"The Lotos-Eaters"
by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1832)
Poet's Biography, Extract of the Poem (Part-I) & Literary Analysis
About the Poet
Full Name: Alfred Tennyson,
Born: August 6, 1809, Somersby, Lincolnshire, England
Nationality: British
Education: Trinity College, Cambridge
Title: Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland (1850-1892)
Peerage: Created Baron Tennyson in 1884
Literary Career
Period: Victorian Era (1837-1901)
Literary Movement: Victorian Romanticism
First Publication: Poems by Two Brothers (1827)
Major Recognition: Succeeded William Wordsworth as Poet Laureate
Writing Style: Known for musical verse, rich imagery, and psychological depth
Influences: Classical mythology, medieval legends, contemporary science
Major Works:
Epic Poetry:
In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850)
Idylls of the King (1859-1885)
The Princess (1847)
Famous Poems:
"The Lady of Shalott" (1832)
"Ulysses" (1833)
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854)
"Crossing the Bar" (1889)
Early Works:
"The Lotos-Eaters" (1832)
"Mariana" (1830)
"The Palace of Art" (1832)
Poems, Chiefly Lyrical (1830)
Historical Context & Influence
Victorian Era Leadership: As Poet Laureate for over 40 years, Tennyson was the most popular and influential poet of the Victorian era. His work reflected the era's concerns about faith, science, progress, and social change.
Personal Struggles: Much of his poetry was influenced by the death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam in 1833, which inspired his masterpiece 'In Memoriam'. This personal loss deeply affected his exploration of themes like mortality, faith, and memory.
Scientific Revolution: Tennyson lived through major scientific discoveries including Darwin's theory of evolution. His poetry often grappled with the tension between religious faith and scientific progress, making him a voice for Victorian intellectual struggles.
Literary Innovation: He pioneered new poetic forms and revitalized classical meters. His use of sound, rhythm, and imagery influenced generations of poets and established him as a master of the English language.
Poem - (Part-I)
"Courage!" he said, and pointed toward the land,
"This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon."
In the afternoon they came unto a land
In which it seemed always afternoon.
All round the coast the languid air did swoon,
Breathing like one that hath a weary dream.
Full-faced above the valley stood the moon;
And like a downward smoke, the slender stream
Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem.
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 slumbrous sheet of foam below.
They saw the gleaming river seaward flow
From the inner land: far off, three mountain-tops,
Three silent pinnacles of aged snow,
Stood sunset-flush'd: and, dew'd with showery drops,
Up-clomb the shadowy pine above the woven copse.
The charmed sunset linger'd low adown
In the red West: thro' mountain clefts the dale
Was seen far inland, and the yellow down
Border'd with palm, and many a winding vale
And meadow, set with slender galingale;
A land where all things always seem'd the same!
And round about the keel with faces pale,
Dark faces pale against that rosy flame,
The mild-eyed melancholy Lotos-eaters came.
Branches they bore of that enchanted stem,
Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave
To each, but whoso did receive of them,
And taste, to him the gushing of the wave
Far far away did seem to mourn and rave
On alien shores; and if his fellow spake,
His voice was thin, as voices from the grave;
And deep-asleep he seem'd, yet all awake,
And music in his ears his beating heart did make.
They sat them down upon the yellow sand,
Between the sun and moon upon the shore;
And sweet it was to dream of Fatherland,
Of child, and wife, and slave; but evermore
Most weary seem'd the sea, weary the oar,
Weary the wandering fields of barren foam.
Then some one said, "We will return no more;"
And all at once they sang, "Our island home
Is far beyond the wave; we will no longer roam."
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