"For Tennyson, to act is vital; there is nothing to be gained by passivity." Tennyson's poem "Godiva" tells the story of a woman named Godiva who was the wife of Lord Leofric.

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Mason Egerton

“For Tennyson, to act is vital; there is nothing to be gained by passivity.”

Tennyson's poem "Godiva" tells the story of a woman named Godiva who was the wife of Lord Leofric. Lord Leofric was a powerful man who raised the taxes on his people. Godiva went to her husband to ask him to lower the taxes, and he told her that he would lower the taxes when she rode through the town naked at midday. Godiva took him at his word and rode through the town; however, out of respect for her sacrifice the townspeople shut themselves in their houses and didn’t watch her.

This chosen extract starts with Godiva riding naked on her horse. Tennyson describes the scene in a way that makes Godiva seem very much alone, the rest of the village watching, even the elements around her aware of the weight of the situation: ‘The deep air listen’d round her as she rode, And all the low wind hardly breathed for fear.’ The air is empathetic and fears for Godiva.

The people watching her stayed hidden so as not to embarrass her, and this can perhaps be seen as a passive action, however the pure assertiveness of Godiva to ride naked on her horse for anyone to see, is a very daring and courageous act. However we see that this act is a very difficult task for Godiva, not managing to escape embarrassment, ‘…the barking cur made her cheek flame...

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In the poem we are reminded of her lack of dress, however we are also reminded that despite the selfless act she is doing she is still an innocent woman and even when she is naked – she is clothed! ‘Then she rode back, clothed on with chastity...’  This sentence perhaps makes all the more apparent the difficulty and gravity of the situation she is in.

The repetition of this sentence: ‘…clothed on with chastity…’ reminds us that she is naked throughout the poem and it is again used later to drive the point.

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