A famous English poet in the 19th century gained a high reputation when he was alive. Born in Lincolnshire, England, he was born in a priest's family, and his brothers were all talented poets. He studied at Cambridge University, and his poems have a wide range of themes, rich imagination, perfect form, beautiful words and sonorous tones. His 131 poems "Mourning" are regarded as one of the best elegies in the history of English literature, and thus won the title of Poet Laureate. Other important poems include Ulysses, enoch Ardennes, Crossing the Sand Shore and Mourning Collection. He was deeply appreciated by Queen Victoria. In 185, he won the title of Poet Laureate, and later he was made a baron in 1884. However, such a great poet sometimes lost confidence in himself and tried to delete the essence of his poems.
A few days ago, people found a proof of a collection of poems among a large number of Tennyson's manuscripts collected by an American collector, including his proofreading of his own poems. This book with the handwriting of the poet's proofreading is a unique discovery so far, because Tennyson is very reluctant to let people see his changes to his works. From this book, it is found that Tennyson had intended to greatly revise his masterpiece The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1855, because people were critical of his work Maud at that time, so he had doubts about himself. Another reason is that Tennyson was criticized by critics when he was young, so that he was silent for nine years, during which he didn't publish a poem.
the light cavalry attack was written by Tennyson in praise of the British light cavalry brigade that attacked the Russian army in Balaclava during the Crimean War. This was a suicide attack, and the number of British casualties reached 247. In this proof, Tennyson crossed out almost half the lines of the poem "The Light Cavalry Attack" in black ink, and planned to delete them, including some well-known famous sentences, such as "They didn't mean to get to the bottom of it/they just died generously" and "Someone made a stupid mistake". The "stupid mistake" mentioned here refers to the command confusion caused by the friction between the two British commanders in the Battle of Balaclava.
however, these changes did not come true in the end. Ten years later, Tennyson personally copied the final draft of this poem. In the note at the bottom of the manuscript, the poet emphasized the significance of the line "stupid mistake", which wrote: "This long and short poem was written after reading the first report of the Times reporter (about the war), and the whole poem originated from the sentence" someone made a stupid mistake. "
its famous sentence: for man is man and master of his fate. Man is man and the master of his own destiny. (Tennyson)
Tennyson's career and works
His early career and works
Tennyson was born in Soames, Lincolnshire, ranking fourth among 12 brothers and sisters. His father is a village vicar. Young Tennyson used to read a lot of books in his father's library and began to write poems at the age of 8. In 1827, Alfred and his brothers Frederick and Charles published Poems of Two Brothers, which actually included the works of three brothers. Alfred's poems tend to be dull, just imitating the works of idol Byron.
Tennyson entered Cambridge University in 1828. In 1829, his poem Timbuktu won the gold medal of the headmaster. He became a member of a student group "the Apostles" and, inspired by these companions, published The Collection of Lyrics in 183. Some critics like Mariana and several other poems in this book, but on the whole, they hold negative comments.
Tennyson's father died in 1831, and Tennyson left Cambridge without a degree. The following year, he published a pamphlet called Poetry, but it was not widely accepted. The essayist Arthur Henry Holme was Tennyson's closest friend and his sister's fiance who died in 1833. Tennyson didn't publish his works for nearly 1 years under the double blow of losing his close friends and getting bad reviews on his works.
Poetry (two volumes, 1842) won warm welcome from critics and the public. The best poems include Beating the Shore (inspired by the death of Horem), Death of King Arthur and Locksley Hall. Tennyson's long poem Princess (1847) is related to women's rights and interests, and tries to prove that women's greatest achievement is a happy marriage. (Gilberto and Sullivan adapted the poem into the farce Princess Ida. Some of Tennyson's best lyric blank poems come from the poem "Princess" which begins with "Tears, Empty Tears". Later versions added "Gently, Softly" and several other songs.
In his later years and his works
In 185, three major events happened in Tennyson's life. "Mourning" finally came to Fu Zi, and Tennyson has been writing this work since the death of Horem. It consists of 131 short poems, plus a preface and postscript. It is one of the greatest elegies in English literature and Tennyson's most enduring works.
In June, Tennyson married Emily Sellwood, and in November of the same year, Tennyson became the poet laureate after william wordsworth.
Tennyson's first official work, as a poet laureate, is a solemn but somewhat formal Mourning for the Death of Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington (1852). In 1854, the Light Cavalry Attack was written to commemorate the heroic spirit of the British cavalry in the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War. Maud, a monologue poetic drama published in 1855, has been criticized by critics.
after 1853, Tennyson lived mostly in his manor in Farringford, Isle of Wight, and sometimes in a house he built in arvo, Surrey in 1868. After the cold reception of Maud, Tennyson closed himself in Farford and began to write a group poem "Narrative Poems of the King". The first part of this series was published in 1859, and the first part about King Arthur and his knights was an immediate success.
enoch Ardennes, one of enoch Ardennes and Other Poems (1864), is one of Tennyson's most famous poems. Other slightly inferior historical plays include Queen Mary (1875), Harold (1877) and Beckett (1879). The complete versions of Narrative Poems of the King and Demeter and Other Poems were published in 1889, and The Death of Onone, the Dream of Aqaba and Other Poems were published after his death in 1892.
The beautiful short lyric poem Crossing the Shazhou in Folk Songs and Other Poems (188) shows Tennyson's quiet religious belief. The poem was recited by the guests at his funeral. He was buried in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey, next to Chaucer.
Some works
Farewell
Flowdown, Cold Rivulet, To the Sea,
Thy tribute wave deliverer:
No more by their my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.
Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea,
A rivulet then a river;
No where by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.
But here will sigh thine alder tree,
And here thine aspen shiver;
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.
A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
but not by their my steps shall be,
for ever and for ever.
Go to the sea, clear stream,
offer your ripples;
There is no longer my footprint around you.
Forever and ever, never meet again.
flow gently, bypass the lawn,
a stream that will become a big river;
There is no longer my footprint around you.
Forever and ever, never meet again.
Here, your alder tree will sigh,
Here, your poplar tree will tremble;
here, the bees around you will shuttle endlessly,
forever and ever, forever and ever.
A thousand rounds of the sun will drift away, and a thousand rounds of the moon will shatter the jade;
But there is no longer my footprint around you.
Forever and ever, never meet again.