Analysis of the poem : Break, Break , Break by Alfred Lord Tennyson

● Break, Break, Break : Alfred Lord Tennyson

● 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.

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!

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!

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.

● Analysis of the poem : 

 This poem is written by Alfred Lord Tennison. It is written in 1835 and publish in 1842 .The poem describes the feeling of loss and realisation that there is something beyond the cycle of Life and Death. He is standing on sandy sea shore and writing this poem. This poem carries the emotional impact of person reflecting on loss of someone he cared for. So this poem is wrote after the death of his friend Arthur Hallam .

         The poem has four stanzas of four lines. In the first stanza sea is battering the stones. The poet appears frustrated that sea can keep and making noice while he is unable to utter his thoughts. Sea 's loud roar and it's energy is something that he lacks. So the repetition of break aptly  conveys ceaseless motion of waves each wave reminding him what he lacks.

       In the second stanza poet expresses distance between himself and the happy people playing and singing where they are. The possesses joy fulfillment, whether together or alone but he doesn't. He gives example of brother and sister have each other ,  the sailor has his boat and the poet is alone. They have a reason to be happy .

    In the next stanza he talks about stately ships moving to their haven under the hill. So ship moving towards its destination Either to port or over the horizon But the poet however has no Plan about his life and he misses his Friend. So they seems content with destination But the mounded grave is no pleasant heaven in contrast. That end means end of activity. There is no more voice to hear. Again poet is caught up in his internal thoughts. The critic H.Sopher also interpreats the contrast in his stanza like : The Satelines of the ship contrast with poet 's emotional imbalance , the ship moves forward to an attainable goal while the poet looks back to vanished hand and voice that is still .

      In the last stanza poet talks about waves that they come again and again and hitting a wall of rock each time and return But for him there is no return of the dead just the recurring pain of loss. So the poet looks at the sea again and addresses to it once more by this time he realise that even if he manages express his grief the grace of his friend will never come back to him to wish to express is itself no solution to the problem .

            Poet 's realisation of fruitlessness of action and sea 's action is seemingly fruitless too because of it is all afford it can't go beyond the rocks than the poet restore the past So both the sea and speaker continue with their useless but repeated actions so the scene evokes a sense of inevitability and hopelessness.

          So this poem is progress towards Immorality of friendship. The poem starts with remembrance and sorrow of his friend who is dead so poet has pain of lossing his friendship but in the later part or in the last stanza poet realise the immortality of their friendship. So he realise that friendship is beyond the cycle of Life and Death.