Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
Things to Consider:
- Literary Allusions and Contexts
- King Arthur and Camelot
- Plato's Allegory of the Cave
- Duty to Country and to Self
Discussion Questions:
605:
- Explain: "[I]t is hard to describe commonplace objects
and 'at the same time retain poetical elevation'" (605). How
does this view compare with Wordsworth's?
606:
- To what "state of feeling" was Tennyson "most intensely
drawn" (606)?
"The Lady of Shalott" (1832/1842)
609:
- Describe the rhyme scheme.
610-11:
- Explain the significance of the mirror (46-72).
- Explain: "I am half sick of shadows" (71).
612:
- What is the curse of the Lady of Shalott (109-17)?
- What has she done to bring this curse upon herself?
614:
- Explain Lancelot's final words (169-71).
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854)
678:
- Explain lines 13-15.
- For what exactly, according to the speaker, should the six
hundred be honored?
Other Discussion Questions:
605:
- Explain the significance of Tennyson's The Idylls of the King.
"The Lady of Shalott"
610:
- Why do only the reapers hear her singing?
611:
- What is a "red-cross knight"
(78)?
613:
- Why exactly does she die?
"The Lotos-Eaters" (1832/1842)
614:
- Explain the meter of line two.
- Describe the effects of the lotos plant. How does the
languor of the lotos-eaters compare with the "drowsy numbness"
described in Keats's "Ode to a Nightingale"?
615:
- Explain: "We only toil, who are the first of
things" (61).
616:
- Describe the tone of lines 77-83.
617:
618:
- Explain the final three lines.