English author, a prominent representative of the Victorian era in poetry. Tennyson's works were melancholic and reflected the moral and intellectual values of his time, making them particularly vulnerable to later criticism. Lord Alfred Tennyson was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire. Alfred began writing poetry at an early age, imitating Lord Byron. Tennyson studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he joined the literary club "The Apostles" and met Arthur Hallam, who became his closest friend. His first books received disapproving reviews and, after their publication, 1833 collection "Poems", Tennyson did not publish his work for about 10 years. Also in 1833, Arthur Hallam suddenly died in Vienna, which was a heavy blow for Alfred. He began writing "Im Memorian" in memory of a friend. The work took 17 years. A revised and revised collection of poems, including "The Lady of Shalott", "Morte d'Arthur", "Ulysses", appeared in 1842 as two-volume work and created Tennyson’s reputation as a writer. Subsequently, Alfred Tennyson’s life proceeded quite calmly. In the 70s of the 19th century, Tennyson wrote several plays. He was created a baron in 1884. Tennyson died at Eldworth on 6 October 1892 and was buried in Westminster Abbey among the poets. Very soon he became the main target of attacks by many English and American poets, who saw in him a representative of limited patriotism and sentimentality. Even later, critics began to praise Tennyson again. T.S. T. S. Eliot called him "the great master of meter and melancholy" and the most sensitive English poet since Milton.