Publisher's Synopsis
In ths biography, Peter Levi analyzes Tennyson's development and his place in literature. He describes his influences, both classical and personal, and illuminates his working methods, for example a constant revision of earlier material and an emphasis on oral rather than written poetry. Levi gives detailed textual criticism of some poems, but also shows acute psychological understanding of, for example, Tennyson's relationships with other important figures of the Victorian era such as Gladstone, Carlyle and Queen Victoria herself, are described, as are his attitudes towards other poets such as Wordsworth, whom he succeeded as Poet Laureate in 1850, the same year that he married Emily Sellwood.
