2. I come from haunts of coot and hern,
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley.
The stream originates from a place which is a habitat of aquatic
birds like the coot and the heron. Then it takes a quick sharp
turn to enter a field where the flowerless wild fern grows. Then,
it makes the ‘bickering’ sound (akin to humans) as it moves
down the valley.
3. By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty Thorpe, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges.
The stream races past a land full of hills. The number ‘thirty’ is
used as a metaphor to denote the vast number of hills the stream
passes by. It makes it way through ridges that are common in hilly
terrains. As it continues its journey, it leaves behind many villages
and a town and so many bridges. Like the earlier word ‘thirty’, the
words ‘twenty’ and ‘half a hundred’ have been used to express a
great number.
4.
5. 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 for ever.
The stream has assumed the garb of a human being. It knows a
man called Phillip whose farm
it flows by before it plunges in to a river full of water. Then,
the stream gloats over its ability
to defy the ravages of time. It says that it has outlived even the
mightiest men born on earth.
The author has perhaps been overwhelmed by the timeless
existence of the stream and man’s
helplessness before the cycle of birth and death.
6. I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
The terrain the stream travels through is vast and varied.
It negotiates turns, runs over trebles,
blows up bubbles when the going gets rough. When it
dashes against the innumerable stones
and pebbles, it makes a continuous drone.
7.
8. 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.
The stream appears to rejoice at its gorgeous flow through the
undulated countryside that abounds in farming fields and
uncultivated lands. It flows past some pieces of land that have
rich vegetation. They look exquisitely beautiful. There are the
willow-weeds and mallows. Colourful birds chirp in the company
of humming insects and butterflies that look like fairies from the
sky.
9. I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
The stream, agog with exuberance and joy, continues with
its ‘chatter’. It flows relentlessly to meet its final
destination – the brimming river. The stream appears to
have an uncanny ability to weather the vagaries of nature
and defy the onslaught of time. It is indestructible, unlike
the boastful humans who, despite their best efforts, can not
escape the jaws of death.
10.
11. 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,
As the stream continues its journey amid the flora and fauna
of the countryside, it gets a flower as its companion. It
carries the flower along. It happily offers sanctuary to small
fishes like the trout and the grayling.
12. And here and there a foamy flake
Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel,
The stream encounters turbulence along its way as it hits
various obstacles like stones, rock pieces and gold-colored
gravels. The splash creates foams and bubbles. These foams
shine brilliantly in sunshine assuming a silvery glow.
13.
14. And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
The force of the flowing water of the stream pushes all that
come its way – from the light flower to sand particles to
gravel and stones. The destination remains the same – the
brimming river where the stream will empty its contents. This
relentless flow of the stream continues unmindful of time’s
devouring potential. It is not a mortal like the humans who
have to surrender to death and destruction one day or the
other.
15. I steal by lawns and grassy plots,
I slide by hazel covers;
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers.
The stream passes by lawns and patches of meadows. It leaves
behind shrubs like the hazel. Some blue-colored ornamental
flowers like the ‘forget-me-not’ associated with romance fall on
the waters of the stream. It carries them gladly. Thus, the
stream becomes nature’s messenger of love, life and longevity.
16.
17. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows.
The stream has to maneuver its way past the many obstacles that
tend to stop it. But, the exuberant stream is unstoppable. It
flows as the swallow birds looking for insects skim over
the surface of its water. The stream dances majestically in the
sunlight as it flows past its shallow sandy banks.
18. I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses;
The stream has no break in its journey. During its journey at
night, it sees the moon and the stars. The wilderness of the
surrounding full of the thorny bramble shrubs does not unnerve
it. It mingles with the sand pebbles and the cabbage like plants.
This stretch of the journey appears to be slower in pace.
19.
20. And out again I curve and flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
Then the flow resumes in its relentless pace negotiating turns
and curves. Finally it joins the river, its final destiny. The
stream again mocks the humans as ordinary mortals who get
consumed by time. On the other hand, the stream is perennial
and undying.
21.
22. Born:
6 August 1809
Birth place:
England
United Kingdom
Died:
6 October 1892
(aged 83)
England
United Kingdom
Occupation: Poet Laureate
23.
24.
25. Œnone,
The brook,
Tears Idle Tears,
Crossing the Bar,
The Lady of Shalott,
The Charge of the Light
Brigade,
Song of the Lotos-Eaters,
Blow Bugle blow,
Summer Night,
The Millers Daughter,
Come down O Maid,
Etc……
26. Mother: Elizabeth Fytche
Father: George Clayton
Tennyson
Wife: Emily Tennyson
Children: Hallam Tennyson,
Lionel
Siblings: He had 7
brothers and 4
sisters
