{"id":436,"date":"2023-04-14T16:38:54","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T16:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/?p=436"},"modified":"2023-04-14T16:38:54","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T16:38:54","slug":"tennyson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/2023\/04\/14\/tennyson\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclical Structure, Interchangeable Words, and Processing Feelings"},"content":{"rendered":"

As someone who loves words and the way they try to express the inexpressible, I absolutely love Alfred Tennyson\u2019s Canto V of his <\/span>In Memoriam<\/span><\/i>. The diction, cyclical structure, and juxtaposition of words in the poem perfectly encapsulates Tennyson\u2019s feelings of grief, especially how even though the experience of writing can be calming and explorative, it will never let him escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Told in three stanzas of ABBA rhymes, the structure of the canto is very simple. It is a parallel structure (split in two, with the inverse of AB to BA), and feels very monotonous and repetitive. This repeated structure, kept up throughout <\/span>In Memoriam, <\/span><\/i>speaks to its purpose as a \u201cmechanic exercise,\u201d duplicated over and over (Line 7). One could almost think of it as a Mad Libs, with the structure concrete and the words interchangeable. This cyclical structure indicates the cyclical<\/span> nature of his feelings of grief and how they\u2019re essentially inescapable for him. He keeps going around and around, writing these poems and never really moving on. However, <\/span>I think this predictable poetic structure allows for deep thought into what words are put where. The medium of words and their interchangeability allow him to safely <\/span>explore these repetitive feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, in stanza two, the use of \u201cmeasured\u201d and \u201cmechanic\u201d in lines 6 and 7 respectively, draws the two lines even closer together in meaning, in addition to the B rhymed endings of those lines. Both words imply a sort of slow, unchanging rhythm, which applies to both the content of the poem and the poem\u2019s form itself. The fact that these two words are also stacked right on top of each other on the page draws the two together. In the same stanza, Line 5 mentions the \u201cunquiet\u201d heart, while Line 8 talks about it being \u201cdull\u201d and \u201cnumbing.\u201d The juxtaposition of these two adjectives gives the poem a linear flow, showing the evolution of his feelings despite the repetitive nature of the exercise. To me, the word choice and placement of these adjectives heightens the content of the stanza itself, which speaks on how writing these poems allows Tennyson to numb the pain of his grief. The pairing of content and form really heightens the impact of this poem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, to analyze the lines of the poem itself, they reveal Tennyson\u2019s agitation at how the words can only express a small part of his grief, and yet it is soothing to write them. The poems can only ever \u201chalf reveal\u201d the depth of his feelings, and end up \u201chalf conceal[ing] the Soul within\u201d (Line 3, 4). Whatever he does, whatever he writes, there will always be something that is not, perhaps cannot, be translated onto the page. Even with the adaptability that the structure allows, any words and phrases he chooses will never reveal the entire truth. Nevertheless, this \u201cmeasured language\u201d and \u201cexercise\u201d allows him to dull the pain and perhaps even process his grief (Line 6, 7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By imagining himself in these different situations \u2013 as a lover waiting for his beloved (VII), a widower in her marriage bed (XIII), or waiting at the port for his friend to return alive (XIV) \u2013 Tennyson can explain and process his own grief through metaphors that help a reader understand. At once, it is an explanation and a discovery. And even though these will only provide an \u201coutline and no more,\u201d they are nevertheless capable of helping Tennyson in his grief (Line 12). This \u2018outline\u2019 gives shape to the complicated mess of his emotions and allows Arthur\u2019s legacy to live on.<\/span><\/p>\n

As he explains in the final stanza, the words \u201cwrap me o\u2019er\u201d and guard him \u201cagainst the cold,\u201d providing comfort and protection from the overwhelming wave of grief that is threatening to overtake him (Lines 9, 10). Even though it is painful and perhaps futile to write these poems, Tennyson says he will continue anyway, because, almost like \u201cnarcotics,\u201d he is addicted to the relief it gives him (Line 8). I think it is really interesting how Tennyson uses writing itself, specifically its structure and word choice, to explore his own feelings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As someone who loves words and the way they try to express the inexpressible, I absolutely love Alfred Tennyson\u2019s Canto V of his In Memoriam. The diction, cyclical structure, and juxtaposition of words in the poem perfectly encapsulates Tennyson\u2019s feelings of grief, especially how even though the experience of writing can be calming and explorative, … Continue reading Cyclical Structure, Interchangeable Words, and Processing Feelings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4989,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spring-2023"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4989"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}