Form and structure of ‘In Memorium’
The poem ‘In Memorium’ by Alfred Tennyson serves as a deep and detailed exploration of loss and grief, also discussing personal matters of male friendship and comradeship. The title ‘In Memorium’ means in memory of, clearly indicating that this is going to be a poem discussing the bereavement of someone, this person suggested to be the ‘A.H.H’ in the title which are the initials of someone’s name. Furthermore, the roman numerals ‘’MDCCCXXXIII’ after ‘OBIT’ are the year of this person’s death, 1933, with ‘OBIT’ also standing for obituary which is a tribute written for someone after their death. This detail all in the title of the poem indicates to the reader that this is someone who Tennyson was particularly close to, with the layout of the title in some of the original publications resembling a gravestone being a particularly prominent feature. The poem is in the form of an elegy which is a poem about the loss of a loved one, immediately emphasising the themes of pain and loss. There is a monotonous regular meter and rhyme scheme, with each line being octosyllabic and iambic tetrameter with 4 sets of iambs. This repetitive, structured rhythm can be said to echo the vital processes within the body such as breathing or a beating heart. This is representative of the functions which force the poet speaker to keep him going and continue living, despite an overwhelming grief. The slight deviation from the otherwise consistent structure in the second stanza disrupts the monotony of the rhythm, perhaps showing the inconsistency of grief as there is no mechanic or structured way of experiencing it. Some may consider it almost strange that, although this poem was written over a period of seventeen years, the structure is consistent throughout. This reflects to the reader that Tennyson was regularly trying to keep the grief of this person