Comment on Tennyson’s treatment of the theme of loss in his poems

Or, Write a note on the treatment of the theme of loss in Tennyson’s poetry.

Or, How does Tennyson treat the theme of loss in his poems?

Answer: Lord Alfred Tennyson is a great poet of the Victorian Period (1832-1901). His poems deal with various themes. They are marked by a note of sadness. Elegiac touch and a note of pathos give them an air of romanticism. Melancholy stains them with individuality. Tennyson has treated the theme of loss in his poems. He shows how Tithonus laments for the loss of his youthful vigour in the dramatic monologue, “Tithonus”. The Lotos-Eaters lose the zest for life in “The Lotos-Eaters”. Sir Bedivere loses his favorite lord, King Arthur. King Arthur loses his life, sword, and his administration, Round Table. The speaker of “Locksley Hall” loses his beloved, Amy. Thus Tennyson treated the theme of loss in his poems.

Tennyson shows harmony between the natural scene and human moods in “Tithonus”. He narrates the story of a mythological character at this point. Aurora is in love with Tithonus. She gives her lover immortality. But immortal life without immortal youth becomes a burden for Tithonus. He was once a handsome young man. He had vigour, energy, and passion for his beloved. But now he has lost all of them. He is growing older and older at this moment. He finds that everything in nature meets its fall. The woods decay and fall naturally. The vapors in course of time fall to the ground. Man comes and works in the fields. He dies at last. He goes on his job till his death and is buried beneath the earth. After many years, the swan dies. It is only Tithonus himself who cannot die. So he expresses his sorrow in the following way-

“The woods decay, the woods decay, and fall,

The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,

Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,

And after many a summer dies the swan.”

Death is inevitable for everything and everybody but not for him. It is a great loss in human life. But it is not a severe loss to Tithonus. He is now unable to bear his over-aging body. Consequently, he wants to die. Thus he expresses the agony of his painful heart in the decaying process of nature.

“Morte D’Arthur” also deals with the theme of loss. In the battle of Lyonnesse, King Arthur is seriously wounded. He is carried away to a broken chapel. His condition is very miserable and helpless. The King himself thinks that he is dying. At his dying hour, he is considering the cause of his downfall. Once he was a mighty king who acted as a chairman over the Round Table of the knights. His influence was great and spread to far-off lands. He ruled his country wisely. He made the people civilized gradually. He says in this respect-

“I perish by this person which I made, –

Tho’ Merlin swore that I should come again

To rule once more— but let what will be, be,

I am so deeply smitten thro’ the helm

That without help I cannot last till morn.”

But it is the irony of his fate that the same people whom he ruled now betrayed him. Those knights who had once sworn to be loyal to him betrayed him now. Arthur is shocked at thinking of such treachery or faithlessness.

King Arthur orders Sir Bedivere to throw his magical sword, Excalibur into the lake. But the knight fails to throw it for its special value. He does not want to lose it at all. He thinks that Excalibur will carry the proof of Arthur’s heroism in the future. So Arthur orders him to cast it for the third time. Sir Bedivere tells a lie to the king twice. He wants to restore this sword for the future generation. But Arthur is able to discover the truth and takes his knight to the task. His words are pathetic. He says that Sir Bedivere does not obey him because he is going to die. A king who is about to die loses his power and authority. He is not obeyed as before.

Tennyson has treated the theme of loss in his great dramatic monologue, “The Lotos-Eaters” too. He shows that the war of Troy is over. The Greek hero Ulysses is returning home along with his fellow mariners. One day in the afternoon, they reached an island. After reaching there, the mariners are charmed by the beauty of the land. On this island, they ate lotos of fruits. Having eaten them, they do not want to move. In the Lotos-island, they are now lea adding happy life. They are the free from toil and cares of life. They have observed that all objects of naa ture take rest. All things enjoy the pleasure of rest. That is why they no longer want to take up fresh actions. They think that it is better to stay in the island for the rest of their life. They do not want to lose their present happiness in exchange for anything. They express their attitude in the following way-

“Why are we weighed upon with heaviness?

And utterly consumed with sharp distress,

While all things else have rests from wariness?

All things have rest: why should we toil alone,

We only toil.”

Thus the poet draws a contrast between human life and all other things on this earth. The mariners want to rationalize their plan to live on this island in a state of permanent rest, peace, and tranquility.

The speaker of “Locksley Hall” was in love with his cousin named Amy. The girl had also a great passion for him. In the beautiful spring, both the lovers meet. The speaker finds something wrong in the cheeks of his beloved. Amy looks very sad and thoughtful. Her eyes observe stealthily all his movements. So the speaker wants to know what happens. But Amy does not speak clearly then. She only confirms to him that she has loved him always. She actually hides the truth kept in her bosom. She does not make him clear about the threat to her parents. She does not tell him that she is going to marry someone. She has already been married to a man. This causes a great shock in the heart of the speaker. He becomes frustrated and receives a dreadful thunderbolt on his head. He never forgets the event in his life.

The speaker comes to Locksley Hall now. He recollects the golden time that he has already lost. The time of his love-making with Amy was a golden time for him. It was a time of rare happiness. Every moment was very precious and rare like gold. The speaker recollects his lost time in the following way-

“Love took up the glass of Time, and turned it in his growing hands,

Every moment, lightly shaken, ran itself in golden sands.”

Love played a great role in their lives. It produced sweet and harmonious music. In fact, the speaker is talking about his golden time with Amy. His feelings can touch the hearts of lovers like him.

However, we know that Tennyson is a representative poet in the Victorian Age. He has highlighted the Victorian spirit in his poetry: In order to do so, he has dealt with different themes in them. Death, heroism, bravery, adventure, wealth, power, knowledge, and many others come obviously in his poems as themes. But the theme of loss is evident in each poem included in our syllabus.