Alfred, Lord Tennyson Biogrpahy

My original post was filled with inaccurate information, sorry about that. I also learned some things that our generation may find amusing may not be shared with the previous generations. Sorry for the problems. But it is what it is. It's real life. –Mike O’Real

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was poet laureate of the United Kingdom. A poet laureate is a poet assigned by the government to write poems for certain occasions. In Britain the poet laureate is the official poet of the King of Queen. He also wrote many poems, some that were received in high regard. He wrote such poems as The Charge of the Light Brigade, Tears, Idle Tears, Break, Break, Break, among others.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born on August 5, 1809 in England. His parents were George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth Fytche Tennyson. His father was a reverend. Tennyson’s given name was simply Alfred Tennyson. He was later given the title Lord later on in his life.
Alfred began writing poetry at the age of 8, by age 14 he had written a play. In 1827, Tennyson entered Cambridge University; upon his enrollment he befriended many other peers such as Edward FitzGerald and Arthur Henry Hallam. Tennyson was shocked when Hallam suddenly died in 1833 due to an Apoplexy. An Apoplexy is a type of stroke, which leads to bleeding in the brain.

Tennyson was devastated, that same year he began work on one of his better known books, In Memoriam: A.H.H., dedicated to his friend who passed away. Tennyson later named his son after Arthur, Hallam Tennyson was born in 1852.

In 1830, Tennyson met Emily Sellwood. They fell in love, were engaged in 1839 and were married in 1850. It took twenty years for them to marry because, Emily’s father was upset that Alfred’s opium addicted brother was courting his other daughter. When the married they married in secrecy. During the time Alfred and Emily were separated he traveled the world and devoted his time to writing poetry. He spoke many different languages, including Persian and Hebrew. Two of his children were born in the 1850’s. Hallam in 1852 and Lionel in 1852.
In 1842, Tennyson was a famous poet. He became famous after the publication of his works, Poems. That same year doctors told Alfred that he was in bad health and to put a hold on his work for a while. This recess lasted 2 years, at some point Alfred was not even allowed to read.

Around 1850, after several of his works were published, including The Princess, the United Kingdom was looking for a new Poet Laureate. William Wordsworth had just died so the role was vacated. Several men turned down the role, including Samuel Rogers, who was reallllyyy old at the time. Like 87! After Prince Albert read his work, In Memoriam, he offered the role to Tennyson, he accepted gladly. Tennyson cherished his new role as Poet Laureate, but didn’t care for the attention he attracted from complete strangers.

After Several years on the job as Poet Laureate, the Queen habitually offered Alfred the offer of being knighted and becoming Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Tennyson was shy and declined the offer. It wasn’t until 1884 that Tennyson accepted the Queen’s offer. For the rest of his life he was known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson, or Lord Tennyson. This is a tremendous honor in the United Kingdom.

In the 1870’s Alfred’s health, along with Emily’s began to fail. His work slowed down. He feared f he started something his health wouldn’t allow him to finish it. Due to his bad eye sight, Emily would write down Alfred’s poems. She did this until she became in bad health and his son, Hallam took over. Tennyson suffered a major blow in 1886, when his son Lionel died at sea due to a fever. Tennyson continued his writing slowly during these times. In 1889, Hallam’s first son was born, he named him Lionel. He had another child shortly thereafter in 1891. His name was Alfred Tennyson, Jr. on October 6, 1892, Alfred’s life ended, when he died. It was thought he may have died of gout. His wife and son were by his side when he took his final breath. He was buried in the Poet’s corner of Westminster Abbey.
Tennyson is still regarded to this day as one of the elite poets of all time. Many of his works are still popular today. He definitely set the tone for future writers.