Tennyson’s “Maud” and Its Critical, Cultural and Literary Contexts

This study explores the major artistic and cultural influences that gave life to, and informed the reception of, the work Tennyson considered the zenith of his poetic career: Maud. It examines in depth its relationship with the work Tennyson himself cited as its ancestor: Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as well as the Spasmodic closet dramas to which is has been linked, and with Pre-Raphaelitism.

“It is a scholarly presentation. . . . Annotated bibliographies are a godsend for researchers. Ms. Glanville’s annotated bibliography of Maud scholarship from 1855 to the present (chapter 4) should be a must for any serious Tennyson researcher who is interested in Tennyson’s monodrama, containing as it does over 260 annotated items, including sometimes overlooked master theses and doctoral dissertations. And. . . rich in contemporaneous periodical reviews.. . . It should be a sought-for source for serious Tennyson scholars.” – William H. Scheuerle

“When he called Maud ‘a little Hamlet’ Tennsyon riddled the world; Professor Glanville is the first to appreciate the deeper meaning of the puzzle and bring it to a full solution. She draws out a host of thematic, plot and character parallels and weaves a highly convincing reading whereby the shifting narrative persona identifies alternately with the characters of Hamlet, Laertes, and Horatio. Maud is truly Hamlet in a Victorian rendering, Glanville reveals, with overtones of modern war, world-weariness, Darwinism, and Social Darwinism. This book makes a compelling argument for the validation long overdue of a work that is full of beauty and complexity.” – Nancy Jane Tyson