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Alfred, Lord Tennyson Selected Poems

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This is a rich collection of the work of Tennyson, and those who care for his verse will derive great pleasure from it. For myself most of Tennyson's longer poems have been more skimmed and tasted by me than really chewed and digested. Tennyson lives as a poet to me primarily through one poem, 'Ulysses'. This poem to my mind perfectly embodies a certain heroic stance toward life. It does this in immortal lines. The poem tells the story of the great Ulysses returning home after having voyaged and become ' a part of all I have met' . He is now not the youth who set out in the beginning but an elderly veteran. He begins with , 'Though much is taken much abides' And so in mid-life or in late- life having come home he is not content to rest. But is an ' old man explorer' who sets out again to meet and make his destiny. ' Though much is taken much abides, and though we are not that strength, which in old days, moved earth and heaven, that which we are we are, one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.'
This kind of determination not only spoke to the Victorian world, and to Tennyson's own life- situation with its great losses and difficulties, but I believe will speak to mankind for so long as we are human.

This is an excellent collection of Tennyson's poems,
very representative, very inclusive. In order to make
room for so many poems with full texts, the editor has
chosen not to include an Introduction. This, of course,
for the non-Tennyson reader or person wishing to know
more about him presents something of an obstacle. However,
a bit of rambling to one's own library, or a municipal
one, can solve that.
There is included a Chronology of important dates and
events concerning Tennyson's life. From this, a few of
the important facts seem to be: 1809--born at Somersby,
fourth son of Revd George Clayton Tennyson, Rector of
Somersby; 1816-1820--pupil at Louth Grammar School,
subsequently educated at home by his father; 1827--
publishes _Poems by Two Brothers_ with his brother
Charles, also enters Trinity College, Cambridge University;
1829--meets Arthur Henry Hallam, also a student at Trinity,
who was to become Tennyson's close friend and the fiance
of Tennyson's sister Emily, also wins the Chancellor's
Gold Medal with his prize poem "Timbuctoo", and becomes
a member of the "Apostles," a Cambridge debating society;
1830--publication of _Poems, Chiefly Lyrical_; 1831--death
of Tennyson's father, he leaves Cambridge without a
degree; 1833 (September) death of Hallam, his close
friend, from a cerebral hemorrhage while on holiday in
Vienna; 1840--beginning of almost a decade of depression
and ill health for Tennyson; 1850--marries Emily
Sellwood, appointed Poet Laureate of England; 1852--birth
of first son whom he names "Hallam"; 1883--accepts offer
of title of Baron, taking his seat in the House of
Lords in March 1884; 1892--dies on 6 October.
The poems in this anthology come from the major
publishings of Tennyson's poems. The first two:
"Timbuctoo" was published in the _Cambridge Chronicle
and Journal_ (1829) --and "The Idealist" was not
published during Tennyson's lifetime [this information

comes from the very good notes supplied by the Editor
Aidan Day at the back of the volume].
The poems included in this volume which the scholar or
general reader might wish to know are here collected
in one edition [full texts], along with many more
than these mentioned, are: The Lady of Shalott; Oenone;
The Palace of Art; The Hesperides; The Lotos-Eaters;
Morte d'Arthur; Ulysses; Locksley Hall; short poems
from _The Princess_; IN MEMORIAM, A.H.H. (1850);
MAUD (1855); Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington;
The Charge of the Light Brigade; Tithonous; Lucretius;
To E. FitzGerald; Tiresias; The Ancient Sage; Locksley
Hall Sixty Years After (1886); Demeter and Persephone;
Crossing the Bar. These poems are presented in
chronological order in the text, and the very good
Table of Contents in the front of the book tells
the poetry collection and its date from which the
poems come.
Tennyson is one of those interesting poets that take
a bit of time (at least for me) to get used to -- to
want to read, to really listen to. Having had the
experience of being required to memorize some of
Tennyson for my early academic training in school
at least got me acquainted with the more accessible,
but somewhat less deep poems. But it has taken several
years, much experience, and depressed grief over the
loss of a beloved, to bring me into synch with
the deeper poetry...or at least, being able to hear
it with deeper understanding, deeper reading.
From these poems it is hard to pick "favorites," and
that almost seems too trite a word. Maybe "meaningful"
would be more appropriate as a term. The two I would
select out would be "The Palace of Art" (1832; rev.
1842) and IN MEMORIAM, A.H.H. (1833), on the death
of his dear, beloved friend Arthur Hallam.
From "The Palace of Art," these lines resonate:
* * * * * * * * *
And with choice paintings of wise men I hung
The royal dais round.

For there was Milton like a seraph strong,
Beside him Shakespeare bland and mild;
And there the world-worn Dante grasp'd his song,
And somewhat grimly smiled.

And there the Ionian father of the rest;
A million wrinkles carved his skin;
A hundred winters snow'd upon his breast,
From cheek and throat and chin.
......
And thro' the topmost Oriels' coloured flame
Two godlike faces gazed below;
Plato the wise, and large-brow'd Verulam,
The first of those who know.

-- Arthur Lord Tennyson.
* * * * * * * *

This is an eminently readable collection of Tennyson's most memorable poems. Both the price and the content are of great value to today's readers. Our present times reflect stress and change which parrallels Tennyson's world. The poems are timeless and language is no barrier for a new millenium reader of this valient poet. For those looking for guidlines to courage and consistency, I recommend that you read and enjoy this book. Your gain will be ten-fold the price.

By the way, this Penguin book has the COMPLETE text of "In Memoriam." The Everyman's edition does not.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson is one of the most famous, revered, and widely read of all poets, achieving a popularity in his day that is now absolutely unthinkable. He continues to be one of the most anthologized poets, and many of his lines have become so famous that they are routinely used by people who have never even heard of him. Indeed, he is probably the most quoted English writer besides Shakespeare, and many of his works have become immortal masterpieces. He is one of very few Victorian poets to have survived Modernism almost unscathed; writers like T. S. Eliot of course did away with his formalism, but even they could not deny his dazzling technical wizardry. Only Alexander Pope among English poets even rivals his mastery of form; his handling of meter, rhyme, and other poetic technicalities is so deft as to be near-scientific. Yet he also produced verse that vividly mimicked actual speech and, far more importantly, avoided the dryness one might expect from such a consummate craftsman. Equally adept at lyrics and narratives, he wrote some of the most beautiful and moving poems in the former category and some of the most engaging in the latter. Simply put, anyone even remotely interested in poetry must be familiar with Tennyson.

Tennyson lived a long life that spanned most of the nineteenth century and remained productive in old age, though the quality of his verse significantly declined as he steadily became more didactic and conservative. A Selected Poems is thus ideal for most, as only the truly dedicated will want a complete edition. This outstanding collection is perfect for those wanting an introduction and will be the only Tennyson most readers will need other than his epic Idylls of the King. It has thirty-seven poems over more than 250 pages, including the long poems In Memoriam and Maud and nearly all the notable short works, while Idylls is represented by "Morte d'Arthur," the short poem from which it germinated. This gives an excellent representation of Tennyson's work, stretching from early poems to some of his last. It will lead many to read more Tennyson, which is not the least of its virtues, but its comprehensiveness is really quite remarkable, especially in including the two longer works, which are rarely given in full beside shorter ones.

Those wanting a more comprehensive edition must of course look elsewhere, and those requiring significant supplemental material must also. This has only a short introduction and lacks notes or line numbers. However, one of Tennyson's great virtues is accessibility; one need not be widely read or have a great vocabulary to appreciate him. Supplemental material is thus far less necessary than with most poets. This book's binding and packaging are also high quality, especially considering the price. This or a more deluxe edition certainly belongs on every poetry lover's bookshelf.

The man was genius, and this collection of his work is one of the best I have seen yet. AMAZING!

This little book is a good and inexpensive introduction to Tennyson, who was every Victorian lady's favorite. From a purely technical level, he was absolutely ingenious, perhaps the best poet of Victorian times. His poems were also easy to remember and recite aloud. For example, "The Lady of Shalott." Give this poem a try and you'll see what I mean.

David Rehak
author of "Poems From My Bleeding Heart"