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Karim Hamed Posted 18 years ago
"Break, break, break", by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Hello. I'm trying to analyze this poem and, after looking up the words I don't understand, I couldn't find the meanings of two of them. They're in bold:
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 vanished hand,
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.
a) I have studied would as a modal verb. So I don't find any sense in this line without a main verb following 'would'. I think it might mean 'I wish' (I wish my tongue could...), but I'm not sure.
b) The word O can be used as a vocative (see line 2) or to express surprise (see line 5). But in line 11, what does it mean or express?
Notice that I'm not asking you to do my homework; I'm just trying to solve these doubts
I hope you may help me, please.
Regards.
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 vanished hand,
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.
a) I have studied would as a modal verb. So I don't find any sense in this line without a main verb following 'would'. I think it might mean 'I wish' (I wish my tongue could...), but I'm not sure.
b) The word O can be used as a vocative (see line 2) or to express surprise (see line 5). But in line 11, what does it mean or express?
Notice that I'm not asking you to do my homework; I'm just trying to solve these doubts
I hope you may help me, please.Regards.
Top answer
Karim Hamed a) I have studied would as a modal verb. So I don't find any sense in this line without a main verb following 'would'. ), but I'm not sure.
- Karim Hamed a) I have studied would as a modal verb.
- So I don't find any sense in this line without a main verb following 'would'.
- ), but I'm not sure.
- I think that line is elliptical, the verb 'wish' is understood.
- There are licenses in poetry that let you alter the sentence, particularly to match a verse/line structure.
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4 Answers
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Karim Hameda) I have studied would as a modal verb. So I don't find any sense in this line without a main verb following 'would'. I think it might mean 'I wish' (I wish my tongue could...), but I'm not sure.I think that line is elliptical, the verb 'wish' is understood. There are licenses in poetry that let you alter the sentence, particularly to
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The secret to understanding the word "would" is looking at the history of the verb "will"
O.E. *willan, wyllan "to wish, desire, want" (past tense wolde),
You see that Tenneyson (writing in the 1800's) is using the contemporary spelling for the Old English past tense of the verb "will". He is also using the old definition. We still use this definitio
O.E. *willan, wyllan "to wish, desire, want" (past tense wolde),
You see that Tenneyson (writing in the 1800's) is using the contemporary spelling for the Old English past tense of the verb "will". He is also using the old definition. We still use this definitio
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AlpheccaStarsThe secret to understanding the word "would" is looking at the history of the verb "will"
O.E. *willan, wyllan "to wish, desire, want" (past tense wolde),
I didn't know of that meaning of 'will'. I've always used it as an auxiliary verb. Thanks a lot.
Regards.
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