Break, Break, Break

Poet: Alfred Lord Tennyson

Break, Break, Break,

On thy (Your) cold gray stones, O Sea!

I would wish that my tongue could utter

The thoughts that arise in me

*O is used to address an absent person or an abstract idea*

The poet is standing on the seashore and talking to the sea (“O Sea”) and wants to express his deep
thoughts.

Here, Break, Break, Break refers to the continuous Break Sound of sea waves striking the stones.

The Poet says that on your cold gray stones (your refers to the sea), there is a non-stop break sound of the
sea waves. He appears frustrated as he is unable to utter his thoughts due to this sound.

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!

The poet envies (here, wanting the happiness of) the fisherman’s boy who can be happy and play with his
sister. He also feels discontented by looking at the happiness the sailor has while singing in his boat.

They possess joy and fulfillment, but he does not. The brother and sister have each other; the sailor has his
boat; the speaker is alone.

They have reason to be happy, but the poet does not.

He is too grief-stricken.
And the stately ships go on

To their haven under the hill;

But O for the touch of a vanished hand,

And the sound of a voice that is still!

In the third stanza, the poet sees the majestic ships moving to their “haven under the hill,” either to

port or to some far-off place. They seem content and happy with their destination. But the poet has

no definite plan in his life and is very sad and depressed. He misses his friend deeply whose voice

and touch was so soft and tender. But now, that person cannot be touched or heard as he is gone

forever. The speaker is caught up in his sad, depressing thoughts.

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.

The speaker returns to speaking about the breaking of waves on the craggy (rough and uneven)

cliffs.

He feels that the waves can come again and again and touch the stones lying there but he

will never ever be able to recapture the happy days that he spent with his friend because now he is

gone forever.

The scene evokes a sense of inevitability and hopelessness.