Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Tennyson was perhaps one of the most influential writers to come from his time. I found reading all of his writings to be captivating and enjoyable. While reading most of the past writers I had trouble keeping interest in all of their works and struggled to find the one piece I felt comfortable enough with to write a blog entry. I did not find that to be true of Tennyson. His writings unexpectedly held my attention from start to finish and for once I found myself trying to choose from several topics which to write about. The most emotionally charged piece to me was his ode to a dead friend. In his collective piece “In Memoriam A.H.H.”, Tennyson writes over a three year span showing his feelings and struggles with losing his closest friend and confidant, Arthur Henry Hallam. The text suggests that many readers fail to see Tennyson’s overall hope and optimism throughout the sections because due to the “emotional nadir” of three particular sections which have a more depressing tone. The text cites sections 54, 55, and 56, as being so hopeless that they have the power to some readers to overshadow his true purpose of the poem and its optimistic attitude. In my opinion I find that hard to believe because so many of the sections end with hopeful subtleties that when read all together greater a stronger faith for the future to come.
When losing a loved one it is always natural to enter a period of mourning and depression. It easy during these times to lose hope and faith and question things you previously considered safe. While all those things are a natural part of the process, it is also important to return to normal and continue you life after this period of mourning ends. I feel that Tennyson depicts this natural process of emotions adequately in his “In Memoriam A.H.H.”. It was especially hard for Tennyson to lose this friend because it was a sudden and unexpected death and Hallam was his closest friend. His lowest points throughout the depression are sections 54, 55, and 56 which show when Tennyson his rock bottom and had trouble regaining his faith in the world around him. These three sections are full of doubt and desperation. The lines which stood out and exemplified this to me were found in section 54.

“So runs my dream: but what am I?
An infant crying in the night:
An infant crying for the light:
And with no language but a cry.” (17-20)

I do however feel that the lonely cries he displays throughout these sections are normal. They are all natural steps of the healing process. I do not feel that there is enough evidence in these three sections to dictate the entire mood of the poem. I feel other sections end with more optimism that create an overall essence of moving on.
Tennyson is undoubtedly feeling regret over the loss of his friend. He does not hide the fact that this has deeply affected him and caused depression. Along with the depression I think Tennyson wrote this collection to aide his healing and helps him move on from his friend’s death. In many of the sections where he is highlighting his loneliness and sadness, he is also showing how he is trying to move forward. In section 30 Tennyson is describing Christmas without his friend and while it is hard to find joy when missing someone you love, Tennyson still tries to find the hope and the “light” which will get him through this difficult time. I found it easy to find optimism in this section, and I found it to be a very relevant example of how he fights the depression and tries to push past it. The lines which I found let myself define the collection was found in section 27.

“I hold it true, whate’er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
‘tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.” (13-16)

These are lines which I have heard my entire life and until reading them in this text never did I understand it so completely. This is the attitude which I choose to believe that Tennyson is trying to convey.