Stages of Greif in Memorium A.H.H. by Arthur Henry Hallum

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It is something that all suffer through. It is something that many question. It is one of the hardest things to understand and bear. It is death. Death happens everyday and is one of the hardest concepts to grasp. Each person deals with death differently, grieving uniquely, and yet, everyone can relate in the commonality of loss. Lord Tennyson, for example, dealt with the death of his beloved friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, in various stages, which he expressed in his poem In Memoriam A.H.H. When Hallam, Tennyson’s closest friend, died suddenly at the age of twenty-two, Tennyson felt as if his life had been crushed right before his eyes (Robson, Christ 1189). After his friend’s death, Tennyson began to doubt his own life, his purpose, and the meaning of the universe. To express his feelings he composed In Memoriam A.H.H over a period of seventeen years (Robson, Christ 1189). The various sections in the poem represent Tennyson’s gradual passage through the grieving process, allowing readers to grasp how Tennyson felt through the stages of his bereavement (Robson, Christ 1189). Tennyson illustrates this process, starting from when Hallam first died. Tennyson’s tone can be felt in his lines, “I held it truth, with him who sings To one clear harp in divers tones, That men may rise on stepping stones Of their dead selves to higher things” (1.5-8). Tennyson once believed that men could rise to bigger and better things, but is having a hard time contemplating the reality of death and how he will ever be able to find any positive in the situation. He questions why this happened to his beloved friend. How could this be? Why Hallam? In canto 6, Tennyson relates the death of Hallam to other grievances, trying to find something tha... ... middle of paper ... ...assing of his beloved friend, but after questioning God, himself, and the world; Tennyson came to the realization that God is ultimately in control of our fate. Tennyson realized through his various stages of grief that Arthur Henry Hallam was in a better place, and he could finally be at peace with what happened to his beloved friend. Works Cited Tennyson, Lord Alfred. “From In Memoriam A.H.H.” 1849. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, vol. 2. 9th edition. Boston: W.W. Norton, 2013. 1186-1235. "Headnote to In Memoriam A.H.H." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Catherine Robson and Carol Christ. 9th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: W.W. Norton, 2013. 1189. Print. “Epilogue to In Memoriam A.H.H.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. Catherine Robson and Carol Christ. 9th ed. Vol. 2. Boston: W.W. Norton, 2013. 1234-1235. Print.

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