English Literature / Unit 14 ENL 1308 short lesson, about 20 seconds
"Nature, Red in Tooth and Claw"
Captions available
The idea
In Memoriam confronts the science of its day. In it, man trusts that God is love, though "Nature, red in tooth and claw / With ravine, shriek'd against his creed." The anchor notes the poem matches geological study to Tennyson's despair.
In practice
A violent nature against a loving God.
Where people slip
The phrase predates Darwin's Origin.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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