Tennysons Poetry and Views Essay -- Alfred Tennyson Poet Poems Essays

Tennysons Poetry and ViewsAlfred Lord Tennyson and his works have been an principal(prenominal) part of canonical literature for over a century. He is as important as he is because his work is exceptional in some(prenominal) ways. One of these exceptional differences, in my opinion, is the conflicting view of wo hands Tennyson portrays in his poetry, specially his poem Locksley Hall. Tennysons Locksley Hall is, in my opinion, a poem that would benefit greatly from an ideological discussion concerning Tennysons views of women. This poem poses the questions Are Tennysons words describing a ad just now of mental pictures felt only by the narrator of the poem, or does Tennyson himself share these beliefs? Is the condescending, to date powerful view of women only the speaking characters view, or does Tennyson at least partly share that same condescending view? After all, Tennyson was a member of dainty society. At the time Tennyson wrote Locksley Hall in the 1800s, womens rights we re just beginning to be questioned. Previous to this time of questioning, women were musical theme to be on the whole inferior to men it was argued that as a womans brain was smaller in cubic content it was therefore inevitable that she was unable to reason or to generalize or to pursue a connected line of thought as well as a man could. It was the accepted belief that she was both mentally and physically inferior to man that she was, in fact, a relative creature (Crow, 146)But at the same time, Victorian men were putting women on stands. Yet, this privilege of being put upon a pedestal was really more condescension than a privilege. Duncan Crow, author of The Victorian muliebrity writes, They were not privileges at all, but a code of prison rules and the women were not queens, ... ...all as he did? Perhaps Tennyson never actually made know his opinion of women and the womans place, but he did seem to think this jilt youths utter was typical of his time. Tennyson was writing for a Victorian audience that could sympathize with this jilted youth. I believe for one such as Tennyson to even mollify such a work he, at the very least, was very beaten(prenominal) with the conflicting Victorian view of women. This, to me, makes Locksley Hall somewhat of an extension of his knowledge ideas and beliefs, concerning women, that had been thusly shaped and influenced by his own culture. Works CitedBuckler, William E., ed. The Major Victorian Poets Tennyson, Browning, Arnold. Boston Houghton Mifflin Co. 1973. Tennyson, Alfred Lord. Locksley Hall. The Poetic and Dramatic Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Ed. W. J. Rolfe. NY Houghton Mifflin Co. 1898.