Tennyson's Treatment of Women as Revealed in His Poetry

Author

Alzonia Lucille Williams, Prairie View A&M College

Date of Award

8-1957

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Degree Discipline

English

Abstract

The writer in this study proposes to make a literary analysis of specific poems to determine Tennyson's manner of portraying women characters and to discover the influences that affected the poet's treatment of women.

It is presumed that this study will afford information for teachers and students of English. The writer hopes that the reader of the study will be motivated to make a further study of Tennyson's portrayal of other women characters. The data, are intended to provide material for comparing Tennyson's portrayal of women with other poets' portrayal of women.

The study includes a political and social background of Tennyson's treatment of women, biographical data of the poet, reverence for his mother, his interest in the Arthurian legends and classical poetry. The study includes women characters who are depicted in the following poems: The Princess, Godiva, To the Queen 1851 and The Miller's Daughter. Included also are women portrayed in The Idylls of the King, namely: Guinevere, Enid and Elaine.

In developing the study, the writer proposes to show that Tennyson in his treatment of women reveals his political and social philosophy pertinent to the problems of his day.

The writer assumes that certain influences affected Tennyson in his portrayal of women characters—reverence for his mother, his boyhood environment, his interest in romantic and classical poetry and the Industrial Revolution. It is further assumed that the effects of the above mentioned influences are apparent in the women characters that Tennyson treats.

For clarity the writer deems it necessary to define the word "Treatment" as it relates to this study. The word "Treatment" simply means Tennyson's "manner, method or way of portraying" his women characters.

In the pages that follow, the writer will discuss those poem in which women characters reveal Tennyson's political and social philosophy representative of the age in which the poet lived and wrote.

Committee Chair/Advisor

Anne L. Campbell

Committee Member

Frankie B. Ledbetter

Publisher

Prairie View A&M College

Rights

Date of Digitization

10-14-2021

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Williams, A. L. (1957). Tennyson's Treatment of Women as Revealed in His Poetry. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/529