The Brook (excerpt)

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

 `O babbling brook,' says Edmund in his rhyme,
 `Whence come you?' and the brook, why not? replies.

     I come from haunts of coot and hern,
     I make a sudden sally,
     And sparkle out among the fern,
     To bicker down a valley.

     By thirty hills I hurry down,
     Or slip between the ridges,
     By twenty thorps, a little town,
     And half a hundred bridges.

     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.

 `Poor lad, he died at Florence, quite worn out,
 Travelling to Naples. There is Darnley bridge,
 It has more ivy; there the river; and there
 Stands Philip's farm where brook and river meet.

     I chatter over stony ways,
     In little sharps and trebles,
     I bubble into eddying bays,
     I babble on the pebbles.

     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 chatter, chatter, as I flow
     To join the brimming river,
     For men may come and men may go,
     But I go on for ever.

 `But Philip chatter'd more than brook or bird;
 Old Philip; all about the fields you caught
 His weary daylong chirping, like the dry
 High-elbow'd grigs that leap in summer grass. [grig = cricket - m.]

     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,

     And here and there a foamy flake
     Upon me, as I travel
     With many a silvery waterbreak
     Above the golden gravel,

     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.

Commentary

        Full poem at
        <[broken link] http://www.hti.umich.edu/bin/epd/epd-idx.pl?type=HTML&rgn=POEM&byte=>
        Reproduced from the English Poetry Full-Text Database Copyright (c)
        [1992-1995] Chadwyck-Healey Ltd.

This is a wonderfully lyrical poem, even for Tennyson - in places it verges on pure music. In fact, it is hardly necessary to ‘understand’ it - just let the images and beautifully patterned rhythms flow past, evoking the babbling brook. I could go through this excerpt line by line, saying exactly what I like about each one, but if this isn’t a poem that should speak for itself, I don’t know what is. In passing, though - it has immortalized the phrase ‘babbling brook’, enshrining it so thoroughly into the language that even those who have never heard of Tennyson would apply no other adjective.

m. (Happy Star Wars day!1)

  1. May the 4th… ↩

The Wondering Minstrels, poem #80 · 3 May 1999

Poem selected by Martin DeMello

Fair use

Show 17 commentsHide comments

From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.

santanu.chari · 19 February 2001

This poem takes me back to my English Class, X Std. where we would read from Panorama: A collection of Poems (ICSE). We grew up to mug, recite and eventually love these poems. Probably the most important reason why I like this one.

It’s very jolly and bouncy. One can read it aloud and feel the Rhyme and Rhythm. Its as if The Brook’s woken up at dawn and is hopping along towards the river for a bath.

Not to forget the spirit of the refrain:
“For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever. “

Regards,
Santanu Chari

Ross &amp; Mitch Graham · 7 September 2001

I had a wonderful teacher in about fourth class primary who taught us this poem . I used to be able to recite at least some of it - perhaps all.

This is the first time in 38 years that I have found it again.The pleasure & memory are hard to put into words.

Gomati Ramachandran · 8 December 2002

This is such a lovely poem.. captures and brings to mind so much of romance and imagination..

Takes away so much of stress from my mind.., brings so much of life into me and a fascination for bringing it to life in my life..don’t know how to though..

I tried painting my feelings on this poem.., but was not satisfied..

Gomati

Chainani Shailendra · 10 December 2002

hello:
I would like a copy of this book “Panorama: A collection of poems”. Does anyone know where I can get one? or the name of the publisher. Shailendra Chainani

Alicia Vennos · 25 January 2003

Hello…

How delighted I was to find this excerpt of “The Brook”! My father-in-law is 81 and remembers this more extensive version of the poem, which he memorized in third grade in Saskatchewan, Canada! He asked me to try and find him a copy of it and after two hours on the Internet, your site was the only one I found with the longer version. I am not a “member or subscriber” so could not access the full copy of the poem…please let me know how I might do that? I live in a small town about 5 hours from the closest city/university so I don’t have access to an excellent library, either.

Many thanks for your assistance.

–Alicia

Sashi C · 15 April 2003

Hello Santanu

My name is Sashi. I came upon your note about Panorama: A Collection of Poems(ICSE). I was a ICSE student myself and I couldn’t agree more. I was wondering if you remember a poem called ‘Simon Snoot’s Whiskers’. We had this poem in the eighth grade, but I can’t recall the poet’s name. The poem is about Simon’s whiskers, which he dearly loves and cares for, but, eventually a goat eats them. I’ve tried searching for it on the net unsuccessfully. Can you please let me know if you know of any site where I can find it. Thanks a bunch and have a great day. :-)
Regards,
Sashi.

Stephen Marshall · 9 August 2003

A Question::

What was “Philip’s Farm” and another question…

What is “O babbling brook from?”

Any response is welcome.

SNM in Syracuse

Johann Du Plessis · 23 December 2003

Hi
I too am looking for the poem about Simon Snoot. Please let me know where I can find it as I have searched the internet thoroughly, but with no results. Regards
Eric

vachher · 23 April 2004

I’ve been searching for long for a mention of Panorama - a collection of poems. i was a student of ICSE and just cannot forget the romance and fragrance of some of the poems. Our English teacher, Mrs. Seymour made those poems memorable for us.

St. Patricks Junior College

Vinita Unny · 28 July 2004

Sashi

I got your email on the web when I ran a search on “Simon Snoot’s Whiskers”. I went to an ICSE school as well and actually recited that poem in an elocution competition to win first place. I noticed that you has asked someone about it…..did you ever find it? If you did can you email it to me.

Thank you
Vinita

Andrew McCarthy · 4 February 2005

This poem is not just a poem it is a limnological thesis, I used it in my final degree exam in 1969, try feeling it as a stream. The biology is fantastic.

andrew mccarthy

an aged biology teacher

TJ Pannu · 27 February 2005

I also had this poem in the 10th standard, sometime in 1994. I never thought sitting in the class listening to a poem about a brook thousands of miles away written at least a hundred years before my time. It appeared to me about a subject, the brook that was completely alien to me. But the words of the poem today bring joy of the days gone by, the days of my childhood back home in India.

Roger Pelizzari · 16 May 2006

Hi,
I am Roger Pelizzari and I commented a while ago on Tennyson’s The Brook.
My comment is the last one. Is it possible for you to erase my full name from it
and substitute my initials, RP.

If not, can you erase the comment completely?

Thanks much,

Roger Pelizzari

Janet Hodgkins · 22 May 2006

My memory jogged by a recent conversation, I remember about 60 years ago having to write out the recurring verse: I chatter, chatter as I flow to ………….men may come, and men may go but I go on forever. I found myself all alone laughing heartily at the memory, but didn’t know it’s source. I got out of bed to right this ignorance at 1:00 a.m. I don’t know how many times I had to write it. It was obviously a sufficient number that I have never forgotten it. Did it cure the chattering? Absolutely not!

Shantanu Chatterjee · 11 October 2007

This is the poem my dad used to recite for me in my childhood days. As far as i can remember it is the first poem i ever heard in my life. and it really touched me. Even since i lost him a few months back i have been searching for this poem am so glad to find it here. it makes me feel so close to my day as if he is still sitting next to me and reciting it. all the memories come rushing back at me and make me very nostalgic.

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Dr. Raja Datta · 6 May 2008

Could you tell me the name of the publisher of ‘Panorama’ and where can we get a copy from. Dr. Raja Datta.

Andrea Callow · 9 May 2008

Did anyone ever have an answer to your question about where “O babbling brook” is from? Spencer poem?
Thanks,
Andrea