Summary: Melvyn and guests discuss one of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's greatest poem's, 'In Memoriam A.H.H.'. Written as a tribute to his best friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly and tragically at the age of 22, the poem offers an insight into Tennyson's deepest feelings of grief and loss. As well as being a heart-rending elegy, the poem also considers the new geological ideas that were coming to light at the time and the questions this knowledge raised about the history of the Earth as outlined in the Bible. Melvyn is joined by Dinah Birch, Professor of English Literature and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Liverpool University; Seamus Perry, Fellow and Tutor in English at Balliol College, University of Oxford; and Jane Wright, Lecturer in English at the University of Bristol.
