Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, where his father George was a clergyman. Young
Alfred began writing poetry at a very early age, and published his first work
"Poems by Two Brothers" at
the tender age of sixteen.
In that
same year of 1827 Tennyson entered Cambridge University, where he befriended Thackery and produced his second
collection, "Poems, Chiefly Lyrical".
He also met Emily Selwood, to whom he became engaged in 1839.
The
Selwood family objected to the engagement, partly because of Tennyson's lack of
money, and partly because his brother Charles was unhappily married to Emily's
sister Louisa.
Tennyson
poured his energy into writing, and his "Poems"
of 1842 made him extremely popular. He let his doctors convince him to give up
writing for a time because of his poor health, but the respite was temporary.
In 1847 "The Princess" was
another success, and two years later Tennyson married Emily in a secret
ceremony.
When
William Wordsworth died, the post off Poet Laureate became available. On the
strength of Prince
Albert's
appreciation for Tennyson's In Memorium, he was given the position. One of his
most popular and enduring works, The Charge of
the Light Brigade (1854), was just one of Tennyson's many poems
which dealt with famous events in English history.
When Prince Albert died in 1861 Tennyson's epic "Idyll's of the King" was dedicated
to him. The Idyll's, a retelling of
the tale of King Arthur, were immensely popular with readers and equally unpopular
with reviewers.
In his
later years Tennyson tried his hand at plays, but his efforts were not well
received. Queen Victoria offered him a baronetcy on several occasions, but the
shy Tennyson was not induced to accept until 1884.
Alfred,
Lord Tennyson, died on October 6, 1892. To honour his request, his poem "Crossing The Bar"
is always the last piece printed in any collection of his poems.
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