Victorian Poetry Notes and Study Guide
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
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Born:
Died:
Tennyson was considered the
of the
middle class.
His writing reflects many of the Victorian’s concerns, such as the fear that new
theories and
values were threatening accepted
(sense
of right and wrong)
How many children were in Tennyson’s family?
Tennyson’s father and several of his siblings had problems with
and
illness.
Tennyson was a published poet by the time he was
years old.
He went to
University, but he left without earning a degree because of a lack
of
.
His closest friend was named
. His friend died at
age 22. His early death inspired several of Tennyson’s most remarkable poems, including “Ulysses” and
, which it took him
years to write.
In 1850, Tennyson was invited by Queen Victoria to be the poet
. He
also received the rank of
and title of Lord.
Pre-reading question: Using complete sentences explain your answer and give an example.
1. List 5 experiences you think are necessary for a full life. What are the benefits of these experiences?
Beginning on page 357, read “Ulysses.” Then answer the following question:
2. What do you already know about Ulysses (also known as Odysseus)?
3. In this poem, what does Ulysses want?
Beginning on page 360, read “In Memoriam.” Then answer the following questions:
4. Do you agree with Tennyson that it is “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”?
Explain.
5. Based on section 54, what does the speaker hope for?
Beginning on page 363, read “Crossing the Bar.” Then answer the following questions:
6. What does the speaker compare death to?
7. Who is “my Pilot”?
Robert Browning
Born:
Died:
 Critics ignored or put down his poetry until he was
years old when he received very positive
recognition.
 Browning published his first book when he was 21. It received very
reviews. Because of
this, Browning vowed to keep his later writing free from
information
 Browning began to write a type of poetry called dramatic
in which a
character is portrayed in an
charged situation.
 Against her father’s wishes Browning secretly married
and
went to Italy where they lived happily for 15 years. Their relationship inspired Browning’s masterpiece
called
. When his wife died in 1861, he returned to England
where he wrote
, which brought him the
for which he had waited.
Pre-reading question: Using complete sentences explain your answer and give an example.
8. How does jealousy affect relationships?
Beginning on page 946, read “My Last Duchess” and answer the following questions:
9. What is the speaker looking at?
10. The duke probably thought his previous wife was too
Circle one:
A. loving
B. easily pleased
.
C. devoted
Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.
11. What can you infer from the lines above?
Beginning on page 948, read “Porphyria’s Lover” and answer the following question:
12. How does Porphyria die?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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Born:
Died:
Elizabeth had a
childhood. (Her family had money.)
When she was 15, she suffered from an
(disease) that left her an invalid.
Barrett married poet Robert
and wrote many Sonnets inspired by her
love for him.
Her finest work, which was published in 1850, is called
Elizabeth championed (supported) causes such as
, and
Pre-reading question: Using complete sentences explain your answer and give an example.
13. Do you think love lasts forever?
Read Sonnet 43 on page 954 and answer the following question:
14. What question does Elizabeth Barrett Browning ask at the beginning of Sonnet 43?
Emily Brontë
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Born:
Died:
Emily was very close with her siblings
, Anne, and Branwell.
In their writing, she and her sister Anne invented their own kingdom called
In 1845, the three sisters combined their writing into one book under the pseudonyms (fake names)
,
¸and
In 1847, Emily published
, which is considered one of
England’s finest novels.
Beginning on page 956, read “Remembrance” and answer the following questions:
15. Who is the poet remembering?
16. Why does the speaker avoid remembering?
,
Gerard Manley Hopkins
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Born:
Died:
Hopkins was unknown as a poet during his lifetime, and it wasn’t until the
that
his poetry achieved widespread acclaim (praise).
At
, Hopkins fell under the spell of poet
and
converted to
and later joined the
order.
Preparing to enter the Society of Jesus, Hopkins
his earlier poems and did
not write any poetry until 1875 when he wrote
because he
was so moved by the deaths of five
in a shipwreck. He continued to write after
this, but he felt
.
The poem “Pied Beauty” reflects his joy in God’s
.
Pre-reading question: Using complete sentences explain your answer and give an example.
17. How does nature affect your mood? What types of things in nature make you happy? Which make you
sad?
Read “Spring and Fall: To a Young Child” on page 965 and answer the following question:
18. In “Spring and Fall to a Young Child” how does Margaret react to changing seasons?
Matthew Arnold
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Born:
Died:
Like Tennyson, Arnold was a leading
of the Victorian Age.
Arnold did not make his living as a writer. He was a
inspector. He was the son of
one of Victorian Britain’s most famous
His interest in poetry was partly inspired by his friendships with
and the future poet
who attended
University with Arnold.
His first book of poems had a
and serious nature.
He was a passionate advocate (supporter) of the
.
From his picture you can see that he had some awesome
Read “To Marguerite – Continued” on page 1058 and answer the following questions:
19. What does the poet compare people to?
20. This comparison helps to show that people are
A. E. Housman
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Born:
Died:
Housman composed most of his poems while he was in his early 20s.
Many soldiers took Housman’s poems with them into
.
Housman was small and unathletic and devoted himself to his
.
He went to
University but left without a degree because he failed his final
tests.
While working at a patent office, he got a professorship at London’s
College because his writing was so good.
When he published his first book of poems, a friend suggested he call it
. Shropshire was near where he grew up and he used it to represent
(country) life.
He only published two books of poems. He published his second group of poems in
Pre-reading question: Using complete sentences explain your answer and give an example.
21. Do you tend to take advice from older people? Why or why not?
Read “When I Was One-and-Twenty” on page 1064 and answer the following question:
22. What advice does the “wise man” give the speaker?
Thomas Hardy
Born:
Died:
 First wanted to be an
, not a writer.
 Published
novels, 3 volumes of short stories, and over
poems.
 For several years, he worked at an
firm that built
 His first novel was published in
. In 1891, he wrote
, which caused a controversy because of what some people thought was
behavior.
 Then he wrote Jude the Obscure, which was
by libraries and bookstores.
 His poems are about the ironies of life and explore the
of nature and
society.
 When he died, his ashes were placed in
at Westminster Abbey, but before
he was cremated, he had requested to have his
removed and buried at his home in
“Wessex”
Read “Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” beginning on page 1072 and answer the following questions:
23. Who is digging on the woman’s grave? Why?