How did critics’ views of Alfred, Lord Tennyson change during the 20th century?

During the 20th century, critical assessment of Alfred, Lord Tennyson underwent a significant shift, moving from his status as the preeminent Victorian poet toward a period of drastic devaluation before eventually reaching a more balanced estimation.1

Influenced by the rise of Modernism and the prominence of poets like T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats, many 20th-century critics rejected the Victorian style. Tennyson’s work was frequently dismissed as mawkish, banal, or pompous, with critics arguing that his poetry offered little more than mellifluous versifying of shallow thoughts. This reaction was further fueled by the rediscovery of poets such as John Donne and Gerard Manley Hopkins, whose work offered a different, more varied poetic music than Tennyson’s.1

However, a more balanced perspective eventually emerged. Critics began to reaffirm the enduring greatness of works like "Ulysses" and the stature of In Memoriam as the representative poem of the Victorian Age. Modern scholarship also recognized the importance of the realistic and comic elements in his writing, ultimately securing his reputation as a poet of lasting significance.1