Abstract
Alfred Tennyson was first and foremost a poet, and the pursuit of that skill was his only vocation. Nonetheless he did have more than a passing interest in the science, religion, and politics of the day, and these interests are manifested in his poetry. Much has been written on Tennyson's religious and scientific ideas as he spoke and wrote of them; less has been said of his political poetry and the influences which affected it. It is very likely that the poet took more interest in these other fields than in politics, and certainly his political poems on the whole are not his best work. But the significance of these works lies not so much in their lyric qualities as in their reflection of Tennyson's ideas and his times. In their illustration of patriotism and imperialism they reveal attitudes typical of the Victorian Age. They are important in a study of the poet because they verify his often compromising position. Also the fact that poetry which is pure propaganda and blatant chauvinism was written at this time is interesting in light of the literary aspirations of the age.