Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I have a deep love for poetry, but I also love legends and folklore and that is why I was immediately drawn to Tennyson’s poem The Kraken which is about a giant sea creature. I have read other works on the legend of the Kraken and so I knew that it is a large squid or octopus like creature that dwells at the very deepest and darkest depths of the sea and it is also the creature that is spoken of in many old sea tales of ships being destroyed and lives being lost. Throughout this poem, Tennyson speaks of the Kraken so eloquently and makes it sound like it is virtually impossible to learn anything of the creature because it lives so deep and is surrounded by so many other perilous creatures. The poem is a beautiful work that carries out the legend of the Kraken in a different format, other than the frightening tale of a sailor, and makes me really want to explore the legend again in greater detail.

I love this poem, but still find that the ending seems to be somewhat anticlimactic.

Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angles to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die

Though this is a great ending for the poem, I feel like there should be more to the death of such a large, legendary creature. I love the fact that Tennyson makes the first time that the Kraken is actually seen is also the last time that it is seen alive. I also liked the fact that the first time that the Kraken is seen is by man and angels at the same time. I love the legend of the Kraken and this poem has brought back the things that I have read before. Tennyson wrote a poem that was short in length, but was beautiful and deep all at the same time.