Tennyson

Tennyson

English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson is often regarded as the chief representative of the Victorian age. He was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire on August 6, 1809. Tennyson is chiefly known for his poetry, an art form that had interested him since the age of six. Among his best known poems are “The Lady of Shalott,” “Ulysses,” “Enoch Arden,” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” His masterpiece, In Memoriam A.H.H. (1849), crowned his fame. The work is a tribute to his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, whose sudden death in 1833 was a crucial event in the poet's life. Tennyson’s lifelong fascination with King Arthur was the inspiration for Idylls of the King, a series of 12 narrative poems published between 1859 and 1885, which retells the legend of King Arthur. Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate of England and Ireland in 1850 and was awarded the title of Baron of Aldworth and Farrington by Queen Victoria in 1883. He died on October 6, 1892 at Aldworth and is buried in the Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey.