Abstract

In recent years there has been much focus in Tennyson studies on the poet’s Englishness. However, much less attention has been given to the equally important influence of the Celtic Nations on his poetry. The little work that has been written only touches on specific points in the poet’s long career, with most of the work focusing on his Arthurian poetry. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to create a comprehensive overview of the influence and use of Celticism, which is defined as both the study of the reputation of the Celt and the set of values and stereotypes that surround the people, in the work of Tennyson throughout his career and to explore the poet’s attitudes towards the Celt and how they shift over time through readings of his poetry. In the early phase of his career Tennyson seeks influence from the Celtic, although always to further a sense of English superiority by placing the Celt in the past in relation to the modern Saxon. What sympathy Tennyson has with the Celt is absent in much of his Arthurian poetry, which is designed to promote Saxon domination over the British Isles. This changes later in his career when, driven by threats to the stability of the British Empire, the poet begins to explore a parental relationship where the Saxon teaches the Celt the Saxonist values of stoicism and rationality. However, there is also a sense that the Saxon can learn how to be more Creative and Romantic from the Celt. This places Tennyson alongside the likes of Matthew Arnold as an important figure who can help modern readers understand Nineteenth Century Celticism.