Tennyson as a representative poet of his age.

His praise for his own country is the expression of a
Victorian patriot who considered his country superior to other countries of the world.
Speaking of England Tennyson says:

“It is the
land that free men till,

That sober-suited freedom
chose,

The land where girt with friends and
foes.

A man may speak the thing he
will,

A land of settled
government,

A land of just and old
renown.”

Tennyson is essentially a Victorian in his concept
of love and his high regard for domestic virtues. In his attitude towards women he is
also a true Victorian. The Victorians did not approve of women’s  struggle for rights of
equality with men. It was thought that they were created for looking after the
house-hold. Tennyson presents this faith in “The
Princes”.

Coming to the subject of Love and Sex, the
Victorians condemned illegal gratification of the sex urge. Tennyson reflects them in
his love-poems that true love can be found no where except a married life. He con not
even contemplate the possibility of  any relation between man and woman other than the
conjugal. Thus, he idealises married life which we can find in “The Miller’s
Daughter”.

The Victorians who upheld moral virtues in
domestic life were moralists at heart. They had a particular fascination for moralizing
and teaching lessons of morality to the younger generation. In this respect, Tennyson is
the mouthpiece of the Victorians. In his poetry, there is a strong feeling for moral
preaching and ethical edification. He is a moralist giving to his readers the proper
guidance for the wise conduct of life. He also turned to the Greek legends not so much
for the sake of their beauty of their ethical significance. The legendary “Ulysses”
imparts the message of action and urges the readers.

Thus,
Tennyson’s poetry is historically interesting on the social and political sides, it is
at the same time, even more important as a record of the intellectual and spiritual life
of the time. Tennyson presented all the essential features of Victorian life, the ideas
and tastes in his poetry and for this reason we can rightly call him the most
representative literary man of the Victorian era as W.J. Long has said
earlier.