Poet
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
English poet · 1809–1892
Crossing the BarThe EagleIn Memoriam
Tennyson was Poet Laureate for 42 years — the official voice of Victorian Britain. In Memoriam, his long elegy for a friend who died young, gave English its most quoted line of consolation: "'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved at all."
"Crossing the Bar," written in his eighties about facing death as a calm sea-crossing, was placed at the end of every collection of his work at his request.
22 poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Full text, free to read. Each poem records its source and display decision.
Crossing the Bar
Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1889
Sunset and evening star,And one clear call for me!And may there be no moaning of the bar,
17 lines · lyric
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1854
Half a league, half a league,Half a league onward,All in the valley of Death
55 lines · narrative
- A FarewellFlow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,…16 lines
- And ask ye why these sad tears stream?‘Te somnia nostra reducunt.’…26 lines
- Cradle SongWhat does little birdie say…16 lines
- Home They Brought Her Warrior DeadHome they brought her warrior dead:…16 lines
- In Memoriam 121: Sad Hesper o'er the buried sunSad Hesper o'er the buried sun…20 lines
- In Memoriam 3: O Sorrow, cruel fellowshipO Sorrow, cruel fellowship,…16 lines
- In Memoriam 44: How fares it with the happy dead?How fares it with the happy dead?…16 lines
- In Memoriam 67: When on my bed the moonlight fallsWhen on my bed the moonlight falls,…16 lines
- In Memoriam 7: Dark house, by which once more I standDark house, by which once more I stand…12 lines
- In Memoriam 78: Again at Christmas did we weaveAgain at Christmas did we weave…20 lines
- In Memoriam 82: I wage not any feud with DeathI wage not any feud with Death…16 lines
- Move Eastward, Happy EarthMove eastward, happy earth, and leave…12 lines
- O Beauty, Passing Beauty!O beauty, passing beauty! Sweetest sweet!…14 lines
- Of Old Sat Freedom on the HeightsOf old sat Freedom on the heights,…24 lines
- SpringBirds' love and birds' song…16 lines
- The FlowerOnce in a golden hour…24 lines
- The Princess: A Medley: Home they Brought her Warrior DeadHome they brought her warrior dead:…16 lines
- The Revenge - A Ballad of the FleetAt Flores in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay,…40 lines
- Break, Break, BreakBreak, break, break,…16 lines
- Crossing the BarSunset and evening star,…17 lines
- The Charge of the Light BrigadeHalf a league, half a league,…55 lines
- The EagleHe clasps the crag with crooked hands;…6 lines