Ask The Puma Research Guides: Tears, Idle Tears

Tears, Idle Tears

“Tears, Idle Tears” was published in 1847 by English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in a volume of poetry titled The Princess: A Medley.   This verse (found in Part 4 of the longer work), was sung  by ” a maid” to “her harp.”  The book was intended to be a long examination of a contemporary controversy, the education of women and the establishment of female colleges.   This melancholy verse examines life from a perspective of life’s end, with memories affecting the speaker in some indefinable way.

LINCCWeb online catalog – Search Terms

Call Numbers for Browsing the Shelves

• PR 5588 (Tennyson is also found in other PR areas as well)

Circulating Books – A Selected List

• Bloom, Harold, ed. Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Bloom’s Major Poets. 1999.

                   Call Number:  PR5588 .T39 1999  

•  Buckley, Jerome Hamilton.  Tennyson: The Growth of a Poet. 1960

                   Call Number:  PR5581. B8 1965  

•  Buckner, William Earl.   The Victorian Imagination: Essays in Aesthetic Exploration. 1980.

                 Call Number:  PR463. B8  

• Flaxman, Rhoda L. Victorian Word Painting and Narrative:  Toward the blending of Genres.

                 Call Number:  PR468. P53 F5 1987  

•  Roberts, Adam (ed.)   Alfred Tennyson. : A Critical Edition of the Major Works.  2000.

                 Call Number:  PR5588.A45 2000  

Reference Materials

• Critical Survey of Poetry (Second Revised Edition) – Call Number:  REF PN1021 .C7 2003

o   Vol.7,  Pg. 3821

• Masterplots II:  Poetry Series (Revised Edition) – Call Number:  REF PN1110.5 .M37 2002

o   Vol. VII, Pg. 3759  

• Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism – Call Number:  REF PN761 .N5

o   Vol. 30, Pg. 246-248  

o   Vol. 115, Pg. 364, 366  

• Poetry for Students – Call Number:  REF PN1112 .P752 1998

o   Vol. 4, Pg. 219-231  

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• JSTOR  
• Literary Reference Center Plus  
• Literature Criticism Online 
• Literature Resources from Gale  
• Poetry & Short Story Reference Center (EBSCO) 

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Copyright 2005

Valencia  College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 11, 2021