George Tennyson Research Paper

“Get over it”. “Cheer up”. “It’s just a phase”. These are just a few common responses to mental illness. Nowadays, mental illness is becoming more known and brought to importance, but it has not always been seen this way. In the past, mental illness has not been acknowledged as an actual problem. Many iconic writers, poets, and artists have dealt with mental illnesses in different ways. For some, it consumed them, but for others helped them achieve the impossible. Tennyson is one of most well-known poets from the Victorian Era whose conflict with mental illness and personal loss led to the literary success of his work and one of his most famous poems, “Tears, Idle Tears” from The Princess; A Medley.
Tennyson’s poetry was greatly influenced

Born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England on August 6, 1809, Tennyson was a son to George and Elizabeth Tennyson (“Lord Alfred Tennyson”). George Tennyson often released his frustrations through abuse towards his wife and children, even though he was a man of the church. George also battled mental instability and found relief in drugs and alcohol, creating a grim home environment (“Alfred Tennyson” Victorian). Mental and physical abuse Tennyson faced contributed to dark themes he would later incorporate in his poetry. George died in 1831, leaving his wife and 12 children in horrendous debt. Tennyson was forced to drop out of Trinity college due to lack of tuition money. “One of Tennyson's brothers was confined to an insane asylum most of his life, another had recurrent bouts of addiction to drugs, a third had to be put into a mental home because of his alcoholism, another was intermittently confined and

There are many speculations relating to who or what the poem was inspired by. Some say the poem was written in Tintern Abbey while Tennyson was reminiscing on previous memories. Others believe the poem was written in as another response to Hallam’s death (Joseph). The title of the poem suggests that tears are idle, or without any purpose (Tennyson 1). The speaker admits he does not know what they mean but knows they come “from the depth of some divine despair” (Tennyson 2). Tears are most likely something that he dealt with as a result of all the loss he experienced during his lifetime. “And thinking of the days that are no more” (5). The speaker yearns to relive better days. This could also have been a reference to the days in which Hallam was still alive. It is possible that Tears, Idle Tears was written with Hallam on Tennyson’s