A Critical Analysis of Tension's in Memorial A. H. H.
A Critical Analysis of Tension 's In Memorial A. H. H.
During the Victorian Period, long held and comfortable religious beliefs fell under great scrutiny. An early blow to these beliefs came from the
Utilitarian, followers of Jeremy Bantam, in the form of a test by reason of many of the long-standing institutions of England, including the church. When seen through the eyes of reason, religion became "merely an outmoded superstition"
(Ford & Christ 896). If this were not enough for the faithful to contend with, the torch of doubt was soon passed to the scientists. Geologists were publishing the results of their studies which concluded that the Earth was far older than the biblical accounts would have it (Ford & Christ 897). Astronomers were extending humanity 's knowledge of stellar distances, and Natural Historians such as Charles Darwin were swiftly building theories of evolution that defied the Old Testament version of creation (Ford & Christ 897). God seemed to be dissolving before a panicked England 's very eyes, replaced by the vision of a cold, mechanistic universe that cared little for our existence. Alfred, Lord Tennyson was painfully aware of the implications of such a universe, and he struggled with his own doubts about the existence of God. We glimpse much of his struggles in the poem In Memorial A. H. H., written in memory of his deceased friend, Arthur Hallam. The poem seemed to be cathartic for Tennyson, for through its writing he not only found an outlet for his grief over Hallam 's death, but also managed to regain the faith which seemed at times to have abandoned him. Tennyson regained and firmly reestablished his faith through the formation of the idea that God is reconciled with the mechanistic universe through a divine plan of evolution, with Hallam as the potential link to a greater race of humans yet to come. In the first of many lyric units, Tennyson 's faith in God and Jesus seems strong. He speaks of "Believing where we
During the Victorian Period, long held and comfortable religious beliefs fell under great scrutiny. An early blow to these beliefs came from the
Utilitarian, followers of Jeremy Bantam, in the form of a test by reason of many of the long-standing institutions of England, including the church. When seen through the eyes of reason, religion became "merely an outmoded superstition"
(Ford & Christ 896). If this were not enough for the faithful to contend with, the torch of doubt was soon passed to the scientists. Geologists were publishing the results of their studies which concluded that the Earth was far older than the biblical accounts would have it (Ford & Christ 897). Astronomers were extending humanity 's knowledge of stellar distances, and Natural Historians such as Charles Darwin were swiftly building theories of evolution that defied the Old Testament version of creation (Ford & Christ 897). God seemed to be dissolving before a panicked England 's very eyes, replaced by the vision of a cold, mechanistic universe that cared little for our existence. Alfred, Lord Tennyson was painfully aware of the implications of such a universe, and he struggled with his own doubts about the existence of God. We glimpse much of his struggles in the poem In Memorial A. H. H., written in memory of his deceased friend, Arthur Hallam. The poem seemed to be cathartic for Tennyson, for through its writing he not only found an outlet for his grief over Hallam 's death, but also managed to regain the faith which seemed at times to have abandoned him. Tennyson regained and firmly reestablished his faith through the formation of the idea that God is reconciled with the mechanistic universe through a divine plan of evolution, with Hallam as the potential link to a greater race of humans yet to come. In the first of many lyric units, Tennyson 's faith in God and Jesus seems strong. He speaks of "Believing where we
Cited: Ford, George H. and Carol T. Christ. "The Victorian Age". The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M. H. Abrams. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1993. (pps. 891-910). Tennyson, Alfred, Lord. In Memoriam A. H. H.. Ed. M. H. Abrams. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1993. (pps. 1084-1133).