The poem revolves around the victory of the Saxon king, Aethelstan over the allied Norse,

Scots, and StrathclydeBriton invaders under the leadership of Olaf Guthfrithson, king of Dublin
and claimant to the throne of York. The poem states that five young kings, seven of Olaf’s earls,
and countless others were killed in the greatest slaughter since the Anglo-Saxon invasions. It
also pictured how the Norsemen slithered back to Dublin in their ships while their dead sons
were being devoured by ravens and wolves. all of this, to preserve the unity under the
westSaxon dominion despite the historical importance of the battle, the site where it took was
forgotten.
His Early Life and Work about his Childhood and Family
He was the 4th child of 12 children. His parents were Rev. George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth
Fytche Tennyson. Although his father was not very wealthy, he did have a large library. Despitebeing a
child,Tennyson began writingpoetry. At age 12, he wrote a six-thousand-lineepicin imitation of Sir
Walter Scott(1771–1832). Other models were Lord Byron (1788–1824), ayyyyyyyy Bysshe Shelley (1792–
1822).

His Early Life and Work in 1827

The poem, "Poemsby TwoBrothers", was released by the three Tennyson brothers. Alfred Tennyson, in
addition, entered Trinity College, Cambridge University. He belonged to a group called the Apostles.
Tennyson's undergraduate days were a time of intellectual and political turmoil in England. The
institutions of church and state were being challenged, and the Apostles debated these issues.

His Early Life and Work in 1830

The Apostles took up the cause of a group of Spanish revolutionaries. Tennyson and Hallem, his friend,
went to the Pyreneeson on an unsuccessful mission to aid the rebels. The same year, Tennyson also
published poems, which are"Oenone" , "TheLotos-Eaters", and"Mariana in the South".

His Life and Work in 1831

His father, Rev.George Tennyson died and he left the university without taking a degree.

His Life and Work in 1832

He published “Poems” whose theme is a conflict between a selfish love of beauty and the obligation to
serve society. The collection includes“TheLady of Shalott.” . However, due to the negative reviews of this
book and the death of a close friend, Hallam, he was depressed. After and for the next10 years, he
published nothing.

His Early Life and Work in 1836

Alfred Tennyson fell in love with Emily Selwood, who met at the marriage of her sister to his brother,
George Tennyson

IN 1840

He invested what money he had inherited in a plan to make woodworking machinery.

IN 1843

He had lost his small inheritance.

His Major Literary Works In 1843

“Poems, Two Volumes” (1842)signaled a change in Tennyson's fortunes. It contained one of the several
poems that would eventually make up the” Idylls of the King.”Other poems in this collection
are“Ulysses” and“The Two Voices”. ”Poems, Two Volumes” was well received. The prime minister of
England, Sir Robert Peel Bart awarded Tennyson a pension that guaranteed him two
hundred(200)pounds a year.

His Major Literary Works in 1850

This year was the greatest year of Tennyson’sentire life. On June 1 he published Memoriam” , the long
elegy inspired by the death of his friend Arthur Hallam. Less than two weeks later he married Emily
Sellwood, with whom he had fallen in love fourteen years before.

Finally, in November, he was appointed poet laureate to succeed William Wordsworth (1770–1850).
Tennyson's years of uncertainty and financial insecurity were over. He became the highly regarded
poetic spokesman of his age.

His Major Literary Works in 1855

Although Tennyson was now settled and prosperous, his next book, ”Maud and Other Poems” (1855), is
notable for another study in sadness. Tennyson described the poem as a "little Hamlet, " a reference to
the play written by William Shakespeare(1564–1616). It almost certainly expresses some of the author's
youthful anxieties as recollected in his middle age. Of the other poems in the the1855 volume, the best-
known are “The Charge of the light brigade” and “The Odeon the death of the Duke of Wellington, ”
perhaps the greatest of the poems written by Tennyson in his capacity as poet laureate.

His Last Years

Tennyson had a long and immensely productive literary career. A chronology shows that he did
ambitious work until late in his life. In his sixties(60s) he wrote a series of historical verse plays—” Queen
Mary” (1875), “Harold” (1876), and“Becket” (1879)—on the"making of England."The plays were
intended to revive a sense of national grandeur and to remind the English of their liberation from
Roman Catholicism. Also, Tennyson translated(or"modernized") the poem, “The Battle of Brunanburh”,
in 1880, publishing it as part of his” Ballads and other poems.” In contrast to many other translations of
poetry, Tennyson's is still praised as "a faithful, sensitive, even eloquent recreation of its source.

Tennyson's last years were crowned with many honors. The widowed Queen Victoria (1819–1901)
ranked ”In Memoriam” next to the Bible as a comfort in her grief. In 1883Tennyson was awarded a
peerage. Tennyson died in Haslemere, England, on October 66, 1892. He was buried in Westminster
Abbey after a great funeral. The choir sang a musical setting for “Crossing the bar” , Tennyson'spoem
that is placed at the end of all collections of his work.
SYNOPSIS

during 928 AD, King Aethelstan's overlordship has spread throughout the vast majority of great Britain
and direct rule over all of England, because of that, he became the first rex Anglorum or the king of
english. during 934-936 ad, with their independence threatened, the Norse, Scots, and Strathclyde
Briton forged an alliance to destroy the rising power of the unity under west-Saxon dominion. King
Aethelstan gathered his army and marched north to face the invaders. the battle has commenced.
Aethelstan's men managed to breakthrough the briton shieldwall and split the allied battle line, this
caused the battle's tide to turn to the english and eventually lead to them winning the battle.
unfortunately, it cost thousands of lives on both sides, including five young kings, seven of Olaf's earls,
and countless others who were killed in the greatest slaughter since the Anglo-Saxon invasions. Despite
these unfortunate deaths, it wasn't all for naught for it preserved the unity under the west-saxon
dominion.

SYNTHESIS

The Battle of Brunanburh, which took place in 937 and is commemorated in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
for King Aethelstan's (924–39) reign, played an important role in establishing national unity under West
Saxon dominion and uniting the whole of England. The poem Battle of Brunanburh depicts how political
power has a critical part in shaping how every nation thinks and acts. How it can manipulate, direct, and
use its power to dictate decisions and actions within the people- as what is being represented on how
King Aethelstan ruled the whole of Britain. On the other hand, it is an Old English poem that is still
available in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical account of what happened in Anglo-Saxon England
between the late ninth and the middle of the twelfth century. However, there are more than twenty-
half lines recorded, the terminology is extremely conventional and the manuscripts contain variant
readings, the kind for which the authors were unfamiliar with the phrasing. Thus, they had trouble using
poetic language and were unsure of the terms. In conclusion, through this Old English poem, the
historical importance of the commemorated event can still be preserved for a long time, making it once
more known to the world.