Tennyson as the representative of his age
Tennyson represents his age, not in fragment, but completely. He expresses his poetry, even when he is most subjective and persona, the very spirit of the Victorian era. He may be writing of himself, of his personal joys and sorrows, but even then he writes of his age and renders its chief characteristics. �For nearly half a century� says W. J. Long, �Tennyson was not only a man and a poet, he was a voice, the voice of a whole people, expressing in exquisite melody their doubts and their faith, their grieves and their triumphs. As a poet who expresses not so much a personal as a national spirit, he is probably the most representative literary man of the Victorian era.� He also added �Throughout the entire Victorian period Tennyson stood at the summit of poetry in England� (W. J. Long: English Literature: 457) The salient feature of the age were moderation in politics, refined culture, religious liberalism chquered by doubt, a lively interest in the advance of scientific discovery coupl...