Comparison between Tennyson and Browning

Victorian age the throne of Queen Victoria during 1837 to 1901 is a remarkable change in the English society as well for English literature also. The whole age is governed by 18 year old Queen noted for Its progress in Technology like Railway and Telegraph to Telephone, Economic growth with Industrial revolution, Political movement of Democracy and England became largest country which ruled over the largest area of the world. Rising conflict between Science and Religion because of Darwin's Evolution Theory and Of course these all invention and theory going to be affect Victorian literature of Charles Dicken to Tennyson and Browning

Victorian Poets

Victorian poets are also known as later nineteenth-century poets. Most of the writing of this period reflects current social, economic, and intellectual problems. The poetry of this period shows the crisis of religion and philosophy because of the development of science.

According to E.D.H. Johnson in his article "The Alien Vision of Victorian poetry" remarked that…

"Madness, Dream and Trance are the non-rational elements to convey mystery and meaning."

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Tennyson is one of the most skilled and self-conscious poets of the Victorian age. He is typical Victorian who adopted the conventional religious and social views and values of his age. His early poems were not much accepted, but gradually he sharpened his skill.

Tennyson's later poems are serious, thoughtful and musical. His poem The Idylls of the King is preferred by many people even today. In Morte D Arthur he turned Malory’s story into poetry. He did experiment with different meters. In his long poem In Memoriam he laments for the death of his friend Arthur Hallam. Tennyson’s shorter poems are generally better than longer ones. Ulysses is his most controlled and perfectly written poem which presents the heroic voice of the aged hero. The Princess is the collection of his fine lyric which shows his best mysterious and musical quality. For Tennyson it is said that....

"The dreaminess of Spenser,

The majesty of Milton,

The natural simplicity of Wordsworth,

The fantasy of Blake and Coleridge,

The melody of Keats and Shelley, and
The narrative vigor of Scott and Byron."

Robert Browning

Browning is a major Victorian poet who voiced the mood of optimism in his works. For Browning the intellect was more important than the music. His great knowledge was the result of his self-study and travels. His reputation is higher as the writer of dramatic monologue. One of his successful dramatic poems is Pippa Passes. We find many such poems in his dramas, but his natural gift was in poetry. Sometimes we notice his poetic style very difficult. It is because of his unusual knowledge of words and his strange sentence structure. Sordello is a good example of his difficult poem. The Ring and the Book is a poem based on a book that he found in Florence. Asolando is a collection of many fine poems which was published on the day of Browning death.

Difference and Similarities Between Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning

Faith in God

During victorian age Theory of Evaluation made drastic change in the way people think. There is  quite long and deep war between the faith in god and authenticity of the Darwin's theory. Richard Helmstadeter describes the crisis of faith as:

 “an intellectual and emotional upheaval, stemming from challenges to the hitoricity of the Bible, discoveries in geology and biology, and concerns about morality, or rather, the apparent lack of it, in nature. Science and religion, more precisely science and theology, were deemed to be ‘in conflict’, the battle lines clearly drawn.”

Tennyson is much more influenced by Romantic Writer, so there is a slight effect of Shelley and Keats. So Tennyson is a kind of spiritual man and believer in God. In Memoriam…

One God, One law, one element 

and one far-off divine event to 

which the whole creation moves.

Browning also had a great influence of the WiseMaker. He believed that God is the only creator, also has an ability to supervise the whole world. The life of people is also in a hands of God. He is also known as a teacher of Religion. Noteworthy list of Religious poetry of Robert Browning

• The Grammerian’s Funeral.          
• Christmas-Eve
• Easter-Day
• Cleon
• Soul
• Robbi Ben Ezar  etc.

Here is one interesting quotation of Pippa’s Song which is mentioned below,

 “God’s in his Heaven-

All’s right with the world.”

Theme of Nature

Tennyson is considered as great Victorian poet, when we inquire into root we find that his treatment of nature in his poetry is the only primary source which make him great poet. He describ nature in its extreme realism and accuracy.

His poem "Locksley Hall" give a kind of impression that speaker stand in the lap of nature. And rejuvenation of spring arouse love in the heart of speaker…

"In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin’s breast

In the Spring the wanton lapwing gets another crest.."

Browning is also known as "Victorian Donne" According to Browning God created Nature for the joy as he is interested in creativity, but before Man was born, God and Nature were alone together. In Browning’s poetry there is thoroughly and completely apartness of Nature from us.  The decay of nature in his poetry also leads to the decay of his own poetry. There is two kinds of depiction of nature in Browning poem..

• Nature for nature's sake
• Negative representation of nature

Browning used to describe nature in its totality. On one side, nature is beautiful and harmonious co-existence of calm but on the other side he also emphasis on ugliness and destructive nature of nature. Let's see one example…

"The rain set in early to-night,

The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite,

And did its worst to vex the lake:

I listened with heart fit to break."

                - "Porphyria's Lover"

Nature vs Human Nature

Tennyson used nature to make parallel line between nature and Human nature. What he wants to prove is that Human nature is the shadow of nature, mood of humans reflected in nature. The cycle of birth and death is dependent on the nature. So according to Tennyson Human nature is the reflection of nature…

"The seasons bring the flower again,

     And bring the firstling to the flock,

     And in the dusk of thee the clock

Beats out the little lives of men."

Following lines by Tennyson try make difference between Nature time(Clock time) and Human time. As in nature we can see spring in the same manner, human beings are also mortal, they are going to die one day and born again like fresh spring flowers.

Robert Browning once asked that…

"You have not a great love of Nature, 

have you?" 

He responded, "Yes, I have, but I love men and women better."

So Browning used to focus more on human character through his Dramatic monologue.  Browning fails to find in nature as spiritual significance that other poets have found. He does not view nature as a teacher 
as Wordsworth does,  nature as human 
emotions that Tennyson often found. In other words, Browning does not 
present as close a relationship between man and nature as other poets 
present. For Tennyson nature is the primary concern while for Browning nature is secondary.

Thank You....

Please Click Here...For Difference between Romanticism and Victorian Era