1 I come from haunts of coot and hern.

- The brook starts from a place the coots (a kind of duck) & herns (commonly known as herons) spend most of their times. I make a sudden sally,-The brook suddenly rushes down. And sparkle out among the fern,-As the brook flows it sparkles because of sun rays, and it flows through a ground which mostly have grasses and flowerless plants (ferns). To bicker down a valley.-The brook flows down a valley making noisy sounds. By thirty hills I hurry down,-Here the brook swiftly flows down many hills. There are not literally 'Thirty hills' but the poet make's the line creative by using 'Thirty' and not 'many'. Or slip between the ridges,-The brook 'slips'(quickly moves) between long narrow hilltops. By twenty thorps, a little town,-The brook flows down past many villages (Thorp-Old word for village) -again the poet tries to make the line creative by using 'Twenty'-not literally 'Twenty villages' and a little town as well. And half a hundred bridges.-The brook flows and passes by/through many bridgesnot literally 'Half a hundred' bridges. Till last by Philip's farm I flow-The brook flows by a farm probably owned by a man named Philip. To join the brimming river,-After the farm he flows to join a overflowing river. For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. Men/people have a short life spam but the brook is immortal so it has a longer life spam and hence goes on 'forever'. I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles, -As the brook flows it chatters (makes a interesting and musical sound) over a stony creek bed. I bubble into eddying bays, -When the brook flows backward it 'pushes' the air and makes bubbles. I babble on the pebbles, -As the brook moves it makes sound because of the pebbles. With many a curve my banks I fret-The brook flows curvily because at one point the path curves and it wears away. By many a field and fallow,-The brook flows by many fields and bare places

2 (fallows), probably the soil is infertile which is why the land is bare and no plants grow. And many a fairy foreland set, With willow-weed & mallow. -There are many pieces of land sticking out in the brook (called foreland) which have some plants such as 'Willow-weed & mallow'. Where colorful & bright birds, insects & butterflies come which look like fairies from far away. I chatter, chatter as I flow-The brook makes sound as it flows. coot : a bird which swims and dives in water hern : a long-legged wading brid sally : a sudden rush forward; a leap sparkle : reflect flashes of ligth on the surface of water bicker : the sound of water over stones throps : hamlets; small huts Philips farm : 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 1. I come from haunts of coot and hern.- The brook starts from a place the coots (a kind of duck) & herns (commonly known as herons) spend most of their times. I make a sudden sally,-The brook suddenly rushes down. And sparkle out among the fern,-As the brook flows it sparkles because of sun rays, and it flows through a ground which mostly have grasses and flowerless plants (ferns).

3 To bicker down a valley.-The brook flows down a valley making noisy sounds. By thirty hills I hurry down,-Here the brook swiftly flows down many hills. There are not literally 'Thirty hills' but the poet make's the line creative by using 'Thirty' and not 'many'. Or slip between the ridges,-The brook 'slips'(quickly moves) between long narrow hilltops. By twenty thorps, a little town,-The brook flows down past many villages (Thorp-Old word for village) - again the poet tries to make the line creative by using 'Twenty' 'Twenty villages' and a little town as well. And half a hundred bridges.-The brook flows and passes by/through many bridges-not literally 'Half a hundred' bridges. Till last by Philip's farm I flow-The brook flows by a farm probably owned by a man named Philip. To join the brimming river,-After the farm the brook flows to join a overflowing river. For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. Men/people have a short life spam but the brook is immortal so it has a longer life spam and hence goes on 'forever'. 2. --I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles, -As the brook flows it chatters (makes an interesting and musical sound) over a stony creek bed. I bubble into eddying bays, -When the brook flows backward it 'pushes' the air and makes bubbles. I babble on the pebbles, -As the brook moves it makes sound because of the pebbles. With many a curve my banks I fret-The brook flows curvily because at one point the path curves and it wears away. By many a field and fallow,-The brook flows by many fields and bare places (fallows), probably the soil is infertile which is why the land is bare and no plants grow. And many a fairy foreland set, With willow-weed & mallow. -There are many pieces of land sticking out in the brook (called foreland) which have some plants such as 'Willow-weed & mallow'. Where colorful & bright birds, insects & butterflies come which look like fairies from far away. I chatter, chatter as I flow-The brook makes sound as it flows.

4 To join the brimming river, The brook joins the river which is full to the brim. For men may come and men may go, The brook is saying that while humans are mortal and do not last a long time,. But I go on forever. the brook is perennial I wind about, and in and out, The brook meanders in and out with here a blossom sailing, and there are flowers (blossoms) floating on top of the brook. And here and there a lusty trout, There are also trouts (fish) found within the brook... And here and there a grayling, as well as graylings (European fish) And here and there a foamy flake There are also lakes found in the course of the brooks journey which are filled with foam Upon me, as I travel which occur along as the brook travels. With many a silver water-break with many breaks in the water which are silvery in colour Above the golden gravel, There are also pebbles found on the bed of the brook which are golden because they reflect the sun And draw them all along, and flow The brook takes them all along with it and flows To join the brimming river, to join the overflowing river. For men may come and men may go, It states that while men are immortal and hence keep coming and going, But I go on forever. the brook is perennial. I steal by lawns and grassy plots, The brook quietly goes by lawns and plots of grass I slide by hazel covers; The brook flows by hazel trees I move the sweet forget-me-nots In its course, the brook moves because of the flow of water forget-me-nots, generally That grow for happy lovers. given by happy lovers to one another so much that they seem to have grown especially for them.. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, The brook slips, slides, glooms and glances... Among my skimming swallows; among its own reaches which seperates solid objects from liquids I make the netted sunbeam dance The brook makes the rays of sunlight appear as if dancing Against my sandy shallows. Against the sandy shallow portions of the brook I murmur under moon and stars The brook also flows at night and makes a murmuring sound as it does so. In brambly wildernesses; It flows into the wilderness which is teeming with brambles I linger by my shingly bars; The brook spends a long time over its pebbly confines I loiter round my cresses; The brook moves idly around plants growing within the brook And out again I curve and flow And once again, the brook curves out and flows To join the brimming river, in order to join the overflowing river. For men may come and men may go, Men/people have a short life spam But I go on forever. but the brook is immortal so it has a longer life spam and hence goes on 'forever'.

5 haunts: places frequently visited by coot: a type of water bird with a white spot on the forehead hern: heron, (another kind of water bird) sally: emerge suddenly bicker: (here) flow down with a lot of noise thorpes: a village trebles: high pitched tune eddying: spiral movement of water babble: sound made when one talks gaily fallow: land left uncultivated to regain fertility foreland: piece of land that extends into the sea mallow: plant with hairy stems and leaves and pink, white or purple flowers lusty trout: a big freshwater fish grayling: another type of fish hazel: a small tree or bush with edible nuts forget-me-nots : a type of flower shingly: covered with small rounded pebbles cresses: pungent leaved plant like a cabbage

Analysis Alfred Lord Tennyson: Lord Tennyson (1809 - 92) was born in Lincolnshire. Poet Laureate for over 40 years, Tennyson is representative of the Victorian age. His skilled craftsmanship and noble ideals retained a large audience for poetry in an age when the novel was engrossing more and more readers. Tennyson's real contribution lies in his shorter poems like The Lady of Shallot, The Princess, Ulysses, The Palace of Art etc. His fame rests on his perfect control of sound, the synthesis of sound and meaning, the union of pictorial and musical. Introduction: The Brook is a wonderfully lyrical poem, even for Tennyson - in places it verges on pure music. In fact, it is hardly necessary to 'understand' it - just let the images and beautifully patterned rhythms flow past, evoking the babbling brook.It is a beautiful poem to read aloud, very well flowing and musical. The poet has used apt words to bring the different sounds of the brook as it flows: sometimes chattering, sometimes noisy like people bickering, sometimes bubbling and babbling, and sometimes gently murmuring.The descriptions of pastoral serenity evoke a feeling of deep peace, painting such strong visual pictures that the reader is transported for a while into the poet's peaceful bucolic world. The Poem: The Brook is a poem about a simple stream that flows through the countryside. The poem has such exquisite imagery, and such perfect metaphor that one can easily visualise the stream flowing past. The poet has captured not only the beauty of the stream but the sounds and the connected landscape too.

6 The poet portrays himself as the brook. The poem gives the thoughts and impressions of the brook as it twists and turns and flows and falls through the changing landscape. The poet starts the poem by describing the journey of the stream. It starts from a place that is frequently visited by coot(a water bird with a white spot on the head) and hern (heron; another type of water bird) and make a sudden emerge. It flows out among the bushes and flows down a valley with lot of noise. It crosses thirty hills, slip down the ridges(place between two hills), twenty villages, fifty bridges. The poet also makes a comparison between stream and human that man takes birth and die but it lives forever The stream flows over stones and therefore makes a loud noise which he says are in trebles and sharps (pitch of the song). When the water flows into a deep bay, the water forms a small spiral and as a result bubbles are formed. It flows in a winding path passing through fields, fallow lands and causes the growth of weeds and flowers. The stream carries along with its water, flowers that have fallen into it, fishes, foam, flakes, and takes them all into the river. The swiftness of the stream depends on the slope of the land. This image of the changing speed of the river is well depicted by the many words used to show movement. Steal, slide, move, slip, glide, gloom, glance, murmur, linger, loiter, curve and flow are the many expressions used to convey the various 'moods' of the stream. In this poem, the poet has used personification. The idea that stands out is the permanence of the river. Men may come and men may go. But I go on for ever, says the brook. Compared to the small life of man, the brook in ageless and timeless An Amusing Fact: Just a brook, but look at the things Tennyson makes it do. He uses 25 verbs to give the brook some muscle and make it an active participant in its fate, not just a passively moving body of water. Or 26, if you count chatter twice because it has 2 meanings in the poem one to represent the sound of human speech and the other to indicate shivering. Here are the 25 verbs. The 25 verbs: come make sparkle bicker hurry slip flow join go chatter bubble babble fret wind travel draw steal slide move gloom glance murmur linger loiter curve