Divining Desire

This study examines Tennyson''s portrayals of the erotic and creative impulses, reading the poet''s ubiquitous lover-artists as tropes that figure the desire for transcending the state of being human, a condition of personal fragmentation and limited knowledge. Ostensibly seeking to fulfill erotic wishes, construct utopias, or create grand artistic works, Tennyson''s characters engage in a fundame...