In Memoriam A.H.H.
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In Memoriam A.H.H. is a long poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in Vienna in 1833, but it is also much more. Written over a period of 17 years, it can be seen as reflective of Victorian society at the time, and the poem discusses many of the issues that were beginning to be questioned. It is the work in which Tennyson reaches his highest musical peaks and his poetic experience comes full circle. It is generally regarded as one of the great poetic works of the British 19th century.
The poem was a great favorite of Queen Victoria, who found it a source of solace after the death of Prince Albert in 1861: "Next to the Bible, In Memoriam is my comfort." In 1862, Victoria requested a meeting with Tennyson because she was so impressed by the poem.
The original title of the poem was "The Way of the Soul", and this might give an idea of how the poem is an account of all Tennyson's thoughts and feelings as he copes with his grief over such a long period - including wrestling with the big scientific-philosophical questions of his day. It is perhaps because of this that the poem is still popular with and of interest to modern readers. Due to its length and its arguable breadth of focus, the poem might not be thought an elegy or a dirge in the strictest formal sense.
[edit] Form
The poem is not arranged exactly in the order in which it was written. The prologue, for example, is thought to have been one of the last things written. The earliest material is thought to be that which begins "Fair ship, that from the Italian shore | Saileth the placid ocean-plains" and imagines the return of Hallam's body from Italy. Critics believe, however, that the poem as a whole is meant to be chronological in terms of the progression of Tennyson's grief. The passage of time is marked by the three descriptions of Christmas at different points in the poem, and the poem ends with a description of the marriage of Tennyson's sister.
"In Memoriam" is written in four-line ABBA stanzas of iambic verse; though not metrically unusual, given the length of the work it creates a definite tonal effect which often divides readers - is it the natural sound of mourning and grief, or is it just monotonous? The poem divided into 133 cantos (including the prologue and epilogue), and in contrast to its constant and regulated metrical form, encompasses many different subjects: profound spiritual experiences, nostalgic reminscence, philosophical speculation, Romantic fantasizing and even occasional verse. The death of Hallam, and Tennyson's attempts to cope with this, remain the strand that ties all these together, though.
[edit] Quotation
The most oft-quoted lines in the poem are perhaps
- I hold it true, whate'er befall;
- I feel it when I sorrow most;
- 'Tis better to have loved and lost
- Than never to have loved at all.
This stanza is to be found in Canto 27. The last two lines are usually taken, out of context, as offering advice on the dissolution of a romantic relationship. However the lines actually refer to the death of a beloved friend.
Another much-quoted phrase from the poem is "nature, red in tooth and claw," found in Canto 56:
- Who trusted God was love indeed
- And love Creation's final law?
- Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw
- With ravine, shriek'd against his creed?
[edit] References
- Stephen Jay Gould, "The Tooth and Claw Centennial" in Dinosaur in a Haystack: Reflections in Natural History. New York: Harmony Books, 1995 hardcover: ISBN 0517703939, ISBN 978-0517703939. Three Rivers Press, 1996 paperback: ISBN 0517888246, ISBN 978-0517888247.
