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Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 – 92)

Photograph of the poet Alfred Tennyson facing three-quarters right. He wears an overcoat or cloak over a jacket with high lapels. He wears a pince-nez or eyeglass attached to a string around his neck. Half-length portrait.

Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) ©

Tennyson was born in Lincolnshire, the son of a clergyman. While at Cambridge he met Arthur Henry Hallam who would become his best friend. Hallam’s death in 1833 devastated Tennyson, but provided inspiration for some of his finest poetry, including In Memoriam, published in 1850. Prince Albert admired the work so much that Tennyson was offered the post of Poet Laureate.

Tennyson’s poetry was influenced by the Romantic poets, and by his love for classical myths and medieval legends, particularly the Arthurian romances. Tennyson’s death in October 1892 produced a three year hiatus in the Laureateship; such had been his hold on the public imagination that the abolition of the role was considered, and a successor only appointed in January 1896.

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79)

Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892), May 1865

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-92)

Seven Poems and Two Translations

Oxford : Oxford University Press

The Book of Common Prayer

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-92)

Maud and other poems

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-92)

The Princess: a medley

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-92)

A Welcome to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales

Princess Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse & by Rhine, consort of Ludwig IV, Grand Duke of Hesse & by Rhine, 2nd daughter of Queen Victoria (1843-78)

A scene from Tennyson's Enid

Francis John Williamson (1833-1920)

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)

Helena and Iphigenia