5 Most Popular Poems by Alfred Tennyson

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  • Ring Out, Wild Bells

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    in Famous Holiday Poems

    This poem published in, "In Memoriam A.H.H.", is an elegy (a poem of lament for someone who has passed away) and uses an ABBA Rhyme Scheme. It was written about Alfred Tennyson’s friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who was engaged to Tennyson’s sister. Arthur Henry Hallam died suddenly at the age of twenty-two. In this poem, Tennyson (1809-1892) shares about casting aside all the bad and painful things of the year. Due to the heartache that year brought him, Tennyson was ready to put the grief behind him. This could also be considered a New Year’s poem about starting anew. Alfred Tennyson’s first son was named Hallam, after his best friend.

    Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
    The flying cloud, the frosty light:
    The year is dying in the night;
    Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

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  • The Brook

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    in Famous Nature Poems

    The Industrial Revolution took place in Great Britain during the late 1700s and early 1800s. As cities grew, living conditions deteriorated for the poor and working class. Factories and mass production were beneficial for some but not everyone. This poem stands in contrast of new manufacturing processes of that time period by focusing on nature. The narrator in this poem, the brook, is personified. The brook shows persistence by continuing to flow, no matter what obstacles get in its way. The repeated lines, “For men may come and men may go, but I go on for ever,” showcase that. Famous poet Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was named Poet Laureate in Great Britain and Ireland.

    I come from haunts of coot and hern,
    I make a sudden sally
    And sparkle out among the fern,
    To bicker down a valley.

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    I was read poetry to my mother born 1929 in faraway Colombo, Sri Lanka. She loved this poem, and I remember her animated voice bringing the words hidden in the babbling brook to life and the...

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  • The Charge Of The Light Brigade

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    in Famous Narrative Poems

    "Which guns?" they asked. Captain Nolan replied with a sweeping wave of his hand. Moments later the Light Brigade began to move. Six hundred men strong, they rode down the narrow valley in what has become a lesson taught to this very day in military academies worldwide about the importance of clear communication. The objective had been to hinder the retreat of the naval guns to the south of the battlefield. Instead, the Brigade was directed to a Russian position, which was a clear death trap. But though the orders were clearly suicidal, the men obeyed regardless and paid a heavy price. Almost half the Brigade was wiped out, and though little was accomplished strategically, the charge went down as one of the most glorious battles in British military history. News arrived in England, and while reading an account of the battle in the Times, Tennyson jotted down what has become perhaps his most famous poem.

    Half a league, half a league,
    Half a league onward,
    All in the valley of Death
    Rode the six hundred.

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  • The Eagle

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    in Famous Nature Poems

    In this short poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892), he captures the majesty of an eagle hunting from the top of a cliff. This descriptive poem is comprised of tercets (three-line stanzas).

    He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
    Close to the sun in lonely lands,
    Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

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    This poem touched my heart as no other poem has. I love nature and most poems don't interest me. When I can, I am outside in nature and when I have to go inside, I fall just like the Eagle at...

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  • A Farewell

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    in Famous Death Poems

    Alfred Tennyson (1809 - 1892) was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. In this beautiful poem, Alfred Lord Tennyson compares the short life span of Man to the seemingly eternal lifespan of nature. He expresses a longing to live on for eternity. However, nature lives on forever, while humans live for but a short time. The rivulet moves on to becomes a river and then it merges in to the sea where it stays for eternity. Interestingly, a great poet's work lives on even after their death.

    Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
    Thy tribute wave deliver:
    No more by thee my steps shall be,
    For ever and for ever.

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