Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809 in Somersby, England. His family life during his childhood forced him to grow up quickly; Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children born to a mentally ill and volatile alcoholic father and an unavailing mother. His brothers also dealt in drink and drugs, and were all institutionalized at some point after a nervous breakdown, including Tennyson himself. He attended Louth Grammar School until 1820 and was tutored by his father until he began college. The young boy used writing as an escape from his unstable home life and published an informal collection of poetry with his brother titled Poems by Two Brothers in 1827.

Tennyson enrolled in Trinity College, Cambridge that same year and was immediately welcomed by the community of scholars, specifically a group of young writers called “The Cambridge Apostles.” The literary club, and in … [In Memoriam (1850), an epic poem dedicated to Hallam that earned him the title of Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom] …particular Arthur Hallam, encouraged Tennyson to write poetry and in 1830, he published Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, boosting him to a celebrity status among the students. Unfortunately, with his father’s death in 1831 came considerable financial loss, and Tennyson and his brothers were forced to leave Trinity without receiving a degree. He subsisted on an allowance from his aunt and the following year published Poems, a collection that included “The Lady of Shalott.” The collection was not well received and Tennyson recoiled from the reviews, imposing upon himself a publishing ban. Then suddenly, in 1833, his close friend Hallam died of apoplexy, leaving Tennyson weak under the pressure to hold his family and himself together.

Tennyson moved back home to Somersby that year and stayed until 1837, in the meantime proposing marriage to Emily Sellwood. After a series of Tennyson family relocations and a bad investment on Alfred’s part, their engagement was called off in 1840. Two years later, Tennyson published Poems to a much more positive response, strong enough to recognize him as one of the most important poets at that time. Poems’ success was exceeded only by his next publication, In Memoriam (1850), an epic poem dedicated to Hallam that earned him the title of Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom.  Tennyson also married Sellwood in 1850, despite his concerns about passing his epilepsy to children. His sons Hallam and Lionel lived undisturbed by the condition. . In 1855, Tennyson produced one of his best-known works, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” as a tribute to British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War.

Tennyson and his family moved to a secluded country home where the poet wrote prolifically. His later writing, including the four-volume poetry collection Idylls of the King (1859-1885) and several verse plays, dealt with the Medieval time period, specifically Arthurian legend. He also published Enoch Arden (1864) and Demeter and Other Poems (1886) before his death on October 6, 1892.  He is buried at Westminster Abbey.