Conclusion - Analysis

Introduction

Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Conclusion" presents a resigned but peaceful speaker on the verge of death. The tone moves from sorrowful remembrance to calm acceptance, with increasing spiritual assurance. Repetition and pastoral imagery create a steadying, intimate mood.

Relevant background

Written in Victorian England, Tennyson's poetry often reflects the era's anxieties about faith and mortality; here the voice combines personal loss with Christian consolation, typical of his engagement with grief and belief.

Main theme: Mortality and acceptance

The poem centres on dying with equanimity: lines like "sweeter far is death than life" and "So now I think my time is near. I trust it is." show the speaker's movement from earlier fear to acceptance, using plain speech to render death as a familiar, almost domestic event.

Main theme: Faith and consolation

Religious imagery and ritual soothe the speaker. The clergyman's counsel—"words of peace"—and references to Christ "Him that died for me" transform anxiety into hope of a blessed afterlife: "For ever and for ever, all in a blessed home".

Main theme: Domestic love and communal bonds

Family attachments anchor the speaker: repeated direct addresses to mother, Effie, and Robin humanize the farewell. Even as the speaker anticipates transcendence, concern for relatives ("Effie you must comfort her") keeps the scene tender and relational.

Symbols and imagery

Pastoral images—lambs, violets, fields, morning light—link earthly beauty to spiritual promise: the "new violet" and "young lamb's voice" echo innocence and renewal. The recurring motif of music on the wind functions as a death-bell and summons: the thrice-heard music becomes a clear sign of departure. The rising sun and journey "to Heaven and die among the stars" merge natural cycles with the soul's ascent.

Ambiguity and interpretation

The poem leaves a subtle ambiguity about agency: the speaker awaits a sign but also actively interprets it as personal destiny ("It’s not for them: it’s mine"). This raises an open question about how much comfort comes from external ritual versus inward readiness.

Conclusion

"Conclusion" reconciles earthly attachment and Christian hope through calm imagery and direct voice. Tennyson crafts a farewell that is both intimate and universal, turning personal dying into a peaceful affirmation of faith and love.