Alfred, Lord Tennyson's collection of poems in "Maud, and Other Poems (Version 2)" is a captivating exploration of love, loss, and the complexities of human emotions. The titular poem, "Maud," is a haunting narrative of unrequited love and madness, while the other poems in the collection delve into themes of nature, war, and spirituality.

Tennyson's mastery of language and imagery is evident throughout the collection, as he weaves together evocative descriptions and deep emotional insight. His use of rhythm and meter adds a musical quality to the poems, drawing the reader in and inviting contemplation of the deeper meanings behind the words.

Overall, "Maud, and Other Poems (Version 2)" is a powerful and moving collection that showcases Tennyson's brilliance as a poet. It is a must-read for anyone who appreciates lyrical and thought-provoking poetry.

Book Description:
Surely everyone knows “Maud”? Isn’t that the Victorian love song, where the man waits by the garden gate for his lover to appear for a secret rendezvous? Well, that may be the song, but Tennyson’s poem is longer and very much darker. It deals not with love but with the obsession of an unstable young man with the seventeen-year-old Maud, and his gradual descent into madness. The poem’s narrator has been excluded from an evening ball being held at Maud’s home, The Hall, and has climbed into her garden uninvited, convincing himself by a misreading the Language of Flowers that she has sent him a love-token in the form of a rose blossom. After the guests have left, Maud and her brother step out into the dawn, and soon the brother is lying mortally wounded at the narrator’s hand. He flees abroad, and later loses his reason after hearing of Maud’s own death. Finally, the narrator insists that he has at last recovered from his “old hysterical mock-disease” and has awakened to a better mind, fighting for his country in the Crimean War. But can he be believed? Many early reviewers took the narrator as stating the poet's own views on war, but Tennyson himself responded that he would hardly have chosen a narrator with an "hereditary vein of insanity" to represent his personal opinions. The collection includes several other well-known Tennyson poems, including “The Brook, an Idyl”, and “The Charge of the Light Brigade”.