Alfred Lord Tennyson: Day 1

"Though much is taken, much abides; and though / We are not now that strength which in old days / Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are . . ."
("Ulysses," ll.65-67)

Points of Reflection

1. Compare the style of Tennyson to that of Keats and Wordsworth. As to prosody and fluidity of phrasing, which two poets prove most similar?

2. Why do you think Tennyson spends so much imaginative time dabbling in legend and myth? How might this shape his poems' impact on contemporary (Victorian) society and ideas?

3. Considering today's readings, how does Tennyson appear to define heroism?

4. Contemplate some of the many artistic interpretations of Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott." In what ways to they manifest/reflect, interrogate/challenge, diminish or expand on Tennyson's own telling of this legend? Angelfire hosts a page with many links to such images.

"The Lady of Shalott" (1886-1905)
William Hunt

Paul Marchbanks
marchban@email.unc.edu