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Last edited by Tom Morris
February 12, 2024 | History

Alfred Lord Tennyson

6 August 1809 - 6 October 1892

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS, much better known as "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language.

Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, "In the valley of Cauteretz", "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears" and "Crossing the Bar". Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses, although In Memoriam A.H.H. was written to commemorate his best friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and fellow student at Trinity College, Cambridge, who was engaged to Tennyson's sister, but died from a cerebral hemorrhage before they were married. Tennyson also wrote some notable blank verse including Idylls of the King, Ulysses, and Tithonus. During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success.

Tennyson wrote a number of phrases that have become commonplaces of the English language, including: "Nature, red in tooth and claw", "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and "The old order changeth, yielding place to new". He is the second most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare.1

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  • Cover of: Poems, chiefly lyrical
    First published in 1830 6 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable

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  • Cover of: Poems of Tennyson, 1830-1870

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  • Cover of: The Cup and The Falcon
    First published in 1884 6 editions in 1 language — 3 previewable Cover of edition cupandfalcon00unkngoog Cover of edition cupandfalcon00tenngoog

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  • Cover of: The death of Oenone, Akbar's dream, and other poems.

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  • Cover of: The Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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  • Cover of: Locksley Hall sixty years after, etc

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  • Cover of: Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: Gold Level

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  • Cover of: Idylls of the King

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  • Cover of: Poems and plays

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  • Cover of: "Ring out, wild bells,"
    First published in 1883 5 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition ringoutwildbells00tenn

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  • Cover of: The complete works of Alfred, lord Tennyson ...

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  • Cover of: The day-dream: With numerous original illus. by W. St. John Harper

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  • Cover of: Enoch Arden, and other poems.: Edited with notes by William J. Rolfe.

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  • Cover of: The last tournament
    First published in 1872 5 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable

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  • Cover of: Out-of-doors with Tennyson: selections from the poems of Alfred lord Tennyson illustrative of pastoral life and scenes

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  • Cover of: Poems of Alfred Tennyson
    First published in 1853 5 editions in 1 language — 2 previewable Cover of edition poemsofalfredten13tenn

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  • Cover of: Tiresias, and other poems
    First published in 1885 5 editions in 1 language — 3 previewable Cover of edition tiresiasotherpoe00tennuoft Cover of edition tiresiasandothe00tenngoog

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  • Cover of: The miller's daughter.
    First published in 1858 5 editions in 1 language — 1 previewable

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  • Cover of: The coming of Arthur and The passing of Arthur.

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  • Cover of: The Foresters: Robin Hood And Maid Marian

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Download catalog record: RDF / JSON
February 12, 2024 Edited by Tom Morris Remove bad AKAs
September 13, 2023 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
September 3, 2023 Edited by David Scotson Added new photo
March 21, 2022 Edited by JeneeWhitney merge authors
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import