These are just a few of the many great quotes bequeathed to the world by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, but as their tones suggest, they were products of a difficult and often tragic life. Born to a father plagued by bouts of drinking and depression, and surrounded by siblings with similar ailments, Tennyson grew up believing that he must be a victim of hereditary illness, to the point that he believed he must never marry or father children less he perpetuate the suffering on future generations. With these thoughts always in his head, he turned his mind towards a near worship of romantic love, while at the same time repeatedly painting a tragic ending for his most cherished characters, many of whom seemed to die of a broken heart or some illness or accident related to it.