Break,Break,Break. By-Alfred Lord Tennyson

 Break Break Break

               -Lord Alfred Tennyson

Introduction

“Break, Break, Break” was written in 1835 and published in 1842. It is an elegiac poem written after the death of the poet’s college friend, Arthur Henry Hallam, who died in 1833. In “Break, Break, Break”, Tennyson delves into themes of death, the power of nature, and change. In this poem, a clear indication of the stark contrast between the outer world of free expression and the poet’s controlled pain is visible in the poem. 

Analysis of the poem

The poem is a short lyric. It has four stanzas having a set of four lines each, known as quatrains. In the poem, the poet wishes he could give voice to his thoughts and memories about his loss like the sea and others around him. There are series of comparisons between the poet’s inner world and outer world which shows the controlled inner pain and free expressions of the outer world. 

Stanza I

In this stanza, the speaker addresses the sea. The speaker directs the sea and telling it to “break” upon the nearby stones.  On looking out at the waves as they can break the tough grey stones, the poet finds himself unable to express his pain and grief which arise in his mind and heart. The poet appears frustrated as the sea is moving and making noise but he is unable to utter his thoughts. The poet has compared sea waves to his internal thoughts. As sea waves come and get destroys by crashing on the cold grey stones on the shore in the same way the waves of thoughts are emerging in the poet’s mind but he is unable to express his internal pain.

Comments 

Rhyme scheme: “abcb”

Alliteration: “break, break, break”. “the thoughts”

Assonance: “break, break, break”

The repetition of the word “break” shows the ceaseless motion of the waves and here each wave is reminding the poet of what he lacks.

Apostrophe: “O Sea!” the poet addresses the sea as if it is a human being.

Stanza II 

 In this stanza, the poet again tries to focus on the surrounding environment. He observes two children- a boy and a girl, playing happily with each other. They are fisherman’s children. The boy joyously shouts at his sister while playing. The sailor’s lad care-free sing in his boat on the bay. They are enjoying themselves. Although this happiness is good for the sailor’s lad, but it does not provide any solace to the poet’s mood. However, the dismal setting in the previous stanza turns into a pleasant scene in this stanza. 

Comments

Rhyme scheme: “abcb”

The tone is pleasant.

The word shouts in the first stanza is connected with sea waves which creates despair while in this stanza it becomes pleasant. Therefore, the two stanzas juxtapose each other.

Stanza III

In this stanza, the poet says that the stately ships go on to their haven under the hill. The poet feels that the ships are going away to their destination. This arises him the feeling of having been left behind as his friend has gone to his final destination i.e. heaven. The word “haven” resembles “heaven” which suggests the idyllic place after death. The poet remembers his friend and says that the touch of the hands has vanished and the sound of a voice that is still. This shows that the poet is caught up in his internal thoughts and in this way, he connects himself with every movement of the outer world with the stillness of his feelings. Therefore, here the poet compares the movement of the ships with the stillness which came in his life due to the loss. Hence, the poet is unable to engage himself with the present world which is continuously running normally. On the contrary, he is engaged in the memory of his friend which is now the past. 

Comments

Rhyme scheme: abcb

Alliteration: “stately ships”

Contrast: the poet has compared the movement of the ships with the stillness i.e. death of his friend.                                                                                                                                    Stanza IV

In the last stanza, the poet returns to the breaking of waves on the stone cliffs. The waves come, again and again, hitting on the rocks each time. The waves, here represent the cycle of life. As the waves re-joins the sea after breaking on the rocks and never comes back in the same form in the same way the past will never come back to the poet. As there is no return of the dead. Here in this poem, it is shown that the poet is unable to forget his past and at the same time he is unable to embrace the changes of the present. The poem ends on a bleak note, that the past never comes back and it is impossible to relive the past. Therefore, we should accept the present.

Comments

Rhyme scheme: abcb

Alliteration: “break break break”

Metaphor: a day that is dead

The poet has used the archaic word “thy” which means “your”.


 

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