| BREAK, break, break, | |
| On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! | |
| And I would that my tongue could utter | |
| The thoughts that arise in me. | |
| O well for the fisherman's boy, | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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 | 15 |
Will never come back to me. | |
I do not wish to insult the intelligence of the worthy reader by dwelling at length about the loss of a dear friend which Lord Tennyson suffered badly. While this led to other worthier poems which have been panned extensively, this one was relegated to school texts. The bleakness of a gray sea side landscape, the image of a gay fisher boy calling out to his play mate, the stately sights and the landscape evoke the image of tremendous absolute loss which is experienced when one finds oneself friendless. If such a person, be an introverted intense poet, who is not likely to be able to communicate with the sea of humanity around him which carries on unmindful and seemingly crashing against the grayness within him, the result had to be this jewel which is steady in its lustre and timeless attraction! |
January 09, 2006
Breaking Point
Break, Break, BreakAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron (1809 - 92)
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9 comments:
i was suffering from a stupid headache.. yesterday.. Think its the weather.. :)
You write beautifully, convey your thoughts quite masterfully. I did go through your entire blog and found the your ability to air your angst and frustration (on rarer occasions joy ) with language quite interesting. As indeed your ability to etch out characters like the paan chewing neighbour through words.
And I quite agree with your views on Tennyson's Break Break Break.
And no motives to be sought or gained by this post other than express appreciation!
Pallavi, So was it a headache?! Thanks doc! :))
VYK, thanks for recognising the fire within!
Life fires us all! :)
hi, your post reminded me of my collge days. as an english honors student we had to write tomes critically analyzing poems and i admit, tennyson was one of my fav poets. i remember my prof asking me why i chose a tennyson poem for a particular assignment,..and being very sleepy i blurted out..'because he was very handsome' :)
What a brilliant way of expressing your mood.
aqua, Ah! handsome poets- Lords Tennyson & Byron! :))
M&C, glad you liked this! :)
Went over my head...think i have been talkin a lot to aliens...care to explain pliss? But it sounds really nice tho:)
Arvind, hehehe! I've been talking to some strange characters in my life too! :)
This ones a poem about the despair which Lord Tennyson unerwent at the death of his friend, Hallam. was feely blue y'day morning and just reeled it off with some loose change on my part! Nothing more to it.
So what earth shattering comments are the aliens making?
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