In Memoriam A.H.H. (Prologue) - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
A Solemn Invocation of Faith and Remembrance
Prologue
Strong Son of God, immortal Love,
Whom we, that have not seen thy face,
By faith, and faith alone, embrace,
Believing where we cannot prove;
Thine are these orbs of light and shade;
Thou madest Life in man and brute;
Thou madest Death; and lo, thy foot
Is on the skull which thou hast made.
Thou wilt not leave us in the dust:
Thou madest man, he knows not why,
He thinks he was not made to die;
And thou hast made him: thou art just.
[Public Domain: Excerpt from Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. Prologue; lines shortened for brevity.]
The Prologue to Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s In Memoriam A.H.H. sets the spiritual and philosophical tone for the entire poem, which was written in tribute to Tennyson’s close friend Arthur Henry Hallam. Composed in a solemn prayer-like address to the “Strong Son of God,” these lines introduce key themes of faith, doubt, and the human quest to reconcile mortal suffering with divine justice.
In this opening section, Tennyson acknowledges the mystery inherent in believing in a higher power one cannot see, illustrating the tension between faith and reason that threads throughout the larger work. By referring to the interplay of life and death, as well as humanity’s yearning for purpose, Tennyson prepares the reader for an introspective journey through grief and hope. Though the Prologue precedes the poem’s famous stanzas of elegiac mourning, it underscores Tennyson’s underlying reliance on spiritual comfort, setting the stage for reflections on love, loss, and the endurance of the human soul.
Key points
• Frames the poem with an invocation that merges faith and questioning
• Establishes the tension between religious doctrine and emotional uncertainty
• Introduces mortality, divine justice, and hope as central ideas
• Signals Tennyson’s profound sense of loss and his search for transcendence
• Serves as a spiritual overture to the larger elegy for Arthur Henry Hallam