Break, Break, Break.....Summary & Analysis
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Break, Break, Break.....Summary & Analysis
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It is a lyrical poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It was published in 1842. It is a short musical poem in the form of elegy. Because it was written over the death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam. It is a poem of 16 lines having an elegiac note. an elegy is a poem of mourning on the death of a particular person. It consists of four stanzas and each stanza has four lines. The rhyming scheme is abcb. This poem was written just after the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam.
It is a sad song over the death of his friend. The poet expresses his deep sorrow on the sudden death of his friend. The poet is very sad after the death of his friend. The poet is standing on the seashore. He is seeing the rising and falling waves of the sea. The waves are striking his mind again and again. But he is lost in the memory of his friend. Although the atmosphere is filled with a sweet musical sound of waves yet the poet is very sad. He is in extreme pain because of his friend's death.
He wants to express his grief but his voice does not support him in doing so. His heart has broken like the breaking sound of the sea waves. He is very sad to think about his friend's death. He was his very close friend. The poet knows that his friend will never come back. He has gone from this world forever. But he is unable to express his feelings fully. He can not express his sadness because his voice does not support him. The poet says that his friend has died but there is no change in this world. The world is going on without any change. People are doing their daily works as they do. But the poet is sad on the sudden demise of his close friend.
The poet feels jealous of the fate of sailor's boy who is sailing his boat and singing a sweet song cheerfully. The poet says that the son of a fisherman is luckier than him. Because he can sing songs and can express his joy in a cheerful atmosphere. The poet says himself unlucky. Because he can not express his deep sorrow. He says that his heart is feeling very heavy with the sad thoughts of his friend's memory. Now he also wants to bring out his painful feelings from his heart. But his tongue is not supporting him to do so. Thus the poet is very sad about the death of his friend.
The poet feels jealous of the fate of sailor's boy who is sailing his boat and singing a sweet song cheerfully. The poet says that the son of a fisherman is luckier than him. Because he can sing songs and can express his joy in a cheerful atmosphere. The poet says himself unlucky. Because he can not express his deep sorrow. He says that his heart is feeling very heavy with the sad thoughts of his friend's memory. Now he also wants to bring out his painful feelings from his heart. But his tongue is not supporting him to do so. Thus the poet is very sad about the death of his friend.
In the third stanza of the poem, the poet is very sad after thinking that his friend will never come back. He never can touch his friend. He can never see him again in this world. He can only imagine his presence. It was really a great loss for the poet. Because Arthur Henry Hallam was very close to him. therefore it is a personal poem of Tennyson. He further says that he never can touch his friend and can never hear his voice. He is very sad after thinking about this.
The waves are still producing sweet music but for the poet, this music is full of pain. Even this world seems to the poet full of never-ending pain and sorrow. He says that there is no change in this world. But he can never forget the memories of his dear friend. He wants to express his whole grief and pain but he fails to do it. The poet shows here his high imagination about his friend. The poet also shows his personal emotions in this poem. He creates a highly sensuous word picture in this poem. Thus this poem has an autobiographical element.
