St Simeon Stylites (poem)

"St Simeon Stylites" is a poem written by Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson in 1833 and published in his 1842 collection of poetry. The poem describes the actions of St Simeon Stylites, a Christian ascetic saint who goes counts his various physical acts in hopes that he has earned his place in heaven. It captures Tennyson's feelings following the death of a close friend, Arthur Hallam, and contains feelings of self-loathing and regret. The work has ironic overtones that give it the appearance of a satirical work.

In 1833, Tennyson's close friend Arthur Hallam died. He was deeply affected by this death and many of his poems written soon after contained feelings of self-loathing and regret, including St Simeon Stylites. The poem also contained a satirical response to religious asceticism in general, which is possibly related to his feelings about his aunt Mary Bourne and her Calvinistic views. St Simeon Stylites was completed by autumn 1833 and was circulated among Tennyson's fellows at Cambridge University.

The poem was later published in his 1842 collection of poetry. The poem's combination of dark humour, imagery and sympathy for the hero was unique in relationship to the previous works Tennyson published before 1842. Tennyson, at the end of his life in 1892, returned to the idea and followed St Simeon Stylites with the poem St Telemachus.

The full text of the poem is available .

Within the poem, St Simeon describes himself in excess:

St Simeon, with all that he does, still doubts his salvation. While he believes that experiencing pain can be beneficial, he questions if there will be any benefit from his actions:

As the poem progresses, he reveals that he depends on the number of his actions to verify his deeds:

Near the poem's end, St Simeon is filled with confidence that he will experience paradise, but this is followed by doubt that it is only a trick:

The poem concludes with St Simeon returning to his counting, which is followed by him asking that the reader follows his pattern:

St Simeon Stylites is related to other post-Hallam works like Ulysses as it captures Tennyson's feelings after his friend's death. Later in In Memoriam, Tennyson would describe his feelings in a broad manner. The work has ironic overtones that make it appear as a satirical work. As a whole, the work parodies Christianity that emphasises the egotistical self while also serving as a lamentation of the self. The character of St Simeon is portrayed in a manner that he is comical and disgusting while also being sympathetic. He is also simultaneously an abnormal individual and a normal individual that captures the extremes of human personality while also exhibiting moderate characteristics. At the end of the poem, St Simeon asks that the reader follows his example. His example is one the reader would reject, but it is also one that the reader would recognise as the basic pattern of humanity.

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