How does Tennyson satirize the Victorian Age in Locksley Hall?
In the poem “Locksley Hall”, Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) satires Victorian society, mostly through the unrequited love of the poem’s speaker, an unnamed soldier. Tennyson satires a male dominating society and the excessive materialistic tendency of the Victorian people through the speaker’s bitter memory.
Male Dominating Society: The speaker of the poem, an unnamed soldier, stands in front of Locksley Hall where he spent his childhood with his uncle’s family. First, he remembers the sweet time he and his cousin Amy spent loving each other.
However, the speaker’s heart fills with bitterness as Amy is no longer his. He recalls that his uncle demanded and forced Amy to marry a man with money. He believes Amy’s husband is unworthy and “a clown”. Tennyson satires a society where Amy could not reject his father being a woman. Later in the poem, the speaker also angrily argues women as weak and lesser gender.
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Excessive Materialistic Tendency: The excessive materialistic tendency is another reason for the speaker’s failure in love. Amy’s father wanted and forced her to marry a wealthy man. Tennyson depicts a society where love is of no value to money. Being an unwealthy orphan, the speaker lost his love. Moreover, the speaker envisions that future nations will become obsessed with money and commodities, and he anticipates that these nations will wage war with one another.
Hence, Tennyson portrays the past, present, and future visions of his speaker and satires the Victorian Age in his poem.
