Three Elemental Steps to the Sensual Experience of Nature : Air, Water, and Earth in Alfred Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” and Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass

Abstract

Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Walt Whitman are often contrasted with one another. Tennyson was England’s Poet Laureate during the Victorian Age whose greatest theme was the past; Whitman was America’s bard of the open road, equality his grand theme. This close reading of nature imagery in “In Memoriam” and Leaves of Grass sets out to highlight the similarities between the two poets, rather than their differences. By looking at examples of the elements air, water, and earth in Tennyson and Whitman’s multi-layered use of nature this study emphasises the importance both poets give to the sensual experience of going out into the natural world. Tennyson and Whitman’s speakers face different situations and emotions, but both poets advocate this sensual experience. This thesis champions that aspect of their poetry, as it is considered integral to their nature imagery.