Break break Alfred Tennyson This short poem carries

Break, break Alfred Tennyson

• This short poem carries the emotional impact of a person reflecting on the loss of someone he (or she) cared for. • Written in 1834 right after the sudden death of Tennyson’s friend Arthur Henry Hallam, the poem was published in 1842. • It reflects the feeling at any loss of a beloved person in death, like Tennyson’s dejection over losing Hallam.

ALT

Alfred, Lord Tennyson • He(6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets.

• Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, such as "Break, Break", "The Charge of the Light Brigade", "Tears, Idle Tears", and "Crossing the Bar".

• Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses, although "In Memoriam A. H. H. " was written to commemorate his friend Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and student at Trinity College, Cambridge, after he died of a stroke at the age of 22.

About the poem • The poem was written in 1834, a year after Tennyson's friend Hallam died abroad. • The poem is an elegy that describes Tennyson's feelings of loss after Arthur Hallam died and his feelings of isolation while at Maplethorpe, Lincolnshire. • In the poem, permanent and lasting images are contrasted with temporariness of human life: man passes away so quickly but the scene of nature remains the same.

Stanza 1 Break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me. The effect of repetition and relentless motion of waves create an air of despair. He wants to be able to speak out his heart like the waves.

Stanza 2 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 on the bay! The poet contrasts his mood with the fisherman’s boy and the sailor’s lad. He admires their innocent joy and is sorry that he cannot share it.

Stanza 3 And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill; But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, And the sound of a voice that is still! Everything in nature is unchanged.

Stanza 4 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. The refrain or repetition again to emphasize poet’s grief.

Analysis • 'Break, break' is a short poem with an overridingly sad and nostalgic tone. • The poem presents a sea-side image, complete with a wild sea, playing children, fishermen and sailing boats, but Tennyson manipulates these elements to reveal a poem about death and loss. • The themes of memory and nostalgia feature heavily in the poem, and there is a distinct feeling that Tennyson is indeed evoking the memory of someone he has lost.

Conti. . • He has drawn a picture of permanent and lasting images in contrast with temporariness of human life. • The metaphor of ‘sea’ is used to emphasize permanence and to show that man passes away so quickly but the scene of nature remains the same. • The world continues to be busy and beautiful, but the happy moments of one’s life never stay. • Poetic devices used are: repetition, metaphor, alliteration