossing the Bar’ as Tennyson’s own

elegy.

• What is the function of the rhyming

scheme, is it evocative of something?

• How is the passage, the crossing,

described?

‘IN MEMORIAM’

• Written in the course of 17 years

after Arthur Hallam’s untimely death.

• Originally, the poem was entitled

‘The Way of the Soul’ – why?

• It was Queen Victoria’s favourite next

to the Bible – why so?

• It comprises 133 sections, which are

linked together, but can also be read
separately.

• Why does the structure represent a

genuine expression of emotions
better than an ordered elegy would?

• What are the two forces that

Tennyson finds difficult to reconcile?

ROBERT BROWNING (1812 – 1889)

He was mostly educated at home, dallied briefly with
the University of London, but abandoned it to study at
his own pace.
When he read the poems of ELIZABETH BARRET, he
wanted to meet her and when he did, he fell in love
and the couple married secretly. E.B.B. was a much
more popular poet those days and was a serious
contender for the position of Poet Laureate, the honour
of which finally went to Tennyson.
Her death awoke general sympathy for Robert
Browning and his poetry gained in popularity.