Lord Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire 6th August 1809 and died 6 October 1892, taking his place in Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey. Alfred Tennyson was the son of the local rector and the fourth of 12 children. He was also one of the descendants of King Edward III. The famous ex student of Louth Grammar School and two of his elder brothers, wrote poetry in their teens, indeed a collection of poems by all three was published locally when Alfred was only 17, entitled Poems by Two Brothers. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1828, where he joined the secret society called the Cambridge Apostles.
In 1833, Tennyson published his second book of poetry, which included his well-known poem, The Lady of Shalott, a story of a princess who cannot look at the world except through a reflection in a mirror. As Sir Lancelot rides by the tower where she must stay, she looks at him, and the curse comes to term; she dies after she places herself in a small boat and floats down the river to Camelot, her name written on the boat's stern. The volume met heavy criticism, which so discouraged Tennyson that he did not publish again for 10 more years, although he continued to write. That same year, Hallam suffered a cerebral hæmorrhage while on holiday in Vienna and died. It devastated Alfred, but inspired him to produce a body of poetry that has come to be seen as among the world's finest and best poems. However, roughly a decade of poetic silence followed Hallam's death.
In 1842, while living modestly in London, Tennyson published two volumes of Poems, the first of which included works already published and the second of which was made up almost entirely of new poems. They met with immediate success. The Princess: A Medley, a satire of women's education, which came out in 1847, was also popular. W. S. Gilbert later adapted and parodied the piece twice: in The Princess and in Princess Ida. Poems from this collection, such as Locksley Hall, "Tithonus", and "Ulysses" have met enduring fame.
It was in 1850 that Tennyson reached the pinnacle of his career, being appointed Poet Laureate in succession to William Wordsworth and in the same year producing his masterpiece, In Memoriam A.H.H., dedicated to Hallam. In the same year (June 13), Tennyson married Emily Sellwood, whom he had known since childhood, in the village of Shiplake. They had two sons, Hallam (b. Aug. 11, 1852) — named after his friend — and Lionel (b. March 16, 1854).
Find out about some of Tennyson's major works on Wikipedia
