Discuss Tennyson as a nature poet with reference to the poems that you have read

Question: Discuss Tennyson as a nature poet with reference to the poems that you have read.

Or, Comment on Tennyson's treatment of nature in his poetry.

Or, Comment on Tennyson's attitude to nature with textual references.

Or, Discuss how Tennyson visualizes the relationship between man and nature.

Answer: Alfred Tennyson was a great English poet of the nineteenth century. One of the factors that lie at the root of his greatness is his treatment of nature. In almost all of his poems, long or short, nature plays a dominant role. Other poets in whose poetry nature plays a significant role are the Romantic poets. But Tennyson's treatment of nature is different from Romantic poets'. He does not find any divine spirit as Wordsworth did. Unlike Shelley, he does not perceive any spirit of love in nature. Nature does not offer him a refüge from the injustice of human society. His treatment of nature is characterized by realism and accuracy. He describes natural scenery as the setting of his poem and as an aid to heighten a mood or feelings. A careful study of his poems will reveal his skill in describing natural scenes.

A notable poem by Tennyson is 'Morte D'Arthur'. In it, the poet narrates the death of King Arthur. In the beginning, he creates the setting. With a few words, the whole picture is made vivid. After being wounded in the battle king Arthur is brought to a desolate place where a chapel stands. But that chapel is broken with a broken cross inside it. It is a dark strait of barren land. On one side there is the ocean, and on another side, there is a lake. The time is a night when the full moon is in the sky. The whole landscape is pictured with light and shade, stillness, and solemnity.

"The Lotos Eaters" is another noted poem by Tennyson. In it, the poet tries to convey the mood of lethargy and drowsiness. The poem is about the feelings of a group of soldiers who are returning home with their leader Ulysses after the war of troy: They come to a land where its inhabitants eat a fruit called lotos and lead a life of melancholy. The soldiers eat this fruit. As a result, they become as "mild-eyed” and melancholy as the Lotos-eaters. They lose all of their manly energy and desire to spend the rest of their lives in "long rest or death, dark death or dreamful ease.” The poet describes the landscape as a reflection of this mood. There “it seemed always afternoon”. The air is "languid", and the stream moves very slowly. It seemed to "fall and pause and fall”, 'the wavering lights and shadows”. 'slumberous foam', river, mountain-tops that stood sunset-flushed, the shadowy pine free, all these words present a vivid picture of an evening. The landscape, air, the dark blue sky, dark blue sea-the whole surroundings present a scene of languor. Nothing appears to have any urge to move.

In this poem, the poet shows his skill in describing nature. He marks every detail of wood, its trees, fruits, flowers, and the color they assume in different parts of the day at noon, at night, and in different parts of the year. Such description provides a set of the poem, adorns the piece, and helps to reflect the feelings. It appears that the whole poem is a painted picture, But it is more than a picture. It is a speaking picture. Here the description of nature is more detailed. It creates monotony in the reader's mind. But the poet's intention is to make such a feeling in the reader's mind also.

In his poems "Tithonus" and "The Lotos Eater”, Tennyson deals with classical myths, while in “Morte' d' Arthur” he presents the medieval Arthurian legend. In these poems, the natural scene is in harmony with human moods. For instance; in "Tithonus”, the poét narrates the story of Tithonus who was given immortality by his lover goddess Aurora. But immortal life without immortal youth becomes a burden for Tithonus. He expresses his burden in the following lines:

“The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground...."

Here the very description of the decaying process in the natural scene seems to be an agonized cry of Tithonus' painful heart. Again, in "Morte' d' Arthur", Tennyson evokes the atmosphere of the medieval castle by depicting some word pictures. Thus:

"On the one side lay the Ocean, and on one

Lay a great water, and the moon was full.”

Similarly, in “Locksley Hall”, he describes great Orion, the curlew, and the moorland to give an impression that Locksley Hall stands in the lap of nature. The poet excellently describes the beauty of nature in the following lines:

"In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin's breast

In the Spring the wanton lapwing gets another crest...."

The poet seems to say that the rejuvenation of spring itself arouses love in the heart of the speaker and his cousin Amy. This same sense of the interaction between man and nature is evident in "The Lotos Eater". The lotus fruit, itself an object of nature, intoxicates the sailors. The mariners are so impressed by the beauty of the island that they intend to stop their journey and live on the island permanently. The poet here very skilfully portrays the beauty of nature with a few words, such as “A land of streams”, "a slumberous sheet of foam”, “the charmed sunset” etc.

Tennyson lived in an age of rapid progress in science. Various scientific discoveries influenced human thoughts. They had their effect on Tennyson also. That is why he was aware of the cruelty and waste in nature. In his poetry, he speaks of the brutal struggle for existence that goes on in nature. For him nature is 'red in tooth and claw". In his poem “Maud”, the poet draws attention to the sinister and harsher aspects of nature.

One of the distinguishing features of Tennyson's portrayal of nature is his accuracy of observation and vividness of description.

His description is based on actual observation. Such accuracy and vividness are noticed in almost all of his poems. For example, we may cite the poem “Oenone”. In it there is a nice description of noon when the grasshopper and the lizard take rest, the winds are dead, the purple flower droops and the golden bee is sitting silently on life. In the poem “The Lotos Eaters” the poet gives every detail of wood, its trees, fruits, and flowers, and the color they assume in different parts of the year.

Another marked feature of Tennyson's depiction of nature is that his perception is modified by his poetic sensibility. We notice this, particularly in the poem “Tithonus." In it, the dawn is described as a female figure from whose pure brows, shoulders and bosom a mysterious gleam comes. Through the darkness of night, her reddening cheeks are visible. Her eyes shine brightly but gradually. The brightness will be so intense that the stars will disappear completely. Here we see how skillfully the poet has combined man and nature, reality and imagination.

Thus we see that as a poet of nature Tennyson has a distinctness. In a photographic portrayal of nature, he is almost unsurpassed. By delineating nature with all of its aspects and decorating his poetry with lovely descriptions of nature his poetry has a universal appeal.