Alfred Lord Tennyson: The Influence of His Cambridge Years 1828-1830

Abstract

At Cambridge the poet made two important connections which may have had significant influences upon his later development as a poet. During this period he made the acquaintance of Arthur Henry Hallam, without whose friendship the world would never have seen the production of Tennyson's most famous work In Memoriam. He also became a member of a rather exclusive discussion group called "the Apostles" which is often credited with influencing or even causing the shift in Tennyson's poetry from the lyric to the didactic. I propose to examine how and when these associations between the poet, Arthur Hallam and the Apostles occurred and two different opinions as to their significance.