Poets: Inspired by Pain

I started taking a poetry class at Wyoming Seminary two weeks ago taught by Mrs. Courtney Lewis. One of the things I've learned, and one of the things I've been fascinated about is that many of the famous poets we've been learning about wrote such great poetry not because they just thought of it, but rather they were inspired by something deep inside of them: pain. I found that poetry can be used to express the complexities of the pain a person may be feeling.

We started off the week talking about Alfred Lloyd Tennyson. Tennyson lived a troubled life. His father was gentrified, and therefore did not inherit any money. His family also suffered genetically from epilepsy, which at the time was thought to be a mental illness. In fact Tennyson's brother was institutionalized because of his epilepsy. Tennyson was horrified at the prospect of becoming institutionalized. Tennyson himself suffered some hardships including the death of his best friend, a person who had a profound effect on his life, Arthur Henry Hallam. He also was plagued by the fact that he could not marry his fiance because of his financial situation.

Tennyson wrote poems such as "The Lady of Shalott", and "In Memoriam A.H.H," that can relate to some of the tough things he had to deal with in his life. "In Memoriam A.H.H.," was written by Tennyson in an effort to gain understanding and healing over his personal grief of his best friend's death. It is a very long poem written in iambic pentameter with and ABBA rhyme scheme, linking the death of Hallam to many different emotional subjects in life as well as Tennyson's struggle to cope with his death. Some of the most famous, as well as the most quoted lines of this poem are:

"I hold it true, whate'er befall;

I feel it when I sorrow most;

'Tis better to have loved and lost

Than never to have loved at all."

While I was writing the last paragraph, Tennyson's poem, though far superior, sort of reminded me of a more modern song dedicated to a young artist's coping with his favorite signer Buddy Holly's death called "American Pie," by Don McLean. In the song McLean talks about some of the same emotional subjects touched on by Tennyson, such as nostalgia, shock, fantasy and speculation. All of this is linked with his personal as well as the public's struggle with the death of such an icon, and the change brought about due to this man's death.

Similarly Tennyson writes his poem "The Lady of Shallot," which arguably can be related to he and his wife's situation. Because he is an up and coming poet he cannot afford to marry her and she must wait for him. In the poem, The Lady of Shallot is locked in her tower and must not leave, if she leaves she will be cursed and will soon die. This can be compared to the situation of Tennyson and his fiance because on the one hand both Tennyson as well as his fiance are isolated and must go without each other for a long time, and on the other hand if they stray away from their commitment to one another, they will lose the love that they have, which is as good as being dead.

Tennyson is just one example of the pain that can be laced throughout poetry. We also talked about Robert Browning this week who also had examples of poetry inspired by pain, yet I will not go into depth about him. Poetry has no rules, no regulations, and no circumstances, which can help an author cope with something that is almost too hard for anyone including poet to comprehend. Poetry can help a poet express himself as well as help him cope with the complexities of a hardship. Readers of such poetry can also relate to an author's hardship. For Example Queen Victoria read "In Memoriam A.H.H." in order to cope with the death of her husband Prince Albert. Poetry inspired by pain can turn into some of the best poetry around as exemplified by Tennyson's two poems mentioned in this post.