Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was a renowned English poet. He served as the Poet Laureate during a significant portion of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, he was honored with the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for "Timbuktu", one of his early works.

His initial solo poetry collection, Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, published in 1830, included celebrated pieces like "Claribel" and "Mariana". Despite some critics labeling his work as overly sentimental, Tennyson's poetry gained widespread popularity, attracting attention from notable contemporaries, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Tennyson's poetry, noted for its medieval themes and vivid imagery, greatly influenced the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was adept at crafting short lyrics, with "Break, Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears", and "Crossing the Bar" being among his acclaimed works.

Many of his verses drew inspiration from classical mythology, like "Ulysses" and "The Lotos-Eaters". The poem In Memoriam A.H.H. commemorates his friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet who died young. Tennyson's noteworthy blank verse works include Idylls of the King, "Ulysses", and "Tithonus". Despite his efforts in drama, his plays did not achieve significant success.

Several phrases from Tennyson's poetry have become ingrained in the English lexicon, such as "Nature, red in tooth and claw", "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", and "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield". He ranks as the ninth most quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.