A Farewell – by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 

Flow down, cold rivulet, to the sea,
Thy tribute wave deliver:
No more by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.              [pathos]

1.     Who is bidding farewell?

2.     What/Who is he bidding farewell to?

3.     Why do you think he has to bid farewell?

4.     How do you think he feels about bidding farewell to this person or thing?

5.     What are the words that imply that the first stanza is about the initial part of the river?

6.     Why do you think the poet uses the word “tribute” to describe the water of the river emptying into the sea?

7.     What is the feeling generated by the last two lines of the stanza?

8.     Why do you think the poet is using inversion in the 2^nd and 3^rd lines?

9.     The poet considers the river as a sentient being. Do you agree with this idea? Why do you say so? 

Flow, softly flow, by lawn and lea, [meadow]
A rivulet then a river:
Nowhere by thee my steps shall be
For ever and for ever.       [pathos]            [present tense]

 

10.  What do you think the poet is trying to achieve by using assonance in the first line of the second stanza?

11.  What kind of an area is the river flowing through in this stanza? 

But here will sigh thine alder tree     [future tense – time after his departure]
And here thine aspen shiver;        [the river would not be alone -  he would be - pathos ]
And here by thee will hum the bee,
For ever and for ever.   [river will always have company – joyous]

12.  What do you think the poet is trying to convey by shifting to future tense in the 3^rd and 4^th stanzas?

13.  What three things would keep the river’s company in the poetic persona’s absence?

14.  Name the technique the poet is using in the two phrases “sigh thine alder tree” and “thine aspen shiver”?

15.  Is the tone of the last line of this stanza the same as the last lines of the two previous stanzas? Briefly explain your answer.

A thousand suns will stream on thee,
A thousand moons will quiver;
But not by thee my steps shall be,
For ever and for ever.

 

16.  What do you think is the poet attempting to convey through the first two lines of the last stanza?

17.  What is the main theme of this poem?

18.  Do you think the poet has been successful in conveying his theme? Comment on the use of language and techniques used in delivering the theme briefly.