Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater is one of the most recognized of Victorian poets. Throughout his life, Tennyson suffered many tragedies that affected his poetic topics and writing styles. The most omnipresent themes throughout Tennyson’s poetic tenure are the ideas of pain, death, the past, and perseverance. From an early age, Tennyson understood pain and injury. His father, cast out of a leading familial role, was heavily abusive towards Tennyson, his mother, and his siblings. This instilled in him from an early age the idea that “all things will die.” Indeed, many of his family members died quite young, in part due to the family tendency towards epilepsy. The fact that this disease was hereditary may have …show more content…
Tennyson often relates to his past happy memories as if they were some superficially “happy Autumn-field” that belied a more “sad,” “strange,” “feigned” world. This shows that Tennyson did not take much stock with holding onto the past, believing it unhealthy and unnecessary. This was a lesson hard-learned for Tennyson, as he sunk into depression following his sister’s and Hallam’s deaths. However, in an almost contradictory manner, Tennyson also uses numerous images of the ancient past and historical events. This tendency is obvious in The Eagle, in which numerous mythological allusions are made. “The eagle,” the immortal bird of Zeus, falls “like a thunderbird” to capture his prey. These images bring to mind power and a connection to the ancient past that is otherwise denounced. Tennyson also uses images of “the old earth” to invoke an emotional response from his audience. This proclivity towards the ancient past shows that, while Tennyson is uncomfortable with becoming stuck in reminiscing, he sees little problem with using relatable history to relate to others. Thus this past is either a pleasant connection or a haunting