An analysis of Poems regarding the theme of Nature by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Poetry Paper The last paper you write for this class will be the paper on Poetry. You have two options for this paper. Option #1: Choose a poet represented in the textbook, the Seagull Reader (Poems) and then discuss in depth at least three (e) poems written by that poet. You must also include a brief (one page) biographical section which talks about the poet’s background and the cultural or historical context in which that poet wrote his or her poems. For this section, I expect MLA documentation for any information taken from outside sources. Since you won’t know the poet personally, any information you obtain from the internet or other written sources must be footnoted and cited correctly. For help in citations and documentations according to the MLA format, consult the CCC library or other on-line sources such as the Purdue Owl mentioned in the syllabus. The remaining pages of the paper must be an analysis of the poems you choose where you investigate the major characteristics or techniques of poetry discussed in the anthology’s introduction and in the Guide to Reading and Writing About Literature. The paper should be at least 750 words in total. Option #2: Go the web site called “Poets.org” Academy of American Poets. http://www(dot)poets(dot)org/ Click on Advanced Search and choose “Select Theme.” From this list of themes, choose one to focus on and then select at least (3) poems to write about. the three poems has to come from one poet. For this option, you do not need to do the biographical part of the essay described above. Your essay will be around 3 pages (at least 750 words total) of analysis of the thematically linked poems where you investigate the major characteristics or techniques of poetry discussed in the anthology’s introduction and in the Guide to Reading and Writing about Literature. NOTE: There is ample information about most poems on the internet and in other sources, but if you use information, ideas, and particular language from one of these sources, you MUST footnote and document where the information comes from. You must quote language you borrow, and you must make it clear when an idea or concept or interpretation comes from somewhere outside your own head. It\\\'s ok to research what others have said about some of these works, but if you do not document the info correctly, you run the risk of plagiarism. It\\\'s easy to find Sparknotes, or some other place, but without the documentation, I will be obliged to fail the paper and it cannot be made up. I am more interested in your own insights into the poems anyway, so please be careful.
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Poetry: An analysis of Poems regarding the theme of Nature by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Biography
Lord Alfred Tennyson was an English poet born in 1809 at Somersby, Lincolnshire. Lord Tennyson has been described as one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian period in England. His family was characterized by controversy arising from great wealth inherited from his aunt Elizabeth Russell. Thus, he was brought up in a lavish way of living. As a result, Tennyson was constantly worried about money issues throughout his life (Everett, 1; Dunn).
The author lived with fear of mental sickness since several members of his family suffered from epilepsy, a disgraceful disease at the time. His father and brother, Author made their health conditions worse by indulging in excessive drinking, Tennyson spent some time under doctors’ care because of the situation in 1843 (Mazzeno, 2). Tennyson joined Trinity College in Cambridge in 1827, where he developed his literary skills under his instructor William Whewell. While there, he won the ‘Chancellor’s Gold Medal’ for his ÒTimbuctooÓ works in 1828. He realized further development after joining the Apostles literary Club, whose members became lifelong friends of Tennyson (Brake, 1).
In 1850, Lord Tennyson became poet Laureate appointed by Queen Victoria and succeeding Wordsworth, a position he held for 42 years. Like most of his other family members, Lord Alfred Tennyson lived a considerably long life, dying in 1892 at age 83 (Everett, 2).
Poem Analysis
This paper focuses on three poems , which are the works of Lord Alfred Tennyson. The poems ‘Crossing the Bar’, ‘Break, Break, Break’ and ‘The Brooke" demonstrate an outstanding use of established literary tools especially symbolism and imagery centered on nature to describe the affairs and life experiences of humankind in a civilized world. They contain a unique form of inspiration that remain hidden to the naked eye. A good number of the best works of Tennyson including poems discussed in this paper were written after the demise of his closest friend Arthur Hallam, whom he met at "The Apostles’ literary club. This loss had a major impact on his poetry as it made him to adopt a different look of life that strived to explain the very purpose and course of life.
The following is a discussion of some of the works of Tennyson that are based on the theme of ‘Nature’ and ‘life’ as it were to him. Baldwin (35) states that, "Whenever Mr. Tennyson's pictorial fancy has had it in any degree in its power to run away with the guiding and controlling mind, the richness and the workmanship have to some extent overgrown the spiritual principle of his poems… In relation to natural scenery, what his poetical faculty delights in most are rich, luxuriant landscapes, in which either nature or man has accumulated a lavish variety of effects."
From a personal perspective, I bear the opinion that these poem effectively emphasise the importance of accepting the course of nature. To me, these poems mean that people should learn to fully appreciate life, and do their best while they still can. This idea, I find relevant in all the poems discussed hereunder.
‘Crossing the Bar’ by Lord Alfred Tennyson
Lord Alfred Tennyson talks about death because of natural consequences in an unusual manner in ‘Crossing the Bar’. The naked eye can easily fail to realize the theme of the poem as it requires an in-depth look beyond the setting of a cherry story of an aged sailor who patiently waits for the tide to subside for him to walk over the sandbank and find his way from the harbor. A closer look at the poem reveals that the sailor is progressively coming to terms with the fact that he faces the possibility of accepting imminent death. The author makes use of an elaborate but on the edge style of writing that employs distinctive comprehension of poetic devices (Baldwin, 8). On realizing his end is near and imminent, the old sailor accepts his fate and hopes for a peaceful death. There is evidence of contradiction in his thinking since he initially thought of his ending as being far away albeit him being of age.
The poem is relatively short, having only four stanzas with four lines each and an ABAB rhyme scheme. It can be categorized as an elegy, characterized by a remarkable use of metaphor (the sandb...