Showing results by author "Alfred Tennyson" in All Categories

Along with historical narrative, hear rare recordings of some of the most iconic people in history, including Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Edward Gladston, Guiglielmo Marconi, Willaim McKinley, Leo Tolstoy, William Booth, Pope Leo XIII, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Dr. Frederick Cook, and William E. Peary.

This evocative poem was first published in 1832 but republished in 1842 with extensive alterations.

Over the far horizon the blanket of night begins to slowly dissolve. The sun is once more on its daily journey across the heavens. The light begins to sharpen and increase in intensity, revealing the landscape. Morning has begun, and dazed heads and sleepy faces come to terms with the new day. Our poets capture the mood, the emotions and all manner of other details in their descriptions of this time. But then with the calibre of wordsmiths such as Tennyson, Wordsworth, Milton, Southey, Donne and many more besides, we are almost spoilt.

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.

Death is a subject that few of us talk about, but many think about and more than a few of us dread. Whether it is the actual end of our life’s journey or merely a transit point to heavenly glory, its actual point of impact is, obviously, life-changing. But what do poets think of it? How do their minds tangle with the subject and make sense of this? That’s what we wondered too. Poets as rich and diverse as Tennyson, Hardy, Shelley, and Poe here share their words, thoughts and visions with us.

The office of Poet Laureate goes back many centuries - informally to the time of Geoffrey Chaucer in 1389 and followed thereafter by a number of ‘volunteer laureates’. It was formally assigned to Ben Jonson in 1617 and, as a Royal office by letters patent in 1670, to John Dryden. It is a rich, rewarding history that bursts with the words, themes and visions of many great poets that has bound poetry and poets to a nation's soul.

In the 28 poems of which Maud: A Monodrama consists, a somewhat mentally fragile young man narrates step by step (almost in stream-of-consciousness) the progress and aftermath of his feelings for Maud, whose father, the owner of the neighboring estate and Hall, he blames for his own father's death and his family's ruin. Many of the themes of the work are related to Tennyson's own experiences and those of his close family.

"Locksley Hall" is a dramatic monologue written in 1835 and published in 1842. Tennyson explained that the poem was not autobiographical but purely imaginary, "representing young life, its good side, its deficiences and its yearnings".

Wanting nothing to do with men, a beautiful young woman founds a women's university, where no man can enter. But as the master Tennyson writes, "Life is brief but love is long"; love will find a way; and the prince to whom the young woman was betrothed in infancy disguises himself into a woman and enters the grounds... This classic narrative poem continues to captivate generation after generation of listeners and it is no wonder why: "Better not be at all than not be noble."

Much of Tennyson's poetry is elegiac in nature, featuring characters who have been disempowered by isolation, age, or lack of opportunity. One of the most famous examples of this is the dramatic soliloquy, "Ulysses". "Columbus", written many years later, is also a dramatic narrative. In both cases, the narrators are elderly mariners, who have a long history of daring forays into remote regions, and who are eager to venture forth again but are hampered by lack of opportunity and the effects of aging.

Bitter Lips, Sweet Heart is a unique collection of romantic poetry first assembled by a group of young male college students who got together to read poetry and drink tea every week, thinking themselves spurned romantics and talented poets. Most of the original selections have been forgotten, and the collection has been updated for this simple release with a sense of irony and sheepishness in mature adulthood. May its angst, irony, lust, and innocent affection amuse and entertain you today, just as it did the four nerdy boys who assembled it to communicate.

The office of Poet Laureate is a high honour amongst poets. The ancient Greeks had the first idea, and their heroes and poets wore wreaths of laurel in honour of the god Apollo. Many countries now have a laureate, as do many societies and organisations. But perhaps ranked first among them all is that of our own Poet Laureate. Unfortunately no single authentic definitive record exists of the office of Poet Laureate of England. In some form it can be traced back to 1189 and Richard Canonicus, who was employed by Richard I with the title 'versificator Regis'.

A beautiful young woman hides away, wanting nothing to do with men; and founds a women's university, where no man can enter. But as the master Tennyson writes, "Life is brief but love is long"; love will find a way, and the prince to whom the young woman was betrothed in infancy disguises himself into a woman and enters the premises... This classic narrative poem continues to enchant generation after generation of listeners and it is no wonder why: "Better not be at all than not be noble."

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 - 6 October 1892) was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language. He was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, a rector's son, the fourth of 12 children, and reportedly a descendant of King Edward III of England.

"Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die". A lament of airman, soldier, sailor, and marine throughout history from Lord Tennyson's 1854 poem based upon a charge of British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War.

The seas and oceans have a mystical power over us: From a playful day at the beach to the hysterical waves of a storm, this ever-changing element evokes both beauty and fear; its great mass, its shimmering beauty, its raging howl and all in colours from blue to grey to green and crystal clear. In these collections of verse our poets - including Tennyson, Swinburne, Keats, Shelley, and many others - explore the relationship between ourselves and the great mystical waters.

Dylan Thomas, C Day-Lewis and others join together on this unique album to read some of the world's finest poetry by Blake, Wordsworth and Tennyson.

"The Charge of The Light Brigade" - written in 1854 by one of the great representative figures of the Victorian age, Lord Alfred Tennyson - celebrates the heroism of a British cavalry unit mistakenly ordered to attack a vastly superior Russian stronghold amidst the Battle of Balaklava during the Crimean War (1853-1856), a military conflict between Russia and a coalition of Great Britain, France, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire.

"Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel with smile or frown; With that wild wheel we go not up or down; Our hoard is little, but our hearts are great. The Marriage of Geraint is one of the most poignant and introspective tales in Tennyson's Idylls of the King. It is not a story of war or grand heroics, but of personal struggle, love, and loyalty tested under quiet and complex circumstances. Geraint, a noble knight of King Arthur's Round Table, embarks on a journey not to prove his courage or strength, but to understand the true nature of his marriage to Enid, a woman of humble birth but noble heart....

"If I am dear to someone else, then I must act as though I am worth the care. Even if I cannot yet feel it fully, I must begin to believe that I am worth saving. Because to be loved by another is not only a gift, it is a call to rise, to heal, to protect what has been seen as worthy." Maud is a narrative poem by Tennyson which tells the story of a tormented man who falls for the beautiful and enigmatic Maud, a love that promises salvation but spirals into obsession and despair. This book is a novelisation of Maud, intended to make the poem more accessible to the general reader and students ...