17 Break, Break, Break (16/91) -- English Literature: Victorians and Moder...

17 Break, Break, Break Alfred and Lord Tennyson 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[1], 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. —1834, 1842 - Like “Ulysses” and “In Memoriam,” this poem was inspired by the death of Arthur Hallam. ↵