In Memoriam 2008

The purpose of this study is to examine, in the first place, how In Memoriam differs from the earlier poems of Tennyson and secondly, that this poem, though a work of art, cannot be comprehended without reference to the author s life and the Age in which it was written. While Tennyson is an escapist in his early poems because of his frustration and disappointment with the state of affairs obtaining during the time, in his subsequent poems, especially those published in 1842 and afterwards, he sets aside his escapism and grapples with the hard truths of life courageously and confidently. Now there is growing realization on the part of the poet that the earthly life, though beset with trials and tribulations, is still worth living, especially if it is regulated by religious faith.The New Criticsf emerging after the First World War such as T.S.Eliot, F.R.Leavis, William Empson etc., maintained that a work of art stands on its own merits. In other words, it does not need to be explained with any external aid such as biographical, historical, sociological and comparative approach. In Memoriam negates such a view of the study of art. It cannot be properly understood without reference to the author s life, the circumstances under which it was composed and the social milieu in which he lived. Added to these, this study is also directed to analyse the poem to show the poet s transition from sorrow to doubt to hope and to faith. At the end the poem reaffirms the poet s faith in a better future for humanity. Tennyson is thus in tune with the spirit of the age