Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, was an English poet who lived from August 6, 1809 to October 6, 1892. During Queen Victoria's reign, he served as Poet Laureate. Tennyson received the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge in 1829 for one of his early works, "Timbuktu." Poems, Chiefly Lyrical, his first solo collection of poems, was published in 1830. "Claribel" and "Mariana," two of Tennyson's most famous poems, were included in this collection. Although some critics described his verse as overly sentimental, it quickly became popular and brought Tennyson to the attention of well-known writers of the day, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Tennyson's early poetry was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery.