Student Question
What is a critical analysis of Tennyson's "The Deserted House"?
Quick answer:
A critical analysis of Tennyson's "The Deserted House" reveals themes of death and the afterlife, using the deserted house as a metaphor for the body left behind. The poem contrasts the lifeless house with the vibrant city, symbolizing the transition from earthly decay to heavenly peace. Tennyson's imagery emphasizes the desolation of the house, suggesting that life requires communal support to avoid decay.
Given that a critical analysis is based upon a reader's own personal response to a text, any given text will, assuredly, bring about many different responses.
In regard to Tennyson's poem "The Deserted House," one (in order to form a critical analysis of it, would examine the poem in its entirety.
Therefore, when reading the text,one must pay attention to what Tennyson is saying and how he is saying it. For each reader, the message could be dramatically different.
The poem speaks to the fact that the house, based upon the imagery provided, is dark and deserted. This is illustrated by the use of terminology used. The house is described as dark with no light or mummers. The house is naked and vacant. Therefore, the reader has no doubt that no one is about and the house has been left to "fall again to ground."
Tennyson tells the reader to...
Unlock
This Answer NowStart your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
leave the house, for the house has nothing to offer them. Instead, he wishes the reader to go back to the city where the mansions of the city will provide a place which is not subject to the decay the deserted house has been subjected to.
Critically, the poem offers a bleak and hopeless view of life itself. One can only assume that life in the city is far better. Given the fact that the house shows no hope for life, it would be far more assuring to live in a place where one does not need to be afraid of death.
Tennyson is successful in describing the problems associated with life away from the city. He provides a perfect picture of what happens when a home lacks the support of others around it. One could interpret that mankind needs to be surrounded by others in order to survive. Based upon the poem, without others one will only succumb to decay.
References
Can you provide a critical analysis of Tennyson's poem "The Deserted House"?
Tennyson's poem "The Deserted House" can be critically analyzed in different ways depending on the interpretation of the reader. This being said, know that this is simply my own understanding of the poem and its meaning.
This poem speaks to life on earth and death. The house in the first four stanzas represent the body that one leaves behind when they die. Upon death, the body is a simple shell. The body is then buried to return to the dust from which it was first created (Biblical reference to the giving of life to Adam). One sees this in the following lines:
Come away: no more of mirth
Is here or merry-making sound.
The house was builded of the earth,
And shall fall again to ground.
The final stanza of the poem refers to the position man will take once he is taken to heaven. It is in Heaven that one finds the "city glorious".
The poem simply speaks to the fact that once man dies he loses "life and thought". He can no longer light the body he once possessed and must move on to the afterlife where he can find the true peace.
References