The Connection between Tennyson and The Lord

In the beginning section of In Memorium by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Tennyson introduces the reader to his meditative style that merges both prayer and self-reflection. Through this merge, Tennyson is recognized as a devout believer in the Lord and even a mystic who knows the Lord in "these orbs of light and shade". Tennyson continually draws a connection between humanity and God. The lord is both in the physical scenery as well as "in the knowledge we trust comes from thee" and the lord encompasses the knowledge and sadness that inhabit Tennyson. Tennyson's lord is inseparable from humanity and the earth and is even viewed as a friend who "wilt not leave us in the dust" and as a friends do, Tennyson can then speak intimately to the Lord about any issue or musing especially his melancholic sentiments.

By praying or talking to God, Tennyson is also able to muse about humanity as a whole like talking about "merit moving from man to man." This intro, a meditative musing to the Lord, sets up the rest of the poem in the same meditative melancholic style, where an interchange between prayer and self-reflection occurs and in consequence, a platform for realizations about sadness, god, and human nature is allowed. The intro also introduces the structure of the poem, having an abba quatrain stanza and moving in tetrameter. The tone is melancholic and the speaker is talking to someone rather than describing or telling a story. By having the speaker actually speaking as if in conversation, I think a deeply intimate conversation is witnessed by the reader and in this way, the poem harnesses a vast emotional power.