Flower in the crannied wall

Tennyson memorial statue beside Lincoln Cathedral

"Flower in the crannied wall" is a 1863 poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Text

Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower—but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

Plaque

Analysis

Tennyson composed the poem by the wishing well at Waggoners Wells.^[1]

The Tennyson memorial statue (1903) by George Frederic Watts at Lincoln shows him holding a flower in his hand and a plaque with this poem.^[2] The phrase flower in the crannied wall is sometimes used in a metaphorical sense for the idea of seeking holistic and grander principles from constituent parts and their connections.^[3]

References

↑ Wishing Well
↑ Monument to Lord Tennyson
↑ Brandom, Robert (1981). "Leibniz and Degrees of Perception". Journal of the History of Philosophy. 19 (4): 447–479. doi:10.1353/hph.2008.0100.

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson

Early poetry	"The Deserted House" "The Lady of Shalott" "The Lotos-Eaters" "Mariana" "Oenone"

Poetry	"Break, Break, Break" "The Charge of the Light Brigade" "The Day-Dream" "Godiva" Idylls of the King "In Memoriam A.H.H." "Lady Clara Vere de Vere" "Locksley Hall" "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal" "The Palace of Art" The Princess "Sir Galahad" "St. Simeon Stylites" "Tears, Idle Tears" "The Two Voices" "Ulysses"

Late poetry	"Crossing the Bar" "The Eagle" "Enoch Arden" "Flower in the crannied wall" Maud "Ring Out, Wild Bells" "Tithonus"

Other works	The Foresters (play) The Window (song cycle)

Related	Chapel House, Twickenham Farringford House Blackdown, West Sussex

People	Arthur Hallam (friend) Emily Tennyson (wife) Hallam Tennyson (son) Lionel Tennyson (grandson) Charles Tennyson (grandson) Emilia Tennyson (sister) Charles Tennyson Turner (brother) Frederick Tennyson (brother)

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Flower in the Crannied Wall

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