Alfred, Lord Tennyson was born August 6, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. His father was a clergyman, the rector of Somersby, a profession for which he was not well suited and of which he was not fond. Tennyson was the fourth of twelve children. At an early age he showed a talent for writing, and began writing poetry by age eight. By the time he was eighteen, in 1827, he had published his first volume of poetry, Poems by Two Brothers. Though his older brothers Frederick and Charles wrote some of the poems in the book, most were by Alfred. The same year, Tennyson left home to attend Trinity College, Cambridge. There he gained recognition for his work, winning a major poetry prize.

While he was at Trinity, Tennyson became close friends with Arthur Henry Hallam, who was considered one of the school's outstanding literary talents. Hallam introduced Tennyson...