Passage 102 · 1850
"In Memoriam A.H.H."
Main effectThrough anaphoric assertion, comparative infinitives, and antithetical structure, Tennyson creates syntax of hard-won wisdom—grammar that transforms grief into philosophical consolation.
Device index
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Schemes
Balanced opposition.
Repetition at beginning of clauses.
Inverted parallel structure.
Syntax
"I hold it true"—subject-verb-object-complement. Syntax asserts personal belief against doubt.
"whate'er befall"—elliptical subordinate clause (whatever may befall). Syntax admits uncertainty while maintaining conviction.
"when I sorrow most"—temporal clause with superlative. Syntax locates truth in extremity of grief.
"'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved"—comparative construction with paired infinitives. Syntax creates philosophical balance.
"to have loved and lost"—perfect infinitive emphasizes completed action. Syntax makes past experience the subject of present judgment.
"never to have loved at all"—negated infinitive with emphatic "at all." Syntax makes absence total, absolute.
Close reading
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Emphatic First Person
"I hold it true"—subject-verb-object-complement. Syntax asserts personal belief against doubt.
Subordinate Concession
"whate'er befall"—elliptical subordinate clause (whatever may befall). Syntax admits uncertainty while maintaining conviction.
Temporal Intensifier
"when I sorrow most"—temporal clause with superlative. Syntax locates truth in extremity of grief.
Comparative Infinitive Structure
"'Tis better to have loved and lost / Than never to have loved"—comparative construction with paired infinitives. Syntax creates philosophical balance.
Perfect Infinitive
"to have loved and lost"—perfect infinitive emphasizes completed action. Syntax makes past experience the subject of present judgment.
Negative Infinitive
"never to have loved at all"—negated infinitive with emphatic "at all." Syntax makes absence total, absolute.
Stylistic Effect
Through anaphoric assertion, comparative infinitives, and antithetical structure, Tennyson creates syntax of hard-won wisdom—grammar that transforms grief into philosophical consolation.