Poetry for Students

206 Poetry for Students

Author Biography

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born August 6, 1809,

in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. His father was

a clergyman, the rector of Somersby, a profession

for which he was not well suited and of which he

was not fond. Tennyson was the fourth of twelve

children. At an early age he showed a talent for

writing, and began writing poetry by age eight. By

the time he was eighteen, in 1827, he had published

his first volume of poetry, Poems by Two Broth-

ers. Though his older brothers Frederick and

Charles wrote some of the poems in the book, most

were by Alfred. The same year, Tennyson left home

to attend Trinity College, Cambridge. There he

gained recognition for his work, winning a major

poetry prize.

While he was at Trinity, Tennyson became

close friends with Arthur Henry Hallam, who was

considered one of the school’s outstanding literary

talents. Hallam introduced Tennyson to Emily

Sellwood, with whom the poet fell in love. In turn,

Tennyson introduced Hallam to his sister, also

named Emily, with whom Hallam fell in love.

Tennyson experienced a series of setbacks af-

ter his book Poems, Chiefly Lyricalwas published

in 1830. In 1831, Tennyson’s father died. Tenny-

son’s older brother Edward committed himself to

a mental asylum, where he lived until his death in

1890. In 1832, Tennyson published Poems, which
      was harshly criticized in nearly every review. In
      1833, Hallam died suddenly, at the age of twenty-
      two.
      Tennyson was so shocked by Hallam’s death
      that he vowed to publish no more poetry for ten
      years. During that time, he worked on In Memo-
      riam A. H. H., the work that “Proem” introduces.
      He started the first lines of it within days of hear-
      ing about Hallam’s death.
      Tennyson barely eked out a living, and was too
      poor to marry Emily Sellwood until the publication
      ofPoemsin 1843 made him financially indepen-
      dent. He married Emily in 1850, and Queen Vic-
      toria, influenced by the publication of In Memoriam
      that same year, appointed him to succeed William
      Wordsworth as poet laureate.
      Tennyson lived the rest of his life in fame and
      prosperity. He wrote poetry, focusing on long ro-
      mantic narratives, and a few plays, which were un-
      successful. He was one of the most famous and
      well-recognized men in England when he died Oc-
      tober 6, 1892.

Poem Text

Lines 1–4

The “Proem” for Tennyson’s long poem In

Memoriam A. H. H.literally opens with a strong be-

ginning: the word “strong” emphasizes the speaker’s

awe and gives the poem a powerful tone. The phrase

“Strong Son of God” can be read in two ways. The

most obvious of these is that it is a reference to Je-

sus, who is referred to frequently in Christian doc-

trine as the Son of God. This emphasis on God’s

human element also serves to imply a human sub-

ject to the poem, perhaps Arthur Henry Hallam, who

is not mentioned in “Proem,” but whose initials ap-

pear in the title of the longer poem. Throughout the

longer poem, readers find more evidence that Ten-

nyson has drawn a connection between Christ and

Hallam, whom he represents as a figure for the

higher race of humanity that is expected to develop

from Christ’s prophesied second-coming.

The last three lines of this first stanza refer to

the unknown aspects of God. Tennyson points out

that human faith is based on a lack of direct expe-

rience, noting that people believe in God even

though they cannot see Him.

Proem

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

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