About the Poet: Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892)
Position in Literature: One of the greatest Victorian poets; succeeded Wordsworth as Poet Laureate of England in 1850.
Style: Known for musical verse, rich imagery, and exploration of themes like grief, mortality, nature, and faith.
Themes: Death and immortality, human sorrow vs. eternal nature, faith vs. doubt (typical Victorian crisis of belief).
Major Works:
In Memoriam A.H.H. (1850) – Elegy for his closest friend, Arthur Hallam.
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1854) – Celebrates bravery in war.
Ulysses, Locksley Hall, The Lady of Shalott, Tithonus.
Influence: Embodied the spirit of Victorian England; his poetry reflected both personal loss and broader philosophical concerns.
About the Poem: “Break, Break, Break” (1842)
Form & Structure:
Short lyric poem, 4 quatrains (16 lines).
Rhyme scheme: irregular but mostly ABAB.
Repetition and rhythm mimic the sea waves.
Context:
Written after the death of his best friend Arthur Henry Hallam (1811–1833).
Serves as a short elegy; a precursor to Tennyson’s longer work In Memoriam.
Themes:
Grief & Loss: The poet mourns his dead friend.
Nature vs. Human Emotion: Sea waves are eternal, indifferent to human sorrow.
Inexpressibility of Grief: The poet longs to express his pain but words fail.
Contrast: Others enjoy life’s joys (children, sailor), but the poet remains trapped in grief.
Finality of Death: “The tender grace of a day that is dead / Will never come back to me.”
Literary Importance:
Classic example of Victorian elegiac lyric.
Combines personal mourning with philosophical reflection.
Known for its musicality (rhythm of the sea, repetition of “break”).
Quick Facts for Exams
Poet Laureate from 1850–1892 (longest serving in English history).
“Break, Break, Break” written in memory of Arthur Hallam, Tennyson’s Cambridge friend.
Poem type: Elegiac Lyric.
Central image: Sea waves breaking (symbol of eternity, grief).
Tone: Mournful, resigned, melancholic.
Device highlight: Repetition + Apostrophe = intensifies sorrow.
Key lines often quoted in exams: “But O for the touch of a vanish’d hand, / And the sound of a voice that is still!”
Line by Line Explanation: Stanza 1
Line 1:
“Break, break, break,”
The poet is addressing the sea waves. He repeats “break” three times to show the endless crashing of waves on the shore, but also the breaking of his own heart.
Line 2:
“On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!”
The waves crash on the hard, gray, lifeless stones. The sea feels cold and indifferent, reflecting the poet’s feelings of sorrow.
Line 3:
“And I would that my tongue could utter”
The poet wishes he could speak what he truly feels. His grief is so deep that words cannot express it.
Line 4:
“The thoughts that arise in me.”
Many painful thoughts rise inside him, but he cannot fully express them in words.
Word Meanings Table (Simplest Urdu, Hindi, Bengali)
Word | Urdu | Hindi | Bengali |
|---|---|---|---|
Break | توڑنا | तोड़ना | ভাঙা |
Cold | ٹھنڈا | ठंडा | ঠান্ডা |
Gray | بھورا/سرمئی | धूसर/भूरा | ধূসর/ছাই রঙের |
Stones | پتھر | पत्थर | পাথর |
Sea | سمندر | समुद्र | সমুদ্র |
Tongue | زبان | ज़ुबान | জিহ্বা / ভাষা |
Utter | کہنا | कहना | বলা |
Thoughts | خیالات | विचार | চিন্তা |
Arise | اٹھنا | उठना | উঠা / জাগা |
Me | میں | मैं | আমি |
Summary and Critical Analysis (Stanza 1)
In this stanza, Tennyson listens to the sea waves breaking against the rocks and compares their endless motion to his own overwhelming grief. The sea is vast, cold, and indifferent — just like nature’s attitude toward human suffering. He longs to express his pain but finds himself speechless. The inability to “utter” shows that grief sometimes silences rather than inspires.
Critically, the stanza captures the struggle between nature’s eternal rhythm (waves breaking) and human fragility (the poet’s sorrow). The repetition of “break” echoes both the crashing waves and the poet’s broken heart. Tennyson conveys the theme of loss, grief, and inexpressibility of deep emotions.
Literary Devices / Figures of Speech
| Device | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Repetition | “Break, break, break” | The word “break” is repeated to copy the sound of waves and also to show the poet’s broken heart. |
| Apostrophe | “O Sea!” | The poet speaks directly to the sea, as if it were alive and could listen. |
| Personification | Sea addressed as if it could feel or hear | The sea is given human-like qualities, though it’s not a person. |
| Alliteration | “cold gray stones” | The ‘c’ and ‘g’ sounds are repeated, which makes the line more musical and memorable. |
| Symbolism | Sea = eternity and grief | The sea represents something larger: the endlessness of time and nature’s indifference to human pain. |
| Imagery | “cold gray stones” | Creates a clear picture in the reader’s mind of lifeless, harsh rocks and the crashing waves. |
| Tone | Whole stanza | The feelings are sad, mournful, and full of longing, showing the poet’s grief. |
Stanza 2
Line 1:
“O, well for the fisherman’s boy,”
The poet says how lucky and happy the fisherman’s child is.
Line 2:
“That he shouts with his sister at play!”
The boy can play joyfully with his sister, free from sorrow. This contrasts with the poet’s grief.
Line 3:
“O, well for the sailor lad,”
The poet again notes how fortunate the sailor’s young man is.
Line 4:
“That he sings in his boat on the bay!”
The sailor boy is carefree, happily singing while sailing on the bay (a coastal water area). This joy contrasts with the poet’s silent pain.
Word Meanings Table (Simplest Urdu, Hindi, Bengali)
Word | Urdu | Hindi | Bengali |
|---|---|---|---|
Well | اچھا / خوش | अच्छा / भला | ভালো / শুভ |
Fisherman | مچھلی پکڑنے والا | मछुआरा | জেলে / মৎস্যজীবী |
Boy | لڑکا | लड़का | ছেলে |
Shout | چِلّانا | चिल्लाना | চিৎকার করা / ডাক |
Sister | بہن | बहन | বোন |
Play | کھیلنا | खेलना | খেলা |
Sailor | ملاح / جہاز کا آدمی | नाविक | নাবিক / জাহাজী |
Lad | لڑکا / نوجوان | लड़का / युवक | ছেলে / তরুণ |
Sing | گانا | गाना | গান গাওয়া |
Boat | کشتی | नाव | নৌকা |
Bay | خلیج | खाड़ी | উপসাগর |
Summary and Critical Analysis (stanza 2)
This stanza shows a sharp contrast between carefree ordinary lives and the poet’s deep sorrow. The fisherman’s boy and his sister enjoy innocent play, while the sailor lad sings happily on the bay. These images represent the normal flow of life and youthful joy.
Tennyson feels alienated from such joy because of his grief. By highlighting others’ happiness, his own sadness becomes sharper. This juxtaposition reveals how grief isolates a person from the world’s simple pleasures.
Critically, the stanza expands the theme of grief vs. joy, silence vs. song, and loneliness vs. companionship. The poet cannot join in life’s happiness, only observe it.
Literary Devices / Figures of Speech
| Device | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Repetition | “O, well for…” | The phrase is repeated to stress the happiness of others, in contrast to the poet’s grief. |
| Contrast / Juxtaposition | Joy of boys vs. sorrow of poet | The cheerful children and sailor are set against the poet’s sadness, making his grief more noticeable. |
| Imagery | “fisherman’s boy… shouts with his sister” / “sings in his boat on the bay” | Creates lively mental pictures of carefree play and joyful song. |
| Alliteration | “boy… boat… bay” | Repeated ‘b’ sound gives rhythm and a musical effect to the lines. |
| Tone | Whole stanza | Envious yet mournful — the poet admires their joy but feels shut out from it. |
| Symbolism | Children = innocence; Sailor lad = freedom & joy | The figures symbolize natural happiness and simple life, opposite to grief and loss. |
Stanza 3
Line 1:
“And the stately ships go on”
Large, majestic ships continue sailing smoothly across the sea. Life and time keep moving forward.
Line 2:
“To their haven under the hill;”
These ships reach their safe harbor (haven) under a hill. This image shows order, purpose, and continuity of the world.
Line 3:
“But O for the touch of a vanish’d hand,”
The poet longs desperately for the touch of someone he loved but who has died (“vanish’d hand”).
Line 4:
“And the sound of a voice that is still!”
He yearns for the voice of the departed person, but it is “still” — silenced forever by death.
Word Meanings Table (Simplest Urdu, Hindi, Bengali)
Word | Urdu | Hindi | Bengali |
|---|---|---|---|
Stately | شاندار / وقار والا | शानदार / गरिमामय | মহিমান্বিত / গম্ভীর |
Ships | جہاز | जहाज़ | জাহাজ |
Go on | چلتے رہنا | चलते रहना | চলতে থাকা |
Haven | پناہ گاہ / بندرگاہ | आश्रय / बंदरगाह | আশ্রয় / বন্দর |
Hill | پہاڑی | पहाड़ी | পাহাড় |
Touch | چھونا | छूना | ছোঁয়া |
Vanish’d | غائب / کھویا ہوا | खोया / गायब | হারানো / মিলিয়ে যাওয়া |
Hand | ہاتھ | हाथ | হাত |
Sound | آواز | आवाज़ | শব্দ / আওয়াজ |
Voice | آواز / صدا | आवाज़ | কণ্ঠ / স্বর |
Still | خاموش / ساکت | शांत / स्थिर | নীরব / স্থির |
Summary and Critical Analysis (stanza 3)
This stanza contrasts the continuity of the outside world with the poet’s inner grief. While majestic ships move on peacefully to their harbor, Tennyson feels stuck in his longing for someone he has lost. The natural and human world continues its cycle, but grief halts the poet’s emotional world.
The most powerful lines — “touch of a vanish’d hand” and “sound of a voice that is still” — express the permanence of death. They highlight the painful absence of a loved one, probably Tennyson’s dear friend Arthur Hallam, whose death inspired the poem.
Critically, the stanza shows the theme of isolation in grief vs. ongoing life, and the universality of loss — while ships find havens, the poet cannot find one for his sorrow.
Literary Devices / Figures of Speech
| Device | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | Life goes on (ships) vs. death’s silence (lost friend) | The world continues normally, but the poet’s personal world is halted by grief. |
| Imagery | “stately ships,” “haven under the hill” | Gives a vivid picture of calm, majestic ships reaching harbor, opposite to the poet’s inner pain. |
| Alliteration | “hand… vanish’d hand,” “voice… still” | Repetition of consonant sounds makes the grief-laden lines more intense and memorable. |
| Metaphor | Ships = life’s continuity; vanish’d hand/voice = death | The ships symbolize ongoing life, while the vanished hand and still voice symbolize death and absence. |
| Paradox | “voice that is still” | A voice should speak, but here it is silent forever — highlighting the finality of death. |
| Tone | Whole stanza | Expresses deep grief, longing, and helplessness — the poet mourns what he cannot regain. |
Stanza 4
Line 1:
“Break, break, break”
The waves keep endlessly crashing. The repetition shows both the sound of the sea and the poet’s broken heart.
Line 2:
“At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!”
The waves crash at the bottom of the rocky cliffs (crags) of the sea. The sea remains strong and eternal, unlike the fleeting nature of human life.
Line 3:
“But the tender grace of a day that is dead”
The poet remembers the beauty and gentleness of a past day — a time when his lost loved one was alive. That grace is gone forever.
Line 4:
“Will never come back to me.”
He accepts that those happy times, and the presence of the person he mourns, can never return. Death is final.
Word Meanings Table (Simplest Urdu, Hindi, Bengali)
Word | Urdu | Hindi | Bengali |
|---|---|---|---|
Break | توڑنا / ٹوٹنا | तोड़ना / टूटना | ভাঙা / টুকরো হওয়া |
Foot | پاؤں / قدم | पाँव / चरण | পা / পদতল |
Crags | چٹانیں / پہاڑی پتھر | खड़ी चट्टानें | খাড়া পাথর / শিলা |
Sea | سمندر | समुद्र | সমুদ্র |
Tender | نرم / کومل | कोमल / नाजुक | কোমল / মৃদু |
Grace | کرم / حسن و خوبی | कृपा / सौंदर्य | সৌন্দর্য / অনুগ্রহ |
Day | دن | दिन | দিন |
Dead | مردہ / گزر گیا | मृत / बीता | মৃত / অতীত হয়ে যাওয়া |
Never | کبھی نہیں | कभी नहीं | কখনো নয় |
Come back | واپس آنا | वापस आना | ফিরে আসা |
Me | میں | मैं | আমি |
Summary and Critical Analysis (stanza 4)
In this closing stanza, Tennyson returns to the image of the breaking waves, symbolizing endless time and the unchanging rhythm of nature. Against this eternal motion, human life and joy appear fragile and temporary.
The poet recalls “the tender grace of a day that is dead” — a metaphor for the presence of his beloved friend (Arthur Hallam). The stanza ends with a final acceptance: no matter how much he longs, the past will never return.
Critically, the poem’s conclusion underlines the permanence of loss, the contrast between eternal nature and fleeting human life, and the helplessness of grief. The sea remains eternal, but human love and joy are bound to vanish with time. The tone here is mournful, resigned, and deeply poignant.
Literary Devices / Figures of Speech
| Device | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Repetition | “Break, break, break” | Echoes the endless crashing of waves and mirrors the poet’s broken heart. |
| Apostrophe | “O Sea!” | The poet speaks directly to the sea, treating it as if it could hear him. |
| Symbolism | Sea = eternity; crags = permanence; “day that is dead” = lost past / death | Natural elements symbolize eternal time, permanence, and the poet’s grief over his lost friend. |
| Metaphor | “Tender grace of a day that is dead” | Represents the beauty and joy of the poet’s past memories with his friend. |
| Imagery | “Break… at the foot of thy crags” | Creates a vivid mental picture of waves hitting rocky cliffs. |
| Alliteration | “tender…day…dead,” “come back” | Repetition of consonant sounds adds rhythm and emotional emphasis. |
| Tone | Whole stanza | Mournful and resigned — the poet accepts eternal loss and the impossibility of return. |
