The Lotos-Eaters By Tennyson Essay -- essays research papers fc

I. IntroductionFor more years, Tennyson has attracted readers by what Edmond Gosse called"the beauty of the atmosphere which Tennyson contrives to cast most his work, moldingit in the blue mystery of twilight, in the opaline haze of sunset." He is angiotensin converting enzyme of the greatestrepresentative figures of the Victorian Age. His writing incorporates many poetical stylesand includes some of the finest idyllic poetry in the language. He is one of the few poets tohave produced acknowledged masterpieces in so many different poetic genres heimplemented perhaps the most distinguished and versatile of all the written works in theEnglish language. The first time I read The Lotus-Eaters1, I have to admit that I had a heartydislike for it. Having read The Odyssey in Literature class last year, this go acrossmed like itsreplica. It occurred to me that Tennyson was plagiarizing Homer. But when I read thepoem with greater depth, I noticed its poetic techniques, imagery, symbols, etc. It wasreally exceptional actually, although the meter didnt remain uniform. But when youthoroughly understand it, you see how it pertains and is true to life.This being the first time I had ever come close a work by Tennyson. I didnt knowanything about his life. The idea that manifested me was that when writing this poem,Tennyson was depressed and cynical. Sort of like Hamlet2 in the To be or not to besoliloquy. In one point in the poem, he says, Death is the end of the world...life all laborbe? I think he meant that life is hard to live there are so many obstacles, so many wrongturns, and you can never go back and change anything. II. Analysis of PoemA. SummaryThe poem is about the journey of Odysseus to the filth of the Lotus Eaters. Here they encounter a race of creatures known as the Lotophagi (lotus eaters). TheyLotophagi spend their days in a daze, literally. This was the effect of the lotus flower. It was a primitive version of narcotics. The Lotophagi offered the plant to Odysseus and his crew members. Some of the clique ate it. And then, they too, experienced a state of euphoria. Under these circumstances, they start speaking of staying over hereland of Lotos Eaters, and alone dream about home. They forget their wives and children only dream about them.Subsequently, the entire crew ate the lotos plant. Tennyson describes euphor... ...days at Cambridge he often did not bother to save down his compositions. We owe the first version of "The Lotos-Eaters" to Arthur Hallam, who reproduced it from Tennysons tidbits of information.IV. The Poems Place in its TimeTennyson turned to questions of death, religious faith, and immortality in a serial publication of short poems, of which The Lotus-Eaters was a part. Tennyson had a way of achieving a covenant with his public. He gave them what they wanted. For example, the poem Princess was won by the hearts of the millions because it supported the womens rights, which was one of the issues just igniting at that time. His consummately craftedverse expressed the terms of the Victorian feeling for order and harmony. Unlike Dickens, who was present in Tennesons time and a neighborly critic, Tennyson didnt seem to find an ill to society. Maybe that is why he was given the title of Lord and not Dickens. V. Bibliography1.Lord Alfred Tennyson, Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99, October 19992. The Norton Anthology of Poetry, The Lotos-Eaters, W.W. Norton & Company, refreshed York, 1997, p. 540. 3. World Wide Web-http//charon.sfsu.edu/TENNYSON/tennyson.html.