Alfred Tennyson is one of the foremost poets of Victorian England and is studied today for his deeply intellectual and classic style. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1850 to his death in 1892. He was a favorite of Queen Victoria, and she even made him a baron out of respect for him and his works. Many of his poems focus on classical Greek, Roman, and Medieval mythology. One such poem is the Arthurian-inspired ballad "The Lady of Shallot." The poem centers on a mysterious woman with a curse; she can never look at the real world directly. Instead, she has to look through a mirror and enjoy the world through others. Yet when she sees the handsome Lancelot in the mirror, she turns around to see him in person. This action ultimately causes her death, as she disobeyed her curse. Another work penned by Tennyson is "Ulysses," which many other poets and thinkers have called the most perfect and most complex poem ever written. Tennyson wrote the epic in blank verse as the Roman hero Ulysses muses about his discontent while returning to his kingdom of Ithaca. These two and many other great works are contained in the collection of "The Major Works."
