The Effectiveness of Tennyson's Portrayal of Loss in "Tears, Idle Tears" Inès Battah 11th Grade

In « Tears, Idle tears », the victorian poet, Lord Alfred Tennyson gives through his poem a retrospective glance back at what he has lost in the past, but also the way people might feel when faced with loss. Lord Tennyson wrote this poem after visiting an Abbey, so we could only assume that the traditionally gloomy atmosphere of such place would be the inspiration behind this poem, and that perhaps it was a way for Lord Tennyson to retrospectively wonder about his own sadness, as the tone of the speaker seems pensive, as if the reader was witnessing the speaker’s train of thought (« I know what they mean », « thinking »).

The poem’s setting is not clearly defined, the only indication is that it may have been written in fall as it is said on verse 4, « in looking on the happy autumn-fields ». Autumn is a season that usually is associated with a melancholic and dreamy atmosphere, thus putting the reader in a similar mood. Nostalgia is one of the main themes of this poem, an idea that is conveyed by the regret of fleeting time that the author seems to look back on with great regret. Indeed, time is a really recurrent element throughout the poem: every stanza ends with these words « the days that are no more » which suggests that...