Alfred Tennyson Biography

The English poet, Alfred Tennyson was one of the greatest poets of the Victorian Era. He was a laureate of Queen Victoria’s court and served as one of the royal poets till his death in 1892. His poetic skills appeared when he was quite young. His work started to draw attention in 1827 and eventually became a great poet with his remarkable creations. The population of England acclaimed his work as a marvel of literature and he secured his position in the Royal Court of England.

His creation ‘In Memoriam’ published in 1850 brought him a huge reputation. His poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ is still considered as the gem of the world of English Poems. This Alfred Tennyson biography will depict his early life, famous poems, and career.

Alfred Tennyson: His Life and Family

Alfred Tennyson was born in Somersby, England on 6th August 1809. He was one of the 11 siblings. He was the 3rd child of his parents and grew up with 6 brothers and 4 sisters. His father was a rector in a church in Somersby and had a decent income. It was not enough to feed all the mouths in the family. This is why he was unable to attend proper schooling. He was enrolled in Louth Grammar School just for a few years. These few years were not a good time for him as he was bullied. Despite the hardship, his further education was supervised by his father who was well-literate at that time.

His pre-university education was completed at home under his father’s supervision. His father grew the habit of reading books with his siblings. At the age of 8 years, he started to create his poems showing his talent. His home was not a good environment to groom him. His father did not get a penny of inheritance as Alfred’s grandparents favoured their younger child. This resulted in a lot of family issues. In fact, his father was an alcoholic and a drug abuser causing a physical altercation with the other family members.

As per Alfred Lord Tennyson biography, he published his poetry in 1827 with the title ‘Poems by Two Brothers’. This poem was actually written by three brothers. He was 18 years old when the first poem was published. It was in this year when he enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge. His two brothers were also studying there. He made a very close friend named Arthur Hallam and became a part of the group named The Apostles. He continued to write poetry during his college days and published ‘Timbucctoo’ that brought him the Chancellor’s Gold Medal.

In 1830, he first published his solo work. It was a collection of poems under the title ‘Poems: Chiefly Lyrical’. His father passed away in 1831 and caused a lot of problems for the family. The circumstances made him leave college before he could finish his degree. Being one of the sons, he had to pursue a profession to feed the family. He entered the church where his father worked. Despite the dwindling times, he still focused on poetry and kept on churning new ideas and thoughts.  

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Image of eminent poet Alfred Tennyson

His Struggling Time as a Poet

Alfred was struggling as a poet when he was working for hours to support his family. It was in the year 1833 he published another solo collection of poems with the title ‘Poems by Alfred Tennyson’. This is the collection that brought him fame. The famous poems are ‘The Lady of Shalott’. This poem also brought some negative reviews back in the time that compelled him to retract himself from writing or publishing any poem for the next 10 years. People eventually forgot who was Alfred Tennyson as he did not publish anything for a decade.

Alfred moved from Cambridge but remained very close to Arthur Hallam. Arthur was in love with his sister Emily but died due to illness in 1833. This shattered the poet and his family to the core. Struggling from his passion to write poems and his best friend’s death, he was embedded in pain. It is during this time, he developed feelings for Rosa Baring. She was very wealthy and it was her wealth that created obstacles. He wrote a poem named ‘Locksley Hall’ and depicted ‘Every door is barr’d with gold, and opens but to golden keys’ showing how wealth can be the prime obstruction for man’s pure love for a woman.

He then fell in love with Emily Sellwood, who was the sister of the wife of his brother Charles. They were in love with each other and got engaged. However, Tennyson was not confident about his health as his family has shown a medical history of epilepsy. He feared that the disease was also present within him and he ended the engagement in 1840.

Later after two years, he returned to the platform of poetry with his new publication titled ‘Poems’. It had two volumes with the revision of the criticized poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’. This volume also included ‘Locksley Hall’, ‘Ulysses’ and ‘Morte d’Arthur’. These three poems shot him to fame. In fact, the famous line in ‘Ulysses’ that said ‘to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’ received acclamation from the world of poem lovers.

Again in the year 1842, he invested his money in a wood-carving venture and lost everything. He had an insurance policy that helped him to recover from the financial burden partially.

His Success as a Poet

His remarkable creation named ‘The Princess’ was published in 1847. This was a narrative poem that shot him to fame. His success knew no boundaries when he wrote and published ‘In Memoriam’ in 1850 that depicted his bereavement due to his best friend’s death. The famous line ‘’Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all’ showed how saddened he was when his friend left him alone in this cruel world. This line impressed all the readers back then and brought him immense fame and admiration over time.

This poem also depicted that contemporary geologists found evidence that the earth was older than what was depicted in the Bible. The story of creations was physically not evident enough to carry as science was taking its place.

He discovered that he was not suffering from epilepsy and was financially strong; he again approached Emily Sellwood for marriage. Emily was the one to suggest the title ‘In Memoriam’. They married in June 1850 and started a new life. It was in the same year Queen Victoria appointed him as a Royal Court Laureate after William Wordsworth. He gained an immense reputation that year due to his royal exposure.

After his inclusion in the Royal Court, his reputation knew no bounds. His creations became more popular due to his exposure. His fame and finance became more stable. His Tennyson life and works made him the owner of Isle of Wight in 1853. Despite being so famous, he did not cut himself from the commoners and continued to interact with his fans.

He also wrote ‘The Charge of The Light Brigade’ in 1854. His first four books ‘Idylls of the King’ was an epic based on King Arthur’s legend. It was published in the year 1859. ‘Enoch Arden and Other Poems’ was published in 1864 and sold 17,000 copies on the very first day.

He became quite familiar with the Queen and comforted her with his creations. In 1874, he wrote poetic dramas. His first title was ‘Queen Mary’ but the impact was not as much as his poems did. In 1883, he accepted the title baron Tennyson of Freshwater and Aldworth and was known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson since then.

His Death and Legacy

The poet was suffering from gout for a long time. It grew worse in 1892 and he succumbed to death at the age of 83. He was buried with full honour in Westminster’s Abbey. Considering Alfred lord Tennyson date of birth, he was 83 years old.

He was a marvellous poet of the Victorian Era and his work is still worshipped by admirers to this date. This Alfred Lord Tennyson biography suggests how life can be unfair. Despite his downtimes, he kept on writing fascinating poems that made him so successful.