Question

A common motif in the poetry of this unit is death. How do the various poets address the element of death? How is death used as a motif? Use examples from at least three of the poems studied to show how death is expressed as a motif throughout these pieces of literature. Use the following list to recall the poems studied in this unit:
"The Lady of Shalott" – Tennyson
"Ulysses" – Tennyson
In Memoriam, A.H.H. – Tennyson
"Crossing the Bar" – Tennyson
"My Last Duchess" – Robert Browning
"Sonnet 43" – Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Pied Beauty" – Hopkins
"Spring and Fall" –Hopkins
"Dover Beach" –Arnold
"Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?" –Hardy

Answer 1

The answer to your questions will be summed up into one paragraph.
This is:
The great poets commonly take up the subject of death in their works, but it is rare to see a great poet treat death in such a sustained and deeply personal way as Tennyson does. Many of his greatest works were written in the aftermath of the death of his closest friend, Arthur Henry Hallam.