Tennyson's Merlin and Vivien Known as one of Victorian England's finest poets, Lord Alfred Tennyson epitomized the agony and despondency of the degradation of one's character. His masterpiece, The Idylls of the King, explicates the grand scheme of corruption of the Authurian age while simultaneously paralleling Tennyson's own internal struggles. A most intriguing chapter of The Idylls, "Merlin and Vivien" portrays the manipulative Vivien, identified as pure evil and hatred, as her corruptive beauty leads to Merlin's self-destruction. The Victorian era, from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 until her death in 1901, was an era of several unsettling social developments that forced writers more than ever before to take positions on the immediate issues animating the rest of society. Thus, although romantic forms of expression in poetry and prose continued to dominate English literature throughout much of the century, the attention of many writers was directed, sometimes passionately, to such issues as the growth of English democracy, the education of the masses, the progress of industrial enterprise and the consequent rise of a materialistic philosophy, and the plight of the newly industrialized worker. In addition, the unsettling of religious belief by new advances in science, particularly the theory of evolution and the historical study of the Bible, drew other writers away from the immemorial subjects of literature into considerations of problems of faith and truth. Tennyson's writing displays evidence of doubt and concern towards England's government, both present and past. His distinctive style can be differentiated from many Victorian poets by diction and syntax alone. Also, Tennyson can b... ... middle of paper ... ... harmony. His poem "Merlin and Vivien" of The Idylls of the King displays Merlin's self-chosen downfall in exchange for the temptations of Vivien, the manipulative evil. "For Merlin, overtalked and overworn,/ Had yielded, told her all the charm, and slept." (ll.963-964) Bibliography: Works Cited Culler, Dwight. The Poerty of Tennyson. London: Yale UP, 1997. 238-239. Hain, Donald. Tennyson's Language. Toronto: Toronto UP, 1991. 144-148. Hellstrom, Ward. On the Poems of Tennyson. Gainsville: University of Florida Press, 1972. 117-118. Kincaid, James. The Major Poems of Tennyson: The Comic and Ironic Patterns. London: Yale UP, 1975. 177-182. Marshall, George. A Tennyson Handbook. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1963. 140-141. Reed, John. Perception and Design in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. Athens: Ohio UP, 1969. 48-58.
Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Leif Erikson has many different spellings of his last name such as Ericson, Erickson, and Erikson. Erikson is believed to be the First European to have landed in North America, which were he is believed to have landed is now known as the country of Canada. The Norse explorer was a born in Iceland around 970 C.E. He was the son of Eric the Red, who started the first European Settlement of Greenland in 985 C.E. Eric the Red and his son sailed to Greenland and lived there until 1000 C.E when he returned to Norway and converted to Christianity. King Olaf I of Norway asked him to go back to Greenland and convert the Vikings there to Christianity. (NEW)
In his early years, Alfred Tennyson was a strong but struggling poet with love and passion for his poetry. He went to college to pursue his poetic career and refine his skills. Education played a big hand in his achievement of success. Richard J. Dunn makes evident that “Tennyson earned his position in literature because of the remarkable range of his talents and his dedication throughout his long career to perfecting his art” (166d). After receiving a prestigious Chancellor’s gold medal award in 1829, Tennyson released a book of his poems in 1830 followed by his second book three year...
In the Arthurian romance genre, Guinevere plays various roles; the purpose of her role depends on the story that she is in. In three separate stories, written by different poets, specifically Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Morte Darthur, and The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Guinevere is used to achieve different goals. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Guinevere is the catalyst of all of the stories events. The burning desire of Morgan le Fay to destroy Guinevere through dismantling the Round Table is what spurs the arrival of the Green Knight in Arthur’s court and the subsequent quest that Gawain goes on that tests his character and allows him to learn more about himself. The Guinevere in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is the reason that Arthur’s
Merlin is a character from the original Arthurian Legends, he is a powerful man that does not age, and has no earthly father. Merlin helps the succession of kings, and is associated with King Arthur, but throughout history authors have changed many things about Merlin’s character. The amount of power that Merlin has is changed throughout the retellings of his legend in order to show that Merlin is the most powerful man on the planet.
Blunden, Edmund and Heinemann, Eds. “Tennyson.” Selected Poems. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1960. p.1. print.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson was one of the most famous poets of the Victorian era, some of his most famous poems include Ulysses, In Memoriam or Lady of Shalott. This paper will focus on his poem published in 1830 entitled Mariana. Mariana is Tennyson's well known poem, inspired by the charactre of the same name in shakespear's play Measure for Measure. T.S Eliot heard in Mariana 'something new happening in English verse”, and critics such as Carol Christ or Dwight Culler have “commented preceptively on its use of atomistic detail to create a landscape of strangeness appropriate to this sick-spirited maiden”. Mariana is a complex poem it is both a lyrical poem and a pathetic fallacy.
330-337. Tennyson, Alfred, Lord of the Lord. The Lady of Shalott. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed.
A brief but powerful poem written by the great Victorian poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Eagle is an inspiring poetic piece. Tennyson, recognized as the greatest poet in Victorian England, was distinguished as poet laureate in1850. Readers from all over looked to his poems for advice on the major issues effecting their lives. Tennyson began writing poetry when he was ten and published his first book of poetry with the help of his brother, Poems by Two Brothers. In 1830 Tennyson published the first volume of verse to appear under his own name, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical. For twelve years after that Tennyson took a break from writing due to death of a close friend. He returned to poetry and in 1842 published Poems, a two-volume collection. Tennyson was so skillful in molding the English language in rhyme and rhythm that his poetry is as popular today as it was 150 years ago. This can be proven by one of Tennyson’s deepest and most symbolic poems, The Eagle. The poem's facade tells of a great American symbol, an eagle, watching over the sea as the leader of the land. Deeper down the poem tells of getting older and trying to hold to life enjoy the time you have.
Memoriam, The Mutable Locus Amoenus and Consolation in Tennyson's In. "Robert Bernard Hass." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 (1998): 669-687.
Tennyson's poetry has stood the test of time because it successfully paints a time and place and reflects the feelings of the people in it. His ability to capture the feelings of uncertainty and loss that were characteristic of this time period, through his use of descriptions, diction, and pathetic fallacy made his poetry not only pleasing to the ear, but also historically important. He surpassed Wordsworth and other poets of his generation as Poet Laureate because his poems capture the important social issues of the Victorian Age such as the shift in religious belief as a result of science, the confusion surrounding women's roles in society, and the isolation that came as a result of the rapid social and economical changes that occurred.
The Victorian period was in 1830-1901, this period was named after Queen Victoria; England’s longest reigning monarch. Britain was the most powerful nation in the world. This period was known for a rather stern morality. A huge changed happened in England; factories were polluting the air, cities were bursting at the seams, feminism was shaking up society, and Darwin’s theory of evolution was assaulting long established religious beliefs. The Victorians were proud of their accomplishments and optimistic about the future, but psychologically there was tension, doubt, and anxiety as people struggled to understand and deal with the great changes they were experiencing. One of the authors known for writing during the Victorian Period was Robert Browning. Robert Browning was a poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic monologues, which made him one of the Victorian poets. Robert died in December 1889. His Poem “Porphyria’s Lover” was published in 1836. This essay will explore three elements of Victorianism in Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Brown...
Even the literature during this time had a lot to do with social improvement (Everett). Although Robert Browning was technically a “Victoria poet” he did not go along with the “typical Victorian style” that everyone from this time period was used to, Robert Browning had a very different style that included violence and many different dramatic verses (faculty.unlv.edu).
In the poem “The Kraken” Lord Tennyson describes how the kraken’s life. depends on the depths of the abysmal sea. Lord Tennyson describes a Kraken. which a. Also, the author describes how the monster spends his life in the deep. Furthermore, the creature has an ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep.