Point out the traits of romanticism in Tennyson's poetry

Question: Point out the traits of romanticism in Tennyson's poetry.

Or, What romantic elements do you find in Tennyson's poetry? Discuss with reference to the poems you have read.

Or, Write a note on romanticism in poems of Tennyson. Discuss with reference to the poems you have read.

Or, Trace the influence of romanticism on Tennyson.

Or, Consider Tennyson as a Romantic poet.

Answer: Lord Alfred Tennyson is the representative poet of the Victorian Age. But his poetry is coloured with the hue of romanticism. We find many striking features of romanticism in his poetry. Actually, William Wordsworth in collaboration with S.T. Coleridge set up the foundation stone of romanticism. The Victorian poets were profoundly influenced by the atmosphere of romanticism. So there are many things about a romantic poet in Tennyson. We also find some subtle differences between Tennyson and his predecessors. Tennyson is greatly influenced by John Keats. This is obvious in his pictorial quality. Wordsworth has a profound influence on Tennyson in his attitude to nature. But Tennyson is not completely Wordsworthian.

A Romantic poet must be imaginative. Imagination is the wheel of romanticism. Undoubtedly, Tennyson is very much imaginative. Almost all of his poems are based on a philosophy based on social thought. Imagination has smothered his thought and contemplation. Tennyson has dealt with the lotos-eaters of Homer's Odyssey. But the Lotos-land and the thoughts and arguments of lotos-eaters are the products of his own imagination. Tennyson is an expert in describing a landscape which he has never seen. Here we get similarities between Coleridge and Tennyson.

Like other Romantic poets, Tennyson is a great pictorial artist. He knows how to paint a picture more vividly and colourfully. His pictorial quality reflects the quality of John Keats. But Tennyson has his own individuality. “The Lotos-Eaters" is a very beautiful monologue. The picture of the landscape depicted in this poem is almost incomparable in English poetry. The poet depicts a living picture in the following way-

“A land of streams! some, like a downward smoke,

Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn, did go;

And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke,

Rolling a slumberous sheet of foam below.”

Tennyson has described nature with microscopic effects. When we go through his description of nature, we feel that we are present on the spot. It also seems to us that he has actually seen all that he describes. Never does his fancy carry him into the realm of unreal imagery.

Love for nature has led Tennyson to be a romantic artist. The Neo-classical poets were fond of coffee-houses and decorated drawing rooms. They had no interest in nature. But the Romantic poets turn to nature. In this respect, Tennyson is not an exception. In his poems, he has drawn nature with much care and vivid as well as lively colour. But he is not Wordsworthian as he does not find God in nature. He lacks pantheism. His age was marked by various scientific discoveries. As a result, people were interested in the factual detail of the external objects. So Tennyson does not find any spiritual presence in nature. He admires the beauty of nature without indulging in excessive imagination. Rather he presents the minute details and accurate observation of nature. He does it in his beautiful poem, “Tithonus”. He accepts the influence of nature on the human mind. He shows that the spring arouses love in the heart of the speaker and his cousin Amy in “Locksley Hall".

Tennyson is a great humanitarian. He loves his nation. He is a great patriot. He boasts of his own nation and unadulterated blood. He aims at advancing his nation forward. He thinks that both science and spirituality are necessary for a nation. Only the religious spirit cannot change the lot of a nation. So he longs for a compromise between rationalism and religious spirit. In this way, he represents his age and represents himself as a great poet of man.

Tennyson is a great sensuous poet. But his sensuousness differs from that of John Keats. His attitude to beauty is sacred. He is the worshipper of searing love. His description of nature appeals to our senses. When we go through “The Lotos-Eaters”, we think that we are roaming through the Lotos-land. It seems we smell the Lotos fruits too.

Tennyson is a man talking to a man. He is a great patriot. His poems penetrate our hearts. He has vividly highlighted his nation while Arnold and Browning fail to do so. He inflames the spirit of his nation. Like the Romantic poets, he expresses his disgust with the present society. He dislikes the evil of class distinction of his time. So he wishes to escape to some remote Pacific islands. Going there, he wants to marry a girl to produce a dusky race. He has revealed this romantic idea through the mouth of the speaker of "Locksley Hall”.

Love for the past is a notable feature of romanticism found in his poems of Tennyson. We find that the poet shows his keen interest in Greek or classical myths. Tithonus, Aurora, Apollo, Ulysses, Troy and the Lotos-Eaters are the mythological characters. Tennyson has also treated a very popular legend named the Arthurian legend in "Morte D'Arthur”. It proves his deep interest in English Medievalism. It gives us an inspiring effect of medieval chivalry.

Tennyson is a great lyricist. His idea or philosophy has been stained with his subjective thoughts. He is able to create a deep sense of music in his poems. Elegiac touch and a note of pathos give his poems an air of romanticism. Moreover, there is a strong element of supernaturalism in “Morte D'Arthur”. King Arthur receives his magical sword, Excalibur from a mysterious hand arising from the depth of the Lake. Excalibur is also taken away similarly. Three beautiful ladies come weeping and take away his dead body of Arthur. This cannot be proved from our scientific outlook.

However, in the context of our delineation above, we may say that Tennyson is a great romantic artist. He is influenced by the rainbow world of romanticism to a great extent. He has surpassed Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold in this regard. His poetry is enriched with the tone of a romantic atmosphere. He has also made a bridge between Romanticism and classicism in his immortal poetical works. In this respect, we must remember that Victorian poets are not fully romantic. They have stained classicism with the purple colour of romanticism. Tennyson has done it too. He has a profound interest in the old myth and legends.