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:
659:
- What characteristics of Tennyson's
poetry do the editors celebrate?
660:
- Describe Tennyson's "newspaper verse."
"The Lady of Shalott" (1832/1842)
663:
- Describe the rhyme scheme.
664-65:
- Explain the significance of the
mirror (46-72).
- Explain: "I am half sick of shadows" (71).
666:
- What is the curse of the Lady of
Shalott (109-17)?
- What has she done to bring this curse upon herself?
668:
- Explain Lancelot's final words (169-71).
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1854)
726:
- Explain lines 13-15.
- For what exactly, according to the
speaker, should the six hundred be honored?
Other Discussion Questions:
659:
- Explain the significance,according to the editors, of
Tennyson's In Memoriam.
"The Lady of Shalott"
664:
- Why do only the reapers hear her singing?
665:
- What is a "red-cross knight"
(78)?
667:
- Why exactly does she die?
"The Lotos-Eaters" (1832/1842)
668:
- 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"?
669:
- Explain: "We only toil, who are the first of
things" (61).
670:
- Describe the tone of lines 77-83.
671:
672:
- Explain the final three lines.