Break, break, break
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
About Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Born August 6, 1809, in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England, He is one of the most well-loved Victorian poets. He was the fourth of twelve children, showing has early talent for writing through writing a 6,000-line epic poem when he was at the age of twelve. He was taught by his father Reverend George Tennyson when he was a kid. His father then got sick and his family started falling apart. He then moved out of his home in 1827 to attend the Trinity College. He then wrote some poems at the college with his brother called Poems by Two Brothers. The poems caught the eye of the "Apostles" Who gave him what he needed to become the best he could be. Years later after writing a lot of different poems that got mixed reviews; he broke the mold in 1850 when he wrote In Memoriam. He became one of Britain's most popular poets. In the same year, he married Emily Sellwood. They had two sons, Hallam and Lionel.
Break, break, break
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,
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.
What The poem means to me
I love this poem I found it last year but my friend really wanted to take it and use it for himself that I just chose another one. I am glad in a way because now I can do it myself. I love the beach and some of my best memories are on the beach in California with my cousins. I think I have felt the same way and Alfred when thinking about the beach when I was younger. I would think about the big waves crashing on the rocks and the people that got to spend there lives near the ocean. I longed for it at times, but then I realize that live where I live is just fine and I go on with my life. I think that Alfred was having one of these moments when he decided to write this poem.
What does it mean to him?
From looking online, it looks as Alfred lost someone close to him and the poem is his way of expressing is about his isolation whale living not to far away from the sea. This poem was just one of the many that he made when he was writing poems for five years. Some believe that he wrote this poem because he was missing his lose friend during the time of Christmas. one of his friends made this amazing art piece for the inspired by the poem.