Poem The Brook

Theme of the Poem 'The Brook'

The main theme of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Brook" is the contrast between the fleeting
nature of human life and the constant, enduring nature of a brook. The brook's journey, a metaphor
for life, highlights the ever-flowing, continuous process of existence, while the refrain "For men may
come and men may go, But I go on for ever," emphasises the permanence of the natural world in
comparison to the transience of human life.

Extracts
Q1. I come from haunts of coot and hem;

I make a sudden sally And sparkle out among the fern,

To bicker down a valley.

(i) Identify 'I' in the current extract.

(ii) It originates from..................

(iii) Which poetic device is used here?

Ans. (i) 'I' refers to the brook.

(ii) The brook emerges from the mountains, a favourite haunt of the birds like the coot and the heron.

(iii) The poet has used personification by attributing human qualities to The Brook. Alliteration is
present in phrases like 'sudden sally' and 'haunts hern.'

Q2. By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorpes, a little town, And half a hundred bridges.

(i) The brook passes by .........................

(ii) How is the journey of the brook similar to that of man?

(iii) The number of words symbolise .................

or

(i) What is the brook's movement like?

(ii) What do the words 'thirty hills' and 'twenty thorpes' suggest?
(iii) What poetic device does the poet use in the first line?

Ans. (i) hills and bridges, ridges and villages, towns and lands.

(ii) It starts with a shrill sound and passes through difficulties.

(iii) the length of the journey.

or

(i) The movement of the brook appears to be steady.

(ii) The words suggest the long and continuous journey of the brook.

(iii) Personification has been used here.

Q3. 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 forever.

(i) Brook's destination is .........................

(ii) The comparison made between man and the brook is that.....................

(iii) Name the poetic device used here.

or

(i) What is the motive of the brook?

(ii) Which poetic device is used in the third line?

(iii) What is the message conveyed in the last two lines?

Ans. (i) the brimming river

(ii) the man is mortal, but the brook is immortal.

(iii) Personification and refrain have been used here.

or

(i) The motive of the river is to join the brimming river.

(ii) Repetition and Alliteration have been used here.

(iii) The last two lines convey the message that man is mortal whereas nature is immortal.

Q4. I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles.

(i) Explain, 'I chatter'.

(ii) Name the poetic devices used here.

(iii) Which line indicates that the brook is full of enthusiasm?

or

(i) How does the brook move?

(ii) What is the mood of the brook as it flows towards the river?

(iii) What poetic device has been used in the last two lines?

Ans. (i) The brook makes a rapid clicking noise, while it moves over stony paths and thus appears to be
talking.

(ii) Alliteration and Personification have been used here.

(iii) Line 4 indicates the brook's enthusiasm.

or

(i) The brook moves swiftly through twists and turns, creating a lot of noise.

(ii) The brook is cheerful and filled with joy.

(iii) Personification has been used here.

Q5. 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.

(i) Explain the first line.

(ii) The rhyme scheme of the stanza is................

(iii) Which word tells us that it also flows by the piece of land that extends into the sea?

or

(i) Who is 'I' here?

(ii) What is the literary device used in the first line?

(iii) What is the aim of the brook?

Ans. (i) The brook flows in a curve because at one point the path curves and it wears away.

(ii) abab

(iii) Foreland indicates the piece of land that extends into the sea.

or

(i) 'I' refers to the brook here.

(ii) Personification has been used in the first line.

(iii) The aim of the brook is to merge with the brimming river.

Q6. I chatter, chatter, as I How To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.

(i) The brook flows ......................

(ii) What is the relevance of the brimming river?

(iii) Explain 'brimming'.

Ans. (i) over stones and pebbles, creating a lot of noise and appears to be talking.

(ii) The brook originated in the mountains, undertook an arduous journey and would join the brimming
river, its final destination.

(iii) It has abundant water, indicating its everlasting flow.

Q7. 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.

(i) What does the first line suggest about the brook's movement?

(ii) What do 'lusty trout' and 'grayling' refer to?

(iii) What is suggested by the last two lines?

or

(i) How is the brook moving at this time?

(ii) What is the brook carrying with it?

(iii) Why is the word 'wind about' used here?

Ans. (i) It moves in a crisscross fashion, sometimes bending and sometimes turning.

(ii) Trout' and 'grayling' are the kinds of fish.

(iii) A number of living things befriend the brook while going on its journey.

or

(i) The brook is moving in a zigzag way, encountering twists and turns.

(ii) The brook is carrying blossoms and fishes with it.

(iii) 'Wind about' is a reference to the gusty movement of the brook.

Q8. And here and there a foamy flake Upon me,

as I travel With many a silvery water-break Above the golden gravel.

(i) Explain the first two lines.

(ii) Identify the poetic device used in lines three and four.

(iii) This comparison reflects the poet's..............

Ans. (i) The zigzag water movements form a heavy foam of water in the brook.
(ii)The poetic device is a metaphor as the poet describes the appearance of water as silvery. The poet
has also used alliteration in golden gravel.

(iii) respect for nature