British writer named England’s poet laureate by Queen Victoria, and author of such classics as “Idylls of the King”; considered to be one of the greatest poets of all time due to the sheer beauty of his words. His career began with his first publication, “Poems, Chiefly Lyrical,” in 1830. Tennyson’s works include “Ode on the Death of Wellington” and “Charge of the Light Brigade.”
Tennyson was born at Somersby, Lincolnshire, the fourth of twelve children of George and Elizabeth Tennyson. His family environment would be the cause of his worries about money and mental illness well into his adulthood. His grandfather had designated that one of his sons would be his heir, while the other – Tennyson’s father – would enter the ministry. The stark contrast of circumstances between the two families would haunt him. His father became mentally ill, and in 1827, Tennyson managed to escape his difficult home atmosphere when he enrolled in Trinity College in Cambridge, which his older brothers were already attending.
In 1827, he and his brother published “Poems by Two Brothers” which won university prizes for poetry, and Tennyson went on to win the Chancellor’s Gold Medal in 1828 for “Timbuctoo.” In 1829, he joined an undergraduate club where he met Arthur Henry Hallam, an important figure who had already been recognized as having great literary promise. Hallam became Tennyson’s friend, and though they knew each other only four years, Hallam’s death in 1833 at age 22 shocked Tennyson deeply and led to some of his most celebrated poetry, including “In Memoriam,” 1850, written to Hallam’s memory.
Tennyson left Cambridge in 1831, the same year that his father died. In 1833 he published “Poems” which met with mixed reception. After he re-published it in 1842, his fame was established.
In 1850, he published “In Memoriam” and, the same year, Queen Victoria appointed him poet laureate of England. In 1859, Tennyson first published “Idylls of the King,” and 10,000 copies sold in the first month. He completed “Idylls” between 1872 and 1874.
He was made a Baron in 1883.
His concern about mental illness was based on a mild form of epilepsy that ran in the family, with his father and brother making it worse with excessive drinking. His brother had to be confined in a mental institution, and Tennyson himself was under a doctor’s care for mental problems in 1843. He also was very short-sighted, and without a monocle could not even see to eat. This, among other things, explained why he composed much of his poetry in his head, and in his early days had to be prodded to transcribe his work, or have it transcribed for him.
Tennyson began his courtship of Emily Sellwood in 1836, though they did not marry for financial reasons until 1850. In 1851, their first child was born dead, and in 1852, his son, Hallam Tennyson was born.
As his own death approached, he told the doctor it was the worst attack he’d had and then, knowing the doctor had left his home that morning for a long ride, added, “I hope you are not tired.” Blessing his wife and son, he died peacefully with the room filled with light from the full moon, 01:35 AM, 10/06/1892, Aldworth, England.
Link to Wikipedia biography