Alfred (Lord) Tennyson is buried in 'Poets' Corner', Westminster Abbey, London,
England.
Burial Stone of Alfred Tennyson
Photograph by Mike
Reed
He
was born at Somersby in Lincolnshire in 1809. His father, George
Tennyson, was the rector at Somersby but he suffered from epilepsy,
mental instability and had a
drug and alcohol problem.. However, he was a
learned man and educated his son at home. In 1827 Tennyson went to
Trinity College, Cambridge where he soon became friendly with Arthur Henry Hallam
a fellow member of
The Apostles.
Hallam also fell in love with Tennyson's sister Emily. Unfortunately, in 1833 Arthur Hallam died
while travelling in Austria with his father. This event affected
Tennyson greatly and prompted
him to start writing a series of lyrics which would later became
In Memoriam.
In 1836 Tennyson fell in love with Emily Sellwood - the daughter of a
Lincolnshire solicitor - however their marriage was delayed until 1850
due to his precarious financial circumstances and worries by Emily's
family concerning the general mental health of the Tennysons.
Their situation improved dramatically when Tennyson was appointed poet
laureate in 1850 following
the death of William Wordsworth - possibly
on the recommendation of Prince Albert. This
enabled him to move to Farringford on the Isle of Wight. |
