French children as young as 4 are required to memorize recite poetry in school as part of the normal curriculum.Īnd it must be said that French poets and poetry are as varied and diverse as the country itself. The French are known for their love of language. All information provided is for entertainment purposes only, see our disclosure policy.) Tennyson has a gift, a mastery, for implying so much through a few simple well chosen words, in beautiful succinct expression.(As an Amazon affiliate, we may earn commissions on purchases. An overall impression is an immense wealth of joy and happiness, experienced and appreciated through intimate interaction with nature, narrated within this poem. Yet for me Tennyson implies, this is right, this is the normal cycle of life, which we are born into and should delight in. Many farewells are sad, this farewell being the title of the poem is definitely important, the last farewell as the lines within the poem confirm. It could be read as sad that the narrator will never again enjoy this beauty as But not by thee my steps shall be, / For ever and for ever definitely confirms. The poem as a metaphor for life, is reinforced with the strength beauty of A thousand suns will stream on thee, / A thousand moons will quiver. These seasonal cycles will shift alternate For ever and for ever. In fall will sigh thine alder tree, in winter thine aspen shiver and a future spring summer or both is introduced with And here by thee will hum the bee. The lines beginning But here, And here, And here imply at least three separate seasons to be. The expansion of life as passing seasons is extended in the third quatrain. The lea is temporarily land for hay or grazing, the human interaction with nature is continuous but only individual lifetimes spanned. Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea, mixes lawn and lea, grassland or pasture with a river and time. Is Tennyson stating the season is winter? Flow down, cold rivulet, could be a metaphor for death, the rivulet is commanded to flow down, but without fear panic or alarm. No more by thee my steps shall be, is a declaration of love, the thee accompanied by his adoring steps will cease For ever and for ever repeated ending every quatrain for emphasis. The narrator shall never again enjoy this deep personal love and joy appreciating this or any other rivulet. An impending ending is definite, No more implies many past steps about to be terminated, Nowhere intensifies an implied loss. The rivulet will Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea, / A rivulet then a river: and for an unspecified reason, in the future the narrator, will never walk again in small steps near the rivulet, admiring the beauty of this gently passing water. The narrator exclaims No more by thee my steps shall be, / For ever and for ever.Įndings changes are definitely implied, the cold rivulet, which is a streamlet, shall become a small brook, stream river and eventually merge into the sea. The appeal begins immediately with the command Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea, extended into purpose, Thy tribute wave deliver: which creates an immediate contrast in juxtaposition. 'A Farewell' by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a simple, interesting, yet beautiful poem written in four stanzas of 4 quatrains, rhyming abab throughout all four quatrains of the poem.
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