Lord Alfred Tennyson
(1809-1892)

poet, 12th Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom (1850-1892), and 1st Baron Tennyson (from 1884)

Died aged 83

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson FRS (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu". He published his first solo collection of poems, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana", which remain some of Tennyson's most celebrated poems, were included in this volume. Although described by some critics as overly sentimental, his verse soon proved popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Tennyson also excelled at short lyrics, such as "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears", and "Crossing the Bar". Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as "Ulysses". "In Memoriam A.H.H." was written to commemorate his friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and student at Trinity College, Cambridge, after he died of a stroke at the age of 22. Tennyson also wrote some notable blank verse including Idylls of the King, "Ulysses", and "Tithonus". During his career, Tennyson attempted drama, but his plays enjoyed little success. A number of phrases from Tennyson's work have become commonplace in the English language, including "Nature, red in tooth and claw" ("In Memoriam A.H.H."), "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all", "Theirs not to reason why, / Theirs but to do and die", "My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure", "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield", "Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers", and "The old order changeth, yielding place to new". He is the ninth most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.

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Commemorated on 5 plaques

Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809-1892 poet lived here in 1880 and 1881

9 Upper Belgrave Street, London, United Kingdom where they lived

Alfred Lord Tennyson Lived here 1864-1850

10 St James’ Square, Cheltenham, United Kingdom where they lived

Alfred Lord Tennyson 1908-1892 Poet Laureate lived here

15 Montpelier Row, Twickenham, London, United Kingdom where they lived

Sixteenth Century House on older site. Alfred Lord Tennyson began writing his "Idylls of the King" here in 1856.

Hanbury Arms, Hanbury Close, Caerleon, United Kingdom where they wrote (1856)

Seaford House. Alfred Lord Tennyson Poet Laureate 1809-1892 Stayed in a house on this site

Seaford House, Seaford, United Kingdom where they stayed