Harold: A Drama: "A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies."

By Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6th, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, the fourth of twelve children. Most of Tennyson's early education was under the direction of his father, although he did spend four unhappy years at a nearby grammar school. He left home in 1827 to join his elder brothers at Trinity College, Cambridge, more to escape his father than a desire for serious academic work. At Trinity he was living for the first time among young men of his own age who knew little of his problems. He was delighted to make new friends; he was handsome, intelligent, humorous, a gifted impersonator and soon at the center of those interested in poetry and conversation. That same year, he and his brother Charles published Poems by Two Brothers. Although the poems in the book were of teenage quality, they attracted the attention of the “Apostles," a select undergraduate literary club led by Arthur Hallam. The “Apostles” provided Tennyson with friendship and confidence. Hallam and Tennyson became the best of friends; they toured Europe together in 1830 and again in 1832. Hallam’s sudden death in 1833 greatly affected the young poet. The long elegy In Memoriam and many of Tennyson’s other poems are tributes to Hallam. In 1830, Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical and in 1832 he published a second volume entitled simply Poems. Some reviewers condemned these books as “affected” and “obscure.” Tennyson, stung by the reviews, would not publish another book for nine years. In 1836, he became engaged to Emily Sellwood. When he lost his inheritance on a failed investment in 1840, the engagement was cancelled. In 1842, however, Tennyson’s Poems [in two volumes] was a tremendous critical and popular success. In 1850, with the publication of In Memoriam, Tennyson’s reputation was pre-eminent. He was also selected as Poet Laureate in succession to Wordsworth and, to complete a wonderful year, he married Emily Sellwood. At the age of 41, Tennyson had established himself as the most popular poet of the Victorian era. The money from his poetry [at times exceeding 10,000 pounds per year] allowed him to purchase a home in the country and to write in relative seclusion. His appearance—a large and bearded man, he regularly wore a cloak and a broad brimmed hat—enhanced his notoriety. In 1859, Tennyson published the first poems of Idylls of the Kings, which sold more than 10,000 copies in a fortnight. In 1884, he accepted a peerage, becoming Alfred Lord Tennyson. On October 6th, 1892, an hour or so after midnight, surrounded by his family, he died at Aldworth. It is said that the moonlight was streaming through the window and Tennyson himself was holding open a volume of Shakespeare. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Copyright Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781785438523

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) was a British poet. Born into a middle-class family in Somersby, England, Tennyson began writing poems with his brothers as a teenager. In 1827, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, joining a secret society known as the Cambridge Apostles and publishing his first book of poems, a collection of juvenile verse written by Tennyson and his brother Charles. He was awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal in 1829 for his poem “Timbuktu” and, in 1830, published Poems Chiefly Lyrical, his debut individual collection. Following the death of his father in 1831, Tennyson withdrew from Cambridge to care for his family. His second volume of poems, The Lady of Shalott (1833), was a critical and commercial failure that put his career on hold for the next decade. That same year, Tennyson’s friend Arthur Hallam died from a stroke while on holiday in Vienna, an event that shook the young poet and formed the inspiration for his masterpiece, In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850). The poem, a long sequence of elegiac lyrics exploring themes of loss and mourning, helped secure Tennyson the position of Poet Laureate, to which he was appointed in 1850 following the death of William Wordsworth. Tennyson would hold the position until the end of his life, making his the longest tenure in British history. With most of his best work behind him, Tennyson continued to write and publish poems, many of which adhered to the requirements of his position by focusing on political and historical themes relevant to the British royal family and peerage. An important bridge between Romanticism and the Pre-Raphaelites, Tennyson remains one of Britain’s most popular and influential poets.

Book preview

Harold: A Drama by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6th, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, the fourth of twelve children.

Most of Tennyson's early education was under the direction of his father, although he did spend four unhappy years at a nearby grammar school. He left home in 1827 to join his elder brothers at Trinity College, Cambridge, more to escape his father than a desire for serious academic work. At Trinity he was living for the first time among young men of his own age who knew little of his problems. He was delighted to make new friends; he was handsome, intelligent, humorous, a gifted impersonator and soon at the center of those interested in poetry and conversation.

That same year, he and his brother Charles published Poems by Two Brothers. Although the poems in the book were of teenage quality, they attracted the attention of the Apostles, a select undergraduate literary club led by Arthur Hallam. The Apostles provided Tennyson with friendship and confidence. Hallam and Tennyson became the best of friends; they toured Europe together in 1830 and again in 1832. Hallam’s sudden death in 1833 greatly affected the young poet. The long elegy In Memoriam and many of Tennyson’s other poems are tributes to Hallam.

In 1830, Tennyson published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical and in 1832 he published a second volume entitled simply Poems. Some reviewers condemned these books as affected and obscure. Tennyson, stung by the reviews, would not publish another book for nine years.

In 1836, he became engaged to Emily Sellwood. When he lost his inheritance on a failed investment in 1840, the engagement was cancelled.

In 1842, however, Tennyson’s Poems [in two volumes] was a tremendous critical and popular success. In 1850, with the publication of In Memoriam, Tennyson’s reputation was pre-eminent. He was also selected as Poet Laureate in succession to Wordsworth and, to complete a wonderful year, he married Emily Sellwood.

At the age of 41, Tennyson had established himself as the most popular poet of the Victorian era. The money from his poetry [at times exceeding 10,000 pounds per year] allowed him to purchase a home in the country and to write in relative seclusion. His appearance—a large and bearded man, he regularly wore a cloak and a broad brimmed hat—enhanced his notoriety. 

In 1859, Tennyson published the first poems of Idylls of the Kings, which sold more than 10,000 copies in a fortnight. In 1884, he accepted a peerage, becoming Alfred Lord Tennyson.

On October 6th, 1892, an hour or so after midnight, surrounded by his family, he died at Aldworth.  It is said that the moonlight was streaming through the window and Tennyson himself was holding open a volume of Shakespeare.

He was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Index of Contents

DEDICATION

SHOW-DAY AT BATTLE ABBEY, 1876.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ACT I

SCENE I―LONDON. THE KING'S PALACE.

SCENE II―IN THE GARDEN. THE KING'S HOUSE NEAR LONDON. SUNSET.

ACT II

SCENE I―SEASHORE. PONTHIEU. NIGHT.

SCENE II―BAYEUX. PALACE.

ACT III

SCENE I―THE KING'S PALACE. LONDON.

SCENE II―IN THE GARDEN. THE KING'S HOUSE NEAR LONDON.

ACT IV

SCENE I―IN NORTHUMBRIA.

SCENE II―A PLAIN. BEFORE THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD-BRIDGE.

SCENE III―AFTER THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD-BRIDGE. BANQUET.

ACT V

SCENE I―A TENT ON A MOUND, FROM WHICH CAN BE SEEN THE FIELD OF SENLAC.

SCENE II―FIELD OF THE DEAD. NIGHT.

ALFRED LORD TENNYSON – A SHORT BIOGRAPHY

ALFRED LORD TENNYSON – A CONCISE BIBLIOGRAPHY

TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON. LORD LYTTON, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA.

My Dear Lord Lytton,―After old-world records―such as the Bayeux tapestry and the Roman de Rou,―Edward Freeman's History of the Norman Conquest, and your father's Historical Romance treating of the same times, have been mainly helpful to me in writing this Drama. Your father dedicated his 'Harold' to my father's brother; allow me to dedicate my 'Harold' to yourself.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

SHOW-DAY AT BATTLE ABBEY, 1876.

A garden here―May breath and bloom of spring―

The cuckoo yonder from an English elm

Crying 'with my false egg I overwhelm

The native nest:' and fancy hears the ring

Of harness, and that deathful arrow sing,

And Saxon battleaxe clang on Norman helm.

Here rose the dragon-banner of our realm:

Here fought, here fell, our Norman-slander'd king.

O Garden blossoming out of English blood!

O strange hate-healer Time! We stroll and stare

Where might made right eight hundred years ago;

Might, right? ay good, so all things make for good―

But he and he, if soul be soul, are where

Each stands full face with all he did below.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

KING EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.

STIGAND, created Archbishop of Canterbury by the Antipope Benedict.

ALDRED, Archbishop of York.

THE NORMAN BISHOP OF LONDON.

HAROLD, Earl of Wessex, afterwards King of England, Son of Godwin

TOSTIG, Earl of Northumbria, Son of Godwin

GURTH, Earl of East Anglia, Son of Godwin

LEOFWIN, Earl of Kent and Essex, Son of Godwin

WULFNOTH

COUNT WILLIAM OF NORMANDY.

WILLIAM RUFUS

WILLIAM MALET, a Norman Noble.

EDWIN, Earl of Mercia, Son of Alfgar of Mercia

MORCAR, Earl of Northumbria after Tostig, Son of Alfgar of Mercia

GAMEL, a Northumbrian Thane.

GUY, Count of Ponthieu.

ROLF, a Ponthieu Fisherman.

HUGH MARGOT, a Norman Monk.

OSGOD and ATHELRIC, Canons from Waltham.

THE QUEEN, Edward the Confessor's Wife, Daughter of Godwin.

ALDWYTH, Daughter of Alfgar and Widow of Griffyth, King of Wales.

EDITH, Ward of King Edward.

Courtiers, Earls and Thanes, Men-at-Arms, Canons of Waltham,

Fishermen, etc.

ACT I

SCENE I―LONDON. THE KING'S PALACE.

A comet seen through the open window.

ALDWYTH, GAMEL, COURTIERS talking together.

FIRST COURTIER

Lo! there once more―this is the seventh night!

Yon grimly-glaring, treble-brandish'd scourge of England!

SECOND COURTIER

Horrible!

FIRST COURTIER

Look you, there's a star

That dances in it as mad with agony!

THIRD COURTIER

Ay, like a spirit in Hell who skips and flies

To right and left, and cannot scape the flame.

SECOND COURTIER

Steam'd upward from the undescendable

Abysm.

FIRST COURTIER

Or floated downward from the throne

Of God Almighty.

ALDWYTH

Gamel, son of Orm,

What thinkest thou this means?

GAMEL

War, my dear lady!

ALDWYTH

Doth this affright thee?

GAMEL

Mightily, my dear lady!

ALDWYTH

Stand by me then, and look upon my face,

Not on the comet.

[Enter MORCAR

Brother! why so pale?

MORCAR

It glares in heaven, it flares upon the Thames,

The people are as thick as bees below,

They hum like bees,―they cannot speak―for awe;

Look to the skies, then to the river, strike

Their hearts, and hold their babies up