Lyric Poem · Grief
Break, Break, Break
by Alfred, Lord Tennyson · 1842
1Break, break, break,
2On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
3And I would that my tongue could utter
4The thoughts that arise in me.
5O well for the fisherman's boy,
6That he shouts with his sister at play!
7O well for the sailor lad,
8That he sings in his boat on the bay!
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Break, Break, Break” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson — quilloak.com/poems/break-break-break
Quick facts
- Poem
- Break, Break, Break
- Poet
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- Published
- 1842
- Length
- 16 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem
- Themes
- Grief, Sad
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 16 lines · 4 quatrains
- End rhyme
- ABCB in every stanza — ballad rhyme — only lines 2 and 4 chime.
- Refrain
- “Break, break, break,”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson1809–1892
- Source record
- WikisourceBreak, Break, Break by alfred-lord-tennyson, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1842
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 64bb9272d9ffdef7…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.