Famous poets :: Alfred Lord Tennyson biography :
Alfred Lord Tennyson
Heralded as one of the
most well-known poets of the 19th century, Alfred Lord Tennyson
certainly had a lot of poetic inspirations in the form of his
early-life struggles and drama.
Born in 1809, Tennyson
was only one of the twelve children of Rev. George Clayton Tennyson
and Elizabeth Fytche Tennyson. The Tennyson family had to survive on
George’s earnings as a clergyman since he was disowned by his wealthy
father.
At a young age of 17,
Tennyson already saw his poems published locally in a collection of
works, including those of his two elder brothers. In 1830 while
attending Trinity College in Cambridge, Tennyson published “Poems
Chiefly Lyrical”, the first collection of poems under his name, which
subsequently gave him a fair amount of fame. However, misfortune
struck him with the death of his father, the abandonment of his
schooling (due to the death of his father), and his forbidden
relationship with eventual wife Emily Sellwood.
From 1842 to 1847,
Tennyson added more to his list works, including “The Princess” and
two volumes of “Poems”, which were both met with success. The good
poet finally struck gold in 1850 when he succeeded William Wordsworth
as the Court’s Poet Laureate. During the same time, he finished one of
his most famous works entitled “In Memoriam A.H.H”, which was
dedicated to his bestfriend Arthur Hallam.
Other famous works of
Tennyson during his days as Poet Laureate include his epic on the tale
of King Arthur and Camelot entitled “Idylls of the King” (1859), his
poem “Locksley Hall Sixty Years After” (1886), and “Crossing the Bar”.
Tennyson stayed on as
the Court’s Poet Laureate until his death on 6th October,
1892. |
Poem
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