Introduction

I am going to analyse the section IX of “In Memoriam A.H.H.”, a poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. “In Memoriam A.H.H.” was completed in 1849 after 17 years of work.

The poem is divided into 133 cantos, including the prologue and the epilogue. It is not arranged in the order in which it was written. The prologue, for example, is thought to have been one of the last things written. The section IX was written at the beginning, it is one of the earliest material. (1)

This poem talks about the death of Arthur Henry Hallam, the Tennyson’s best friend. Hallam died suddenly in 1833 in Vienna and it was a heavy blow to Tennyson and he starts to write this poem. The personal sorrow led the poet to explore his thoughts on faith, immorality, and the meaning of loss.(2)

“In Memoriam A.H.H”

IX

Fair ship, that from the Italian shore
Sailest the placid ocean-plainsb
With my lost Arthur's loved remains,
Spread thy full wings, and waft him o'er.

So draw him home to those that mourn
In vain; a favourable speed
Ruffle thy mirror'd mast, and lead
Thro' prosperous floods his holy urn.

All night no ruder air perplex
Thy sliding keel, till Phosphor, bright
As our pure love, thro' early light
Shall glimmer on the dewy decks.

Sphere all your lights around, above;
Sleep, gentle heavens, before the prow;
Sleep, gentle winds, as he sleeps now,
My friend, the brother of my love;

My Arthur, whom I shall not see
Till all my widow'd race be run;
Dear as the mother to the son,
More than my brothers are to me. (3)

Analysis

The section IX of the poem In Memoriam is written in four-line ABBA stanzas of iambic verse, although there are some metrical variations in some verses.

Tennyson uses the iambic verse and stresses the second syllable, by this, the poem gains expressive intensity.

Long and complex sentences form section IX, we can see, for example, in the first stanza that the subject of the sentence comes with a long relative sentence that takes up two verses:

“Fair ship, that from the Italian shore / Sailest the placid ocean-plains / With my lost Arthur's loved remains, / Spread thy full wings, and waft him o'er.” (verses 1 to 4).

In this poem, Alfred Lord Tennyson uses a complex vocabulary, but with this kind of words, and without the need for descriptions, the author set us in a sea environment. Tennyson uses a nautical lexical field, with words like “ship” (verse 1), “sailes” (verse 2), “mast” (verse 7), “floods” (verse 8), “decks” (verse 12), “prow” (verse 14)...

Interpretation of the poem

We can divide this passage of In Memoriam in three parts. In the first one (from verse 1 to 8) Tennyson addresses the ship and tells it to transport the body of his friend with solemnity. This is a kind of introduction, because this part sets us on the sea trip, “from the Italian shore” (verse 1) to England.

In this part there is a predomination of good adjectives, “placid ocean-plains” (verse 2), “favourable speed” (verse 6), “prosperous floods” (verse 8), with them the author transmits peace to the reader, the peace that he wants on the sea, where his friend is.

In the second part (from verse 9 to 15) Tennyson addresses the wind, the rain, the clouds, etc. that are the guide for the ship in its trip. He asks them to stay calm, Alfred Tennyson wants them sleep as his friend sleeps, “Sleep, gentle heavens, before the prow; Sleep, gentle winds, as he sleeps now” (verses 14 and 15).

“Phospor” (verse 10) symbolizes the moon’s light, the light that lights up the way that the ship has to follow, the light that is the guide for his friend. There is a connection between the first and the second part, since in both parts Alfred Tennyson asks the things in charge to transport Arthur’s body (the ship, the wind, the heavens...) to make its journey easier.

The third part (from verse 16 to 20) is a conclusion. Here the poet makes a justification, the poet here tells the reader the reason why he wants that Arthur’s body arrive to its destination in calm.

In this part Tennyson uses the first person pronoun; “my” (verses 16, 17 and 18), “I” (verse 17) and “me” (verse 20). By the use of this pronoun Tennyson expresses what his friend means for him.

There are also some comparisons that help Tennyson to express his feelings towards Arthur. The poet compares the love he feels with the love of a mother “Dear as the mother to the son” (verse 19) and then says that Arthur is “More than my brothers are to me” (verse 20). This is the most sentimental part of this section because we can imagine how he loved his friend, and how severe is the pain he feels now.

Romantic influences in Tennyson’s poetry

The foundations of Tennyson’s knowledge of English poetry were laid in his boyhood. John Milton was probably the most important influence upon him, together with three eighteenth-century poets; James Thomson, William Collins and Thomas Gray, from whom he derived some of his early techniques in writing poetry of landscape.(4)

Tennyson wrote elegy poems for his friend Arthur Hallam. The history of the elegy as a poetic form that goes back to the Greeks, but Tennyson has numerous recent examples, like Milton’s “Lycidas” or Shelley’s “Adonais”.(5)
The influence of classic literatures on his style and expression was great; no poet combines more harmoniously classic perfection and romantic feeling.

The most characteristic thing of Tennyson’s poetry is his exquisite artistry, learned from Keats. His descriptions are magnificently beautiful, often with much detail, and his melody is often the perfection of sweetness. In contrast to most Romantic poets, Tennyson, in his allusions to Nature often introduces scientific facts.(6)

Conclusion

Today, In Memoriam is subjected to scholarly and critical scrutiny, as alternative readings and levels of meaning are proposed, but ordinary readers still feel able to approach it as a statement of human grief. This quality did much to create its early success with the Victorian public, more prepared than twentieth-century readers to contemplate the religious and personal implications of death and loss.(7)

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Memoriam_A.H.H. (23rd January)

(2) http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets/british_poets/alfred_tennyson (23rd January)

(3) http://www.readprint.com/work-1405/Lord-Alfred-Tennyson (23rd January)

(4) Leonée Ormond: Alfred Tennyson. A Literary Life. The Macmillan Press (1993). Page: 8

(5) Leonée Ormond: Alfred Tennyson. A Literary Life. The Macmillan Press (1993). Pages: 101, 102

(6) http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/rfletcher/bl-rfletcher-history-11-tennyson.htm (23rd January)

(7) Leonée Ormond: Alfred Tennyson. A Literary Life. The Macmillan Press (1993).

Bibliography

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Memoriam_A.H.H. (23rd January). Homepage: http://wikipedia.org

- http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets/british_poets/alfred_tennyson/(23rd January). Homepage: http://www.poetseers.org/

- http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/rfletcher/bl-rfletcher-history-11-tennyson.htm (23rd January) Homepage: http://classiclit.about.com/?once=true

- http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/intro.html(23rd January). Homepage: http://www.victorianweb.org

- http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/tennyson/im/inmemcan.html (23rd January). Homepage: http://www.victorianweb.org

- Alan Sinfield: Alfred Tennyson. Basil Blackwell (1986)

- A Norton Critical Edition: In Memoriam. Alfred, Lord Tennyson. W.W. Norton & Company (2004).

- Leonée Ormond: Alfred Tennyson. A Literary Life. The Macmillan Press (1993)