When was Alfred Lord Tennyson born and when did he die?
Alfred Tennyson was born on the 6th of August 1809 in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England, and died on the 6th of October 1892 at Aldworth, aged 83. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.
Questions about Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why was Alfred Tennyson appointed Poet Laureate?
Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate in 1850 following William Wordsworth's death and Samuel Rogers' refusal of the post. Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Leigh Hunt had also been considered. He held the position until his death in 1892, the longest tenure of any laureate.
Who was Arthur Hallam and why was he important to Tennyson?
Arthur Hallam was a fellow poet and student at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Tennyson's closest friend. He died suddenly in Vienna in 1833 at the age of 22 after a cerebral haemorrhage, and his death inspired Tennyson's masterpiece In Memoriam A.H.H., a long poem seventeen years in the writing. Hallam had also been engaged to Tennyson's sister Emilia.
What is Alfred Tennyson's most famous poem?
In Memoriam A.H.H., published in 1850 and dedicated to Arthur Hallam, is widely regarded as Tennyson's masterpiece. Queen Victoria wrote in her diary that she was "much soothed and pleased" by reading it after Prince Albert's death. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1855) is among his best-known shorter works.
How did Tennyson's work influence the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood?
Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In 1848, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt included Tennyson on their list of artistic "Immortals". His poem "The Lady of Shalott" alone was painted by Rossetti, Hunt, Elizabeth Siddal, and John William Waterhouse, who produced three versions of the subject.
What were Tennyson's religious beliefs?
Tennyson's religious beliefs were unorthodox. Near the end of his life he acknowledged leanings toward agnosticism and pandeism, and in his diary he recorded "I believe in Pantheism of a sort." On his deathbed he praised the philosopher Giordano Bruno, saying "His view of God is in some ways mine." In In Memoriam he wrote: "There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds."