The fact that Alfred Lord Tennyson is the ninth most frequently quoted writer in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations tells a lot about the greatness of this ingeniously prolific British poet. Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria’s reign, he was by far one of the most renowned poets of the Victorian era. A child prodigy, Tennyson showed an early interest in writing that cemented his fate for future. However, fame and recognition did not come in easy for this creatively overpowering man as Tennyson in his early years of poetry was condemned as ‘an obscure poet’. Disheartened, he did not pen a poem for nine years. The fourth decade of the 19th century turned Tennyson’s fate and thus marked the start of a legacy. Later in 1850, when Tennyson came up with ‘In Memoriam’, it became the magnum opus of his career. His career peaked to new heights and he was counted as a successor to William Wordsworth. The work also contained many of Tennyson’s most famous phrases that have become commonplaces in English Languages. Quotes that we say often like ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ or ‘Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die’ or ‘Knowledge comes, but Wisdom lingers’ or ‘The old order changeth, yielding place to new’ all came in from the pen of this prolific Victorian poet. Read on to explore a compilation of some of the best known quotes by Alfred Lord Tennyson, covering various aspects of life. The quotes would surely leave a lasting impression on your mind and leave you inspired.
The red rose cries, "She is near, she is near;"
And the white rose weeps, "She is late;"
The larkspur listens, "I hear, I hear;"
And the lily whispers, "I wait.
