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Why Does Tennyson Tell The Story Of Godiva?

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Why Does Tennyson Tell The Story Of Godiva?
How does Tennyson tell the story of 'Godiva'?
In the poem 'Godiva' Alfred Lord Tennyson employs another famous mythological legend and transforms it into a story of his own. it is a narrative poem written from the perspective of an omniscient narrator whereby Tennyson has introduced political and economical aspects of Victorian society, the time in which the poem was written. The poem is written in verse paragraphs therefore making each stage of the story clearly visible. The opening of 'Godiva' is an epigraph to the poem, informing the reader of the given circumstances of the poem. Due to this we begin in Victorian Coventry which is indicated as the epigraph is written in italics. This way the reader can also see how the opening is dislocated from the rest of the poem. The significance of the narrator standing on the bridge is a clear indication of how he will soon be crossing from the Victorian era to the medieval and shift from first person narrative to an omniscient narrator. The opening line of the myth directly addresses the audience: Not only we the latest seed of Time New men that in the flying of a wheel Cry down the past, not only we...
The first sentence indicated the progress of the country due to
…show more content…
The use of direct speech throughout the poem creates a more dramatic atmosphere and a sense of immediacy: ".. If we pay, we starve!". The direct speech gives the reader a stronger sense of the story and it allows them to sympathise with the pleading mothers as their voices are heard. There are powerful descriptions used within the poem creating vivid word images for the

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