Tennyson and Swinburne as Romantic Naturalists

The central importance of naturalistic vision of a sense of mans life as part of nature is emphasized in this study of the poetry of Tennyson and Swinburne. In tracing this vision, Professor McSweeney makes a series of qualitative distinctions leading to a revaluation of the achievements of both poets. McSweeney begins with an examination of Swinburnes critical and creative response to Tennyson, revealing Swinburnes perception of the effect that Tennysons suppression of naturalistic vision and his consequent overemphasis on morality and metaphysical speculation had on his poetry. A brief discussion of Tennysons response to Swinburne is followed by an analysis of the literary climate of the 1820s and 1830s, necessary for an understanding of the central feature of Tennysons artistic development: the complex mutation which transformed him from a wholly Romantic poet into a largely Victorian one. Tracing the development of Tennysons poetry, McSweeney examines some of the best-known works, including The Lady of Shalott, The Hesperides, The Two Voices, and The Lotos Eaters, and supplies analyses of In Memoriam and Idylls of the King. A thematic overview of Swinburnes canon generates an examination which substantiates the argument that his poetry, contrary to George Merediths opinion, possesses an internal centre. Close readings o four of the most important poems of the second half of Swinburnes career, By the North Sea, Tristram of Lynesse, A Nympholept, and The Lake of Guabe, are included. This book places the two poets in the central tradition of Romantic naturalism and will be of interest to specialists in nineteenth-century literature as well as those interested in English literature in general.