by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Translation by Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912)
Break, break, break
Language: English
Break, break, break, On thy cold grey 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, 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.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesPoet's note: "Made in a Lincolnshire lane at five o'clock in the morning, between blossoming hedges." Written in memory of Tennyson's friend Arthur Hallam (d. 1833).
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, Volume II, first published 1842 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 118
Brich, brich, brich
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Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Our translations: ENG
Brich, brich, brich O Meer an dem kalten Gestein! Die Gedanken spricht meine Lippe nicht aus Die du rauschst in mein Herz hinein! O wohl dem Matrosenbub' Der da singet, gewiegt vom Kiel! O, wohl dem Fischermannsohn Der da jauchzt mit der Schwester im Spiel! Bald hat das stattliche Schiff Auf der Rückkehr den Hafen erreicht: Doch wer bringt mir zurück den Druck jener Hand, Und den Laut jener Stimme, die schweigt? Brich, brich, brich An dem Fuss deines Felsens, o Meer! Doch die zarte Schönheit vergangenen Tags Kehrt mir nimmer und nimmermehr!
About the headline (FAQ)
View text with all available footnotesConfirmed with Julius Hart, England und Amerika. Fünf Bücher englischer u. amerikanischer Gedichte von den Anfängen bis auf die Gegenwart, Minden i. W.: J.C.C. Bruns' Verlag, 1885, pages 337-338.
Text Authorship:
- by Eugen Oswald (1826 - 1912), "Brich, brich, brich" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in Poems, Volume II, first published 1842
Go to the general view
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2018-10-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 104