British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson penned “The Brook” in 1886, just six years before his death. The poem is a ballad in which the speaker—the brook, or stream, itself—undertakes a long and winding journey across the countryside to join up with a large river. Tucked inside this seemingly sweet poem about a little stream are darker, more poignant themes of death, human impermanence, and nature's indifference to humankind, though the poem also emphasizes nature's sheer beauty. The poem’s most notable characteristic is its refrain, “For men may come and men may go, / But I go on for ever,” which appears four times throughout the poem and captures both the fleetingness of human life and the constancy of nature.
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The Full Text of “The Brook”
1I come from haunts of coot and hern:
2 I make a sudden sally
3And sparkle out among the fern,
4 To bicker down a valley.
5By thirty hills I hurry down,
6 Or slip between the ridges,
7By twenty thorps, a little town,
8 And half a hundred bridges.
9Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
11For men may come and men may go,
12 But I go on for ever.
13I chatter over stony ways,
14 In little sharps and trebles,
15I bubble into eddying bays,
16 I babble on the pebbles.
17With many a curve my banks I fret
18 By many a field and fallow,
19And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
21I chatter, chatter, as I flow
22 To join the brimming river,
23For men may come and men may go,
24 But I go on for ever.
25I wind about, and in and out,
26 With here a blossom sailing,
27And here and there a lusty trout,
28 And here and there a grayling,
29And here and there a foamy flake
30 Upon me, as I travel
31With many a silvery waterbreak
32 Above the golden gravel,
33And draw them all along, and flow
34 To join the brimming river;
35For men may come and men may go,
36 But I go on for ever.
37I steal by lawns and grassy plots:
38 I slide by hazel covers;
39I move the sweet forget-me-nots
40 That grow for happy lovers.
41I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
42 Among my skimming swallows;
43I make the netted sunbeam dance
44 Against my sandy shallows;
45I murmur under moon and stars
46 In brambly wildernesses;
47I linger by my shingly bars;
48 I loiter round my cresses;
49And out again I curve and flow
50 To join the brimming river;
51For men may come and men may go,
52 But I go on for ever.
The Full Text of “The Brook”
1I come from haunts of coot and hern:
2 I make a sudden sally
3And sparkle out among the fern,
4 To bicker down a valley.
5By thirty hills I hurry down,
6 Or slip between the ridges,
7By twenty thorps, a little town,
8 And half a hundred bridges.
9Till last by Philip’s farm I flow
10 To join the brimming river,
11For men may come and men may go,
12 But I go on for ever.
13I chatter over stony ways,
14 In little sharps and trebles,
15I bubble into eddying bays,
16 I babble on the pebbles.
17With many a curve my banks I fret
18 By many a field and fallow,
19And many a fairy foreland set
20 With willow-weed and mallow.
21I chatter, chatter, as I flow
22 To join the brimming river,
23For men may come and men may go,
24 But I go on for ever.
25I wind about, and in and out,
26 With here a blossom sailing,
27And here and there a lusty trout,
28 And here and there a grayling,
29And here and there a foamy flake
30 Upon me, as I travel
31With many a silvery waterbreak
32 Above the golden gravel,
33And draw them all along, and flow
34 To join the brimming river;
35For men may come and men may go,
36 But I go on for ever.
37I steal by lawns and grassy plots:
38 I slide by hazel covers;
39I move the sweet forget-me-nots
40 That grow for happy lovers.
41I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
42 Among my skimming swallows;
43I make the netted sunbeam dance
44 Against my sandy shallows;
45I murmur under moon and stars
46 In brambly wildernesses;
47I linger by my shingly bars;
48 I loiter round my cresses;
49And out again I curve and flow
50 To join the brimming river;
51For men may come and men may go,
52 But I go on for ever.
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“The Brook” Summary
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“The Brook” Themes
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Mortal Humans vs. Eternal Nature
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The Beauty and Power of Nature
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Human Life and Death
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Brook”
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Lines 1-4
I come from haunts of coot and hern:
I make a sudden sally
And sparkle out among the fern,
To bicker down a valley. -
Lines 5-8
By thirty hills I hurry down,
Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little town,
And half a hundred bridges. -
Lines 9-12
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 for ever. -
Lines 13-16
I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles. -
Lines 17-20
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. -
Lines 21-24
I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever. -
Lines 25-28
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, -
Lines 29-32
And here and there a foamy flake
Upon me, as I travel
With many a silvery waterbreak
Above the golden gravel, -
Lines 33-36
And draw them all along, and flow
To join the brimming river;
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever. -
Lines 37-40
I steal by lawns and grassy plots:
I slide by hazel covers;
I move the sweet forget-me-nots
That grow for happy lovers. -
Lines 41-44
I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,
Among my skimming swallows;
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows; -
Lines 45-48
I murmur under moon and stars
In brambly wildernesses;
I linger by my shingly bars;
I loiter round my cresses; -
Lines 49-52
And out again I curve and flow
To join the brimming river;
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.
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“The Brook” Symbols
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Villages and Bridges
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“The Brook” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Extended Metaphor
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Personification
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Repetition
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Alliteration
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Imagery
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End-Stopped Line
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Enjambment
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Allusion
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Onomatopoeia
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“The Brook” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Haunts
- Coot and Hern
- Sally
- Bicker
- Thorps
- Brimming
- Eddying
- Fret
- Fallow
- Foreland
- Willow-weed and Mallow
- Lusty
- Grayling
- Foamy Flake
- Waterbreak
- Hazel Covers
- Forget-me-nots
- Skimming Swallows
- Brambly
- Shingly Bars
- Cresses
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Brook”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Brook” Speaker
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“The Brook” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Brook”
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More “The Brook” Resources
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External Resources
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"The Brook" Put to Music — Enjoy this archived copy of vintage sheet music—or even play along!
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More Background — Read more about Tennyson's private and public life.
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"The Brook" Read Aloud — Listen to a reading of Tennyson's "The Brook."
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Tennyson's Life — Read about how Tennyson's personal life shaped his work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson
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