The Brook

- Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, (1809 - 1892), the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom after Wordsworth, is one of the most popular English Victorian poets. Much of his verse was based on classical or mythological themes, although In Memoriam was written to commemorate his best friend. Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet and classmate at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was engaged to Tennysons sister but died from a cerebral haemorrhage. Tennyson was also a great nature poet and The Brook is one of Tennysons most famous works. In fact this lyric is part of a longer, dramatic poem of the same name.

In this poem Tennyson speaks about the journey of a small brook which later joins a mighty river. The poem is narrated in the First Person by the small brook. Here we come across the journey of the brook till it merges in a bigger river. The harmony of sound with sense here is enchanting. The refrain of the poem contrasts, the careless flow of the brook with the brevity of human life. I come from haunts of coot and hern, I make a sudden sally, And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley. By thirty hills I hurry down, Or slip between the ridges, By twenty thorps a little town, And half a hundred bridges. Till last by Philip's farm I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles, I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles. ridges / rIdZ / 23 bridges / brIdZ /

With many a curve my banks I fret by many a field and fallow, And many a fairy foreland set With willow-weed and mallow. I chatter, chatter, as I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I wind about, and in and out, with here a blossom sailing, And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling, And here and there a foamy flake Upon me, as I travel With many a silver waterbreak Above the golden gravel, And draw them all along, and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I steal by lawns and grassy plots, I slide by hazel covers; I move the sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, Among my skimming swallows; I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows. I murmur under moon and stars In brambly wildernesses; I linger by my shingly bars; I loiter round my cresses; And out again I curve and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. hazel / 'heIzl / cresses / kres / 24 swallow / 'swQlJU / wilderness / 'wIldJnJs /

Glossary
coot hern sally sparkle bicker throps Philips farm a bird which swims and dives in water a long-legged wading brid a sudden rush forward; a leap reflect flashes of ligth on the surface of water the sound of water over stones hamlets; small huts The brook joined the bigger river near the farm owned by old Philip. Philips daughter was once loved by Tennysons elder brother sharps : sudden and shrill voices trebles : high-pitched voices eddying : having a current of water moving contrary to the direction of the main current fallow : land ploughed but left unseeded babble : confusing sound fret : feel uneasy foreland : a projecting land mass where fairies are supposed to assemble weed : a plant considered undesirable, growing where it is not wanted mallow : a kind of plant brimming : to be full to the brim, often overflowing trout : a fresh water fish grayling : another kind of fresh water fish hazel : a kind of shrub skimming : floating netted sunbeams: the beams of the setting sun sandy shallows : water of little depth where sand abounds shingly bars : small stones cresses : a type of plant brambly : prickly shrubs wilderness : unsettled or uncultivated region : : : : : : :

Exercises
Word Power
(1) Read the following words and phrases and rewrite them under the columns given below: fret, bicker, hurry, foamy flakes, chatter, sailing, wind about, skimming swallows, babble, slide, linger, murmur, loiter, brambly wilderness, steal by, sunbeam Words connected Words connected Words connected with sound with movement with images __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

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(2)

Now use each of these words and phrases in sentences of your own. What is the rhyming scheme of the poem? Explain with examples. Alliteration is a figure of speech used in poetry which brings together words which begin with the same consonant or vowel sound. For example: The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew The furrow followed free (Coleridge)

(3)

Find the examples of alliteration in the poem The Brook Personification is a figure of speech in which inanimate objects and abstract notions are spoken of as having life and intelligence. For example: Laughter holding both her sides. Death lays his icy hands on kings.

(4)

Now explain the use of personification in this poem. Refrain In The Brook you find the following lines repeated after every second or third stanza: For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever. Such repetition is called refrain. Refrain is a regularly recurring phrase or verse especially at the end of each stanza or division of a poem or song. Refrains are a regular feature of ballads. Ballads have strong associations with childhood: much children's poetry comes in ballad form, and English poets traditionally associated ballads with their national childhood as well. Ballads emphasize strong rhythms, repetition of key phrases, and rhymes; if you hear a traditional ballad, you will know that you are hearing a poem. Ballads are meant to be song-like and to remind readers of oral poetry-of parents singing to children, for instance; or of ancient poets reciting their verse to a live audience.

Comprehension
(a) Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each: 1. Who is the Iin the poem and what does he do throughout the poem? 2. Identify the places that the brook travels through. Make a list of the items. 3. Where does the brook flow to and what happens in the end? Explain the following: (a) For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.

(b)

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(b)

I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles I bubble into eddying bays I babble on the bays. What is the poet referring to when he says: And draw them all along, and flow To join the brimming river, Explain the following stanza in your own words bringing out the poet's philosophy of life: I wind about, and in and out, with here a blossom sailing, And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling,

(c)

(d)

SpeakingActivity
Read the following poem by Wordsworth and compare it with The Brook in terms of concerning images used 1. The movement words in the poem, (at least four) 2. Figures of speech used in the two poems. Give examples. 3. The philosophy of life of the two poets. 4. The title of the two poems.

Daffodils
I wandered lonely as a Cloud That floats on high o'er Vales and Hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. The waves beside them danced, but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee Apoet could not but be gay In such a jocund company: I gazed and gazed but little thought 27

What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude, And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils. -William Wordsworth

WritingActivity
Based on your discussion in the class, write a critical appreciation of the poem bringing out its qualities, including the use of the Figures of Speech.

Think it Over
Think about yourself as a brook and then rewrite about the experiences you have, as if you are: (a) (b) happy like the brook unhappy because of the problems of life

Things to Do
Collect as many poems as you can concerning brook, river, birds etc. and share them with your class. (Use internet or library to enrich your collection.)

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