In Memoriam A. H. H.

Composed by Alfred Tennyson as a requiem for his college friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1833, In Memoriam A. H. H. is a poem written over a seventeen year period and completed in 1849. Widely considered as one of the greatest poems of the Victorian era it is a richly lyrical work which meditates on the search for hope in the wake of a great loss. The length of this work and the period of time in which Tennyson took to complete it speaks volumes as to the personal impact of the loss of such a close friend. Central to this work is an examination of death and spirituality as part of the grieving process. Tennyson’s psyche can be seen transforming through the course of this work. What begins as a spirit filled with doubt and despair transforms into one of faith and hope by the end of the work. In Memoriam A. H. H. is a powerful examination of death and loss, one in which the author exposes a very personal process of how he dealt with the loss of one of his closest friends.