Week Four: Major Victorian Poets

Tennyson is an interesting writer because he steps back to the classics. He tells stories of knights, heroes, and legends. In the poem "Lady of Shalott," he expresses these themes in full detail. These kinds of stories always seem to catch the attention of the readers. This writer revisits tales of the past. King Arthur and Sir Lancelot are well known tale which never get old. The typical story line always keeps readers coming back. Lady of Shalott is stuck somewhere on the island of Shalott. Shalott is located down the river from Camelot. Sir Lancelot the young handsome knight is sent to save her. This poem although tell a story is much deeper than it seems. It is the struggle between life and art. The moment the lady of Shalott sets her eyes on Sir Lancelot she abandons her artistry and skills. She is nothing but a "dead-pale" (Lines 157) beauty.


The poem "Ulysses" has an epic heroic tone also but in a more narcissist manner. It tells the story of a traveler who is sick of being home and finds it boring. He travels the world and thinks himself the greatest thing that has walked the face of this earth. He is very egotistical and conceited. He is also very ambitious and eager to learn more of the world outside of his land. In old age he encourages the mariners to be aggressive and never to give up. Old age comes but they are still alive. He ends the poem stating, “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.” (Line 70)