Seeking to understand Tennyson's poetry as the work of a man concerned with making and then living up one of the most famous names in literature, Anna Barton offers close readings of major works from his early lyrics to his Arthurian Idylls. The laureate's keen sense of professional identity, Barton argues, forced him to grapple with modern concern

Anna Barton is a lecturer in English at the University of Sheffield, UK.

Contents: Introduction: 'of names'; 'General names' and 'small names': Tennyson's 2 juvenalia; Inherited names; Naming the dead; Anonymity and the responsible name; The commodified name; The names of old friends; Bibliography; Index.