Tennyson
Uploaded by mARISTOTLE on Apr 12, 2002
Just a note. i did poorly on this, not becaus the essay completely sucks, but because i completely ignored the topic. It could be tremendously useful for someone not writing a research paper, as I was supposed to have done
Many words have been written on the subject of love. Many words have also been written on the subject of industrial change, specifically the Industrial Revolution. Both have appeared frequently in prose and poetry alike, yet the two subjects are not often connected in the mind. They pose different questions and dilemmas; one tackled primarily from an emotional perspective, the other from a highly intellectual standpoint. Yet, in his poem “Locksley Hall”, Lord Alfred Tennyson tackles both of these issues in one poem. His approach is unique, linking his topics together on the basis of his own indecision, drawing parallels that make perfect sense, but that otherwise would not likely be considered. His use of poetry to achieve this purpose of exposing two issues, and remaining without resolution is crucial. This objective could not be achieved in argumentative prose, where the simple expectation of flow and logic inhibits the ability to combine unrelated ideas. Thus, by using poetry, Tennyson is able to successfully combine emotional love, and intellectual thoughts on the industrial age by tying them together with his own lack of decisiveness.
Tennyson’s use of rhyming couplets is the first thing that one notices when reading the poem. Thoughts are quick, and often are left without expansion. The fifteen syllable lines force ideas to develop quickly, creating a sense of the fast paced times that Tennyson was a part of. The poem is told from the perspective of a man who is trying to overcome the emotions he feels about the fact that his love has been lost to a rich landowner. Obviously upset by this, the poem deals with his lack of action in the matter, as he chooses to simply watch the events and comment on them. His lack of action however, can be justified by the idea that he feels virtually helpless in the situation. Tennyson is able to voice the storyteller’s emotions effectively by making use of the urgency and desperation that is created by the couplets. Tennyson writes of the lost love, “O my cousin, shallow-hearted! O my Amy, mine no more!/ Of the dreary, dreary moorland! O the barren, barren shore!/ Falser than all fancy...