S5 Ep9: 'Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal' by Alfred Lord Tennyson

In this episode, we have an extract from a much longer Tennyson narrative poem, 'The Princess', published in 1847. The poem tells the story of a heroic princess who 'forswears the world of men and founds a women's university where men are forbidden to enter' (source: wikipedia). 1847 was also the year of the founding of Britain's first university for women.

This extract 'Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal' is from Part 7 of the poem and demonstrates Tennyson's interest in traditional forms of Persian poetry, which he could read. The poem consists of five stanzas, all beginning with "Now" and ending with "me", suggesting an urgency in which the lover and the beloved move towards union. 

Motifs from mythology abound (Zeus and Danaë), with its references to the lushness of nature in the petals, firefly, peacock, the stars, meteors.. and hints of eroticism points to the larger theme of awakening and consummation whilst maintaining a Victorian propriety through the sonnet form. 

The vivd and emotive language in the poem has also been set to music, most notably by the English composer and pianist Benjamin Britten in a song of the same title. 

Find the poem here.