Rachel Baack
311 Reads
Complete Poetical Works of Tennyson
I have not read all of the works in this collection, but those that I have read are listed and rated below:
- “Come Down, O Maid” (from “The Princess”): A shepherd sings to a young lady to come down from the mountains into the valley to find love. Rating: 4/5
- “Crossing the Bar”: Tennyson uses the metaphor of “crossing the bar” to discuss his approaching death. Rating: 2/5
- “The Eagle” (fragment): The speaker describes the mighty eagle and surprises the reader with a turn of mood in the last line. Rating: 3.5/5
- “The Hesperides”: The guardians of a golden apple tree sing a song about their watch over the tree. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Kraken”: The speaker surveys the mysterious and powerful creature of the deep. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Lady of Shalott”: a young woman who lives alone in a castle cannot look toward Camelot under threat of a curse. Rating: 4/5
- “Locksley Hall”: The speaker laments a love who left him and contemplates the progress of society. In my personal opinion, the speaker is prejudiced and whiney. Rating: 1.5/5
- “The Lotos-Eaters”: the speaker recounts the effects of the lotus flower on the mental states of Odysseus’s men. Rating: 4/5
- “Lucretius”: Lucretius, an Epicurean philosopher, has been driven to insanity by a love potion given to him by his wife. He experiences troubling dreams and chooses to take his own life. In his final speech, he explains his dissatisfaction with life, his belief that the gods do not care about or interact with the world, and his desire to exert his will by killing himself. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Mariana”: A woman despairs over the absence of her lover. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Merlin and the Gleam”: Tennyson outlines his poetic career by comparing himself to Merlin. Rating: 1.5/5
- “Morte d’Arthur”: After being seriously wounded in battle, King Arthur calls upon the faithfulness of his last knight. Rating: 3/5
- “Saint Simeon Stylites”: Tennyson uses the voice of Simeon Stylites, an ascetic saint who sat atop a pillar for 30 years, to create a fictional discourse in which the saint alternates between professing his sinfulness and expressing his worthiness to be considered a saint while enumerating his sufferings. The poem is something of a satire. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Splendor Falls” (from “The Princess”): The speaker calls for the bugles to blow, and he draws a connection between their echoes and the “echoes” of people in our lives. Rating: 1.5/5
- “Tears, Idle Tears” (from “The Princess”): The speaker uses powerful metaphors to express the depth of his sorrow over a loss. Rating: 4/5
- “Tithonus”: Tithonus recalls his youth, when he asked the goddess Aurora, who was in love with him, to give him eternal life. She granted his request but did not give him eternal youth, and now, an old man, he begs her to take back her gift. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Ulysses”: This poem shows a different side of Ulysses (a.k.a. Odysseus) than readers see in the Odyssey. It portrays an older Ulysses who has been stuck at home ruling for many years and is longing to experience adventure once more. Rating: 3.5/5
- “To Virgil”: Tennyson praises the ancient poet Virgil. Rating: 1.5/5
- “The Vision of Sin”: A man who lived a hedonistic lifestyle in his youth gives a bitter speech indicating the corruption of humankind and meaninglessness of much human action. Rating: 3/5
I have not read all of the works in this collection, but those that I have read are listed and rated below:
- “Come Down, O Maid” (from “The Princess”): A shepherd sings to a young lady to come down from the mountains into the valley to find love. Rating: 4/5
- “Crossing the Bar”: Tennyson uses the metaphor of “crossing the bar” to discuss his approaching death. Rating: 2/5
- “The Eagle” (fragment): The speaker describes the mighty eagle and surprises the reader with a turn of mood in the last line. Rating: 3.5/5
- “The Hesperides”: The guardians of a golden apple tree sing a song about their watch over the tree. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Kraken”: The speaker surveys the mysterious and powerful creature of the deep. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Lady of Shalott”: a young woman who lives alone in a castle cannot look toward Camelot under threat of a curse. Rating: 4/5
- “Locksley Hall”: The speaker laments a love who left him and contemplates the progress of society. In my personal opinion, the speaker is prejudiced and whiney. Rating: 1.5/5
- “The Lotos-Eaters”: the speaker recounts the effects of the lotus flower on the mental states of Odysseus’s men. Rating: 4/5
- “Lucretius”: Lucretius, an Epicurean philosopher, has been driven to insanity by a love potion given to him by his wife. He experiences troubling dreams and chooses to take his own life. In his final speech, he explains his dissatisfaction with life, his belief that the gods do not care about or interact with the world, and his desire to exert his will by killing himself. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Mariana”: A woman despairs over the absence of her lover. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Merlin and the Gleam”: Tennyson outlines his poetic career by comparing himself to Merlin. Rating: 1.5/5
- “Morte d’Arthur”: After being seriously wounded in battle, King Arthur calls upon the faithfulness of his last knight. Rating: 3/5
- “Saint Simeon Stylites”: Tennyson uses the voice of Simeon Stylites, an ascetic saint who sat atop a pillar for 30 years, to create a fictional discourse in which the saint alternates between professing his sinfulness and expressing his worthiness to be considered a saint while enumerating his sufferings. The poem is something of a satire. Rating: 2.5/5
- “The Splendor Falls” (from “The Princess”): The speaker calls for the bugles to blow, and he draws a connection between their echoes and the “echoes” of people in our lives. Rating: 1.5/5
- “Tears, Idle Tears” (from “The Princess”): The speaker uses powerful metaphors to express the depth of his sorrow over a loss. Rating: 4/5
- “Tithonus”: Tithonus recalls his youth, when he asked the goddess Aurora, who was in love with him, to give him eternal life. She granted his request but did not give him eternal youth, and now, an old man, he begs her to take back her gift. Rating: 3.5/5
- “Ulysses”: This poem shows a different side of Ulysses (a.k.a. Odysseus) than readers see in the Odyssey. It portrays an older Ulysses who has been stuck at home ruling for many years and is longing to experience adventure once more. Rating: 3.5/5
- “To Virgil”: Tennyson praises the ancient poet Virgil. Rating: 1.5/5
- “The Vision of Sin”: A man who lived a hedonistic lifestyle in his youth gives a bitter speech indicating the corruption of humankind and meaninglessness of much human action. Rating: 3/5