Alfred, Lord Tennyson composed "Break, Break, Break" in 1835, two years after the death of his close friend and fellow poet, Arthur Hallam. Because the poem's speaker laments the death of a close acquaintance, most readers read "Break, Break, Break" as an elegy to Hallam, though the poem stands on its own as a more general meditation on mortality and loss. Published in 1842, the poem is often read alongside Tennyson's "In Memoriam A. H. H.," a longer work that is more explicit in its commemoration of Hallam and the impact he had on Tennyson's life.
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The Full Text of “Break, Break, Break”
1Break, break, break,
2 On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
3And I would that my tongue could utter
4 The thoughts that arise in me.
5O, well for the fisherman's boy,
6 That he shouts with his sister at play!
7O, well for the sailor lad,
8 That he sings in his boat on the bay!
9And the stately ships go on
10 To their haven under the hill;
11But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
12 And the sound of a voice that is still!
13Break, break, break,
14 At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
15But the tender grace of a day that is dead
16 Will never come back to me.
The Full Text of “Break, Break, Break”
1Break, break, break,
2 On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
3And I would that my tongue could utter
4 The thoughts that arise in me.
5O, well for the fisherman's boy,
6 That he shouts with his sister at play!
7O, well for the sailor lad,
8 That he sings in his boat on the bay!
9And the stately ships go on
10 To their haven under the hill;
11But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
12 And the sound of a voice that is still!
13Break, break, break,
14 At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!
15But the tender grace of a day that is dead
16 Will never come back to me.
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“Break, Break, Break” Summary
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“Break, Break, Break” Themes
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Loss and Impermanence
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The Difficulty of Moving On
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Break, Break, Break”
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Lines 1-2
Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! -
Lines 3-4
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me. -
Lines 5-8
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! -
Lines 9-10
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill; -
Lines 11-12
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still! -
Lines 13-16
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.
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“Break, Break, Break” Symbols
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The Sea
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“Break, Break, Break” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Apostrophe
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Assonance
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Enjambment
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Irony
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Juxtaposition
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Repetition
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Sibilance
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“Break, Break, Break” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Break
- Thy
- Would
- Utter
- Lad
- Stately
- Haven
- Vanish'd
- Foot
- Crags
- Tender
- Grace
- Dead
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Break, Break, Break”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Break, Break, Break” Speaker
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“Break, Break, Break” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Break, Break, Break”
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More “Break, Break, Break” Resources
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External Resources
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Pictures of Tennyson — Because the 19th century saw the onset of photography, there are a number of pictures of Tennyson himself available for perusal!
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Hear the Poem Out Loud — Listen to a dramatic reading of "Break, Break, Break" by the famous British actor Sir John Gielgud.
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A More Detailed Look — Read about Tennyson's life in more detail, especially regarding his tumultuous upbringing.
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The Poet's Life — Watch a documentary about Tennyson's life.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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