{"id":679,"date":"2024-09-29T00:17:09","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T00:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/?p=679"},"modified":"2025-09-21T01:36:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T01:36:19","slug":"the-kraken-by-lord-alfred-tennyson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/the-kraken-by-lord-alfred-tennyson\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kraken by Lord Alfred Tennyson"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-dominant-color=\"345052\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1600\/900;--dominant-color: #345052;\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-66050 not-transparent lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken.jpg\" alt=\"The Kraken by Lord Alfred Tennyson\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/10\/The-Kraken-1536x864.webp 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Kraken<br \/>\nby Lord Alfred Tennyson<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">(1809-1892)<\/p>\n<p>Below the thunders of the upper deep,<br \/>\nFar, far beneath in the abysmal sea,<br \/>\nHis ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep<br \/>\nThe Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee<br \/>\nAbout his shadowy sides; above him swell<br \/>\nHuge sponges of millennial growth and height;<br \/>\nAnd far away into the sickly light,<br \/>\nFrom many a wondrous and secret cell<br \/>\nUnnumber&#8217;d and enormous polypi<br \/>\nWinnow with giant arms the lumbering green.<br \/>\nThere hath he lain for ages, and will lie<br \/>\nBattening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep,<br \/>\nUntil the latter fire shall heat the deep;<br \/>\nThen once by man and angels to be seen,<br \/>\nIn roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.<\/p>\n<h3>Bio<\/h3>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) was a prominent British poet of the Victorian era. Here&#8217;s a brief biography:<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Alfred Tennyson was born on August 6, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England. He was the fourth of twelve children in a rector&#8217;s family. Tennyson showed an early aptitude for writing, composing a 6,000-line epic poem at the age of twelve.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he joined a group of intellectuals known as the &#8220;Apostles.&#8221; His first collection of poems, published with his brother Charles, appeared in 1827.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Tennyson&#8217;s career as a poet took off in the 1830s and 1840s with works like &#8220;The Lady of Shalott&#8221; and &#8220;Ulysses.&#8221; His collection &#8220;Poems&#8221; (1842) established him as the leading poet of his generation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">In 1850, Tennyson was appointed Poet Laureate, succeeding William Wordsworth. That same year, he married Emily Sellwood, with whom he had two sons. His long poem &#8220;In Memoriam A.H.H.&#8221; (1850), written in memory of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, became one of his most famous works.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Other notable poems include &#8220;The Charge of the Light Brigade&#8221; and &#8220;Idylls of the King.&#8221; Tennyson was known for his command of melody, rich descriptive power, and ability to blend social commentary with romantic imagery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">He was made a baron in 1884, becoming the first British writer elevated to the peerage for his literary work alone. Tennyson died on October 6, 1892, at the age of 83, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the most popular British poets in history.<\/p>\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\n<p>&#8220;The Kraken&#8221; by Lord Alfred Tennyson is a sonnet that vividly describes a mythical sea creature sleeping in the depths of the ocean. The poem paints a picture of an ancient, enormous being resting in the abyssal darkness, far below the surface storms. Around the Kraken, strange and massive sea life flourishes, including huge sponges and giant polyps. The creature has remained in this state for ages, feeding on sea worms in its sleep. The poem concludes with a prophetic vision: the Kraken will rise to the surface only at the end of times, when the world is consumed by fire. In this final moment, it will be seen by humans and angels alike, only to die as it reaches the surface. Tennyson&#8217;s work blends elements of myth, natural wonder, and apocalyptic imagery to create a haunting portrait of a legendary sea monster and its ultimate fate.<\/p>\n<h3>Guided Questions<\/h3>\n<p class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap break-words\">Here are 10 guided questions for &#8220;The Kraken&#8221; by Lord Alfred Tennyson:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"-mt-1 list-decimal space-y-2 pl-8\">\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How does Tennyson create a sense of depth and vastness in the opening lines of the poem?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">What does the phrase &#8220;ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep&#8221; suggest about the Kraken&#8217;s state of existence?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How does the imagery of &#8220;faintest sunlights&#8221; and &#8220;shadowy sides&#8221; contribute to the atmosphere of the poem?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">What might the &#8220;huge sponges of millennial growth and height&#8221; symbolize in the context of the poem?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How does Tennyson use sound and rhythm to enhance the description of the Kraken&#8217;s underwater world?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">What is the significance of the phrase &#8220;secret cell&#8221; in describing the Kraken&#8217;s habitat?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How does the poet&#8217;s use of the word &#8220;Battening&#8221; contribute to our understanding of the Kraken&#8217;s existence?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">What does the line &#8220;Until the latter fire shall heat the deep&#8221; suggest about the Kraken&#8217;s fate?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How does the poem&#8217;s final line (&#8220;In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die&#8221;) create a sense of climax and resolution?<\/li>\n<li class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\">How might the Kraken be interpreted as a metaphor for hidden knowledge or undiscovered aspects of nature?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kraken by Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) Below the thunders of the upper deep, Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee About his shadowy sides; above him swell Huge sponges of millennial growth and height; And far away into the sickly light, From many&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,418,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1800s","category-halloween-poems","category-tennyson"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/poemeveryday\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}