-Lord Alfred Tennyson
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INTRODUCTION : The poem 'Break , Break , Break' is an elegy that is beautifully composed by Lord Alfred Tennyson . It was written in 1835 but published in 1842. It brings forward Tennyson's feelings when he lost one of his best friends , Arthur Hallam . It describes Tennyson's isolation.
SUMMARY OF THE POEM :
Break , break , break
On thy cold grey stones , O Sea !
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me .
Tennyson speaks to the waves asking them to break , brek , br3eak on the cold stony shores . This shows that he tells the sea to keep doing its routine job. But he laments that he has no word to replace his thoughts.
The poet feels that as the sea is unable to express itself , similar is the case about him too . His sorrow is too deep for words . It is sad . Inspite of his wish to give shape to it , he feels tongue-tied like sea , his wishes also arise and remain unexpected .
O well for the fisherman's boy
That he shouts with his sister at play !
O well for the sailor lad ,
That he sings in his boat in the bay !
Through these lines , Tennyson tries to show his feelings when he finds fisherman's boy shouting and playing with his sister on the beach . He feels overwhelmed and relaxed on seeing such a view . He repeats the same sentence structure . He feels great on seeing the sailor boy singing while he is rowing the boat .
The poet feels that there may be gloom in the world at large . Children can never be seized of gloom . The grieved heart of the poet for his dead friend , doesn't seem to take the view in a very cheerful manner .
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill ;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand ,
And the sound of a voice that is still !
Tennyson fancies the stately ships sailing on. He observes that the life on the shore was going on as usual. The ships coming from foreign places are proceeding to the harbour under the hill to rest and pack for further sail.
The poet is not distracted by the sailing ships ; his mind lies elsewhere. The poet is sad because his close friend was dead. He is just wishing to touch the vanished hand and hear the voice that has gone silent. Here we can see that the poet doesn't describe his dead friend anywhere but he lists a series of missing things to show his loss.
Break,break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O sea !
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
Tennyson repeats the lines 'Break, break, break ' while adressing the sea waves. But there is a difference in repetition. In first stanza , the poet tells the waves to break on the cold grey stones but in the last stanza the poet asks the waves to break in the foot of the steep rocks. in reality , the time has passed on. Even the breaking of the waves has changed its trend. The poet feels that the waves can express itself by lashing the coastal stones but the poet is full of grief. Mournfully, he says the happy beautiful days , when his friend was alive , has now gone and he aware that those days will never return again.
CONCLUSION OF THE POEM :
'Break, break, break' is a lyrical poem. it can be interpreted as a good example of the grief filled up by the heart of Tennyson after the death of his beloved friend. Tennyson reinforced the theme of loss to the reader through clever use of techniques like repetition, punctuation, language, structure, etc. In other words, Tennyson creates a dejected and melancholic representation to portray his feelings.
Qus : Critically analyse the poem 'Break, break, break' .
Ans : 'Break, break, break ' is an elegy composed by Lord Alfred Tennyson on the death of his friend ,Arthur Hallam. The poet is standing near the cliff on the sea shore and addresses his feelings to the sea waves. He wishes that the waves of his grief could also break the limits so that he could express himself. He wants the sea waves to break on the cold grey stones. This is symbolic of the hardened heart of his unexpressed grief. There lies a struggle within his heart. He wants to express his mind. He could see that the life was full of joy for the fisherman's son and daughter and that of the sailor's lad. On the other hand, the poet is completely in different mood - restless and grief stricken. He misses the touch and voice of his friend.
But O for the touchof a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still !
Again the poet could feel that even if he manages to express his grief, his friend would never return. Thus there lies no solution to this problem.
The poem is written in four stanzas.Each word seems to be carved with perfect care. The poem is remarkable for its sound symbolism. Both the sea waves and poet's heart go hand in hand with the ideas of grief and the wish of breaking or expressing oneself. The tone is throughout sorrowful.
It is sad and depressing poem where the poet has expressed his emotions and feelings in a beautiful manner. All this makes the poem a superb creation of Tennyson.
Please share and follow :
INTRODUCTION : The poem 'Break , Break , Break' is an elegy that is beautifully composed by Lord Alfred Tennyson . It was written in 1835 but published in 1842. It brings forward Tennyson's feelings when he lost one of his best friends , Arthur Hallam . It describes Tennyson's isolation.
SUMMARY OF THE POEM :
Break , break , break
On thy cold grey stones , O Sea !
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me .
Tennyson speaks to the waves asking them to break , brek , br3eak on the cold stony shores . This shows that he tells the sea to keep doing its routine job. But he laments that he has no word to replace his thoughts.
The poet feels that as the sea is unable to express itself , similar is the case about him too . His sorrow is too deep for words . It is sad . Inspite of his wish to give shape to it , he feels tongue-tied like sea , his wishes also arise and remain unexpected .
O well for the fisherman's boy
That he shouts with his sister at play !
O well for the sailor lad ,
That he sings in his boat in the bay !
Through these lines , Tennyson tries to show his feelings when he finds fisherman's boy shouting and playing with his sister on the beach . He feels overwhelmed and relaxed on seeing such a view . He repeats the same sentence structure . He feels great on seeing the sailor boy singing while he is rowing the boat .
The poet feels that there may be gloom in the world at large . Children can never be seized of gloom . The grieved heart of the poet for his dead friend , doesn't seem to take the view in a very cheerful manner .
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill ;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand ,
And the sound of a voice that is still !
Tennyson fancies the stately ships sailing on. He observes that the life on the shore was going on as usual. The ships coming from foreign places are proceeding to the harbour under the hill to rest and pack for further sail.
The poet is not distracted by the sailing ships ; his mind lies elsewhere. The poet is sad because his close friend was dead. He is just wishing to touch the vanished hand and hear the voice that has gone silent. Here we can see that the poet doesn't describe his dead friend anywhere but he lists a series of missing things to show his loss.
Break,break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O sea !
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
Tennyson repeats the lines 'Break, break, break ' while adressing the sea waves. But there is a difference in repetition. In first stanza , the poet tells the waves to break on the cold grey stones but in the last stanza the poet asks the waves to break in the foot of the steep rocks. in reality , the time has passed on. Even the breaking of the waves has changed its trend. The poet feels that the waves can express itself by lashing the coastal stones but the poet is full of grief. Mournfully, he says the happy beautiful days , when his friend was alive , has now gone and he aware that those days will never return again.
CONCLUSION OF THE POEM :
'Break, break, break' is a lyrical poem. it can be interpreted as a good example of the grief filled up by the heart of Tennyson after the death of his beloved friend. Tennyson reinforced the theme of loss to the reader through clever use of techniques like repetition, punctuation, language, structure, etc. In other words, Tennyson creates a dejected and melancholic representation to portray his feelings.
Qus : Critically analyse the poem 'Break, break, break' .
Ans : 'Break, break, break ' is an elegy composed by Lord Alfred Tennyson on the death of his friend ,Arthur Hallam. The poet is standing near the cliff on the sea shore and addresses his feelings to the sea waves. He wishes that the waves of his grief could also break the limits so that he could express himself. He wants the sea waves to break on the cold grey stones. This is symbolic of the hardened heart of his unexpressed grief. There lies a struggle within his heart. He wants to express his mind. He could see that the life was full of joy for the fisherman's son and daughter and that of the sailor's lad. On the other hand, the poet is completely in different mood - restless and grief stricken. He misses the touch and voice of his friend.
But O for the touchof a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still !
Again the poet could feel that even if he manages to express his grief, his friend would never return. Thus there lies no solution to this problem.
The poem is written in four stanzas.Each word seems to be carved with perfect care. The poem is remarkable for its sound symbolism. Both the sea waves and poet's heart go hand in hand with the ideas of grief and the wish of breaking or expressing oneself. The tone is throughout sorrowful.
It is sad and depressing poem where the poet has expressed his emotions and feelings in a beautiful manner. All this makes the poem a superb creation of Tennyson.
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