A century ago Tennyson had begun to be dismissed as a poet whose work embodied everything the modern world was looking to leave behind. He still seems to readers to embody the substance of the Victorian era more fully than any other poet—but nowadays that is counted in his favor. Critics continue to find layers of complexity in poems once thought simplistic—while appreciating with fresh ears Tennyson’s aural mastery.
This new edition includes the two long poems In Memoriam and Maud: A Monodrama in their entirety, all the short poems for which Tennyson remains famous, and a generous selection of his lesser-known poetry, together with a concise introduction to the poet and his work, and substantial headnotes for In Memoriam, Maud, and Idylls of the King. Unlike other editions that provide a selection of Tennyson’s work, this one includes both marginal glosses of obscure or archaic words and phrases, and extensive annotations at the bottom of each page. Appendices of visual material are also included.
Comments
“Thoughtfully selected and carefully annotated. The accompanying set of images is beautiful.” — Charles LaPorte, University of Washington
“This is an excellent teaching edition, with a lucid introduction and helpful headnotes to the generous selection of longer poems included. It gives a good sense of the trajectory of Tennyson’s career and of the historical backdrop against which it took place. The footnotes and marginal word-glosses are easy to negotiate and judiciously chosen to aid comprehension of the poems rather than put forth an interpretive agenda.” — Stefanie Markovits, Yale University
“This concise collection of Tennyson’s best-loved poems will be a standard choice for students and general readers of poetry. The attractive, user-friendly volume features helpful annotations, appendices, and illustrations that will help readers understand Tennyson’s importance as Queen Victoria's Poet Laureate from 1850 until his death in 1892. The volume features carefully-chosen poems from Tennyson’s prolific career, without sacrificing the unity of important longer works such as In Memoriam.” — Kathryn Ledbetter, Texas State University
