Alfred Tennyson, The Princess

Marion Shaw (University of Loughborough)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Grace Moore (University of Otago)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1847

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Tennyson published this long poem in 1847, the first major publication since his successful two-volume Poems of 1842. Although not happy in his personal life during the 1840s, his reputation was becoming established as a poet of both lyric intensity and narrative skill. But The Princess was coolly received, and this seems to have led Tennyson to revise the poem after publication more extensively than any of his others. His own dissatisfaction with it was recorded by a friend: “He talked of The Princess with something of regret, of its fine blank verse, and the many good things in it: 'but,' said he, 'though truly original, it is, after all, only a medley'.”

Tennyson seems to have planned the poem in …

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2474 words

Citation: Shaw, Marion. "The Princess". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 June 2003 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7455, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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