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 — all in the public domain.
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