Tears, Idle Tears - A poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Lord Tennyson - Tears, Idle Tears

Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean,
Tears from the depth of some divine despair
Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes,
In looking on the happy autumn-fields,
And thinking of the days that are no more.

    Fresh as the first beam glittering on a sail,
That brings our friends up from the underworld,
Sad as the last which reddens over one
That sinks with all we love below the verge;
So sad, so fresh, the days that are no more.

    Ah, sad and strange as in dark summer dawns
The earliest pipe of half-awakened birds
To dying ears, when unto dying eyes
The casement slowly grows a glimmering square;
So sad, so strange, the days that are no more.

    Dear as remembered kisses after death,
And sweet as those by hopeless fancy feigned
On lips that are for others; deep as love,
Deep as first love, and wild with all regret;
O Death in Life, the days that are no more!

Added: on March 24th, 2005 at 10:54 AM | Viewed: 10471 times | Comments (12)

Tears, Idle Tears - Comments and Information
Poet: Alfred Lord Tennyson Poem: Tears, Idle Tears Poem of the Day on: Jul 27 2004 Comment 12 of 12, added on April 6th, 2006 at 10:57 AM. okay the poem is written about Tennyson's close friend/poet Arthur Hallam as there is evidence backing that up .. if you are wondering which evidence.. try looking up the history of Tennyson's writing of poetry (it is not that hard!) He grieves about the past .. the whole poem speaks of the past it is evidently seen in the last line of each stanza! It also suggests the meaning of "without hope love is falsely represented" and how he mourns the loss of love, thus living with regret. Look at the title of the name .. does that have any significance or meaning to the poem? it sure does! that is all i am writing seriously just read the poem properly it is not that hard! Lani Banani from Australia Comment 11 of 12, added on July 23rd, 2005 at 1:16 AM. i love this poem, cuz it depicts and decribes lord tennyson's mourning so well it makes me so sad and feel sorry for this man. he has grieved so much in his life. lil_buddha_gal from Australia Comment 10 of 12, added on March 24th, 2005 at 10:54 AM. This poem is about two very important topics 1 is about his own death, autumn is a strong symbol of death and he is feeling regret about the past all the things he didn't do that he wanted to do but never did just like everybody does before they die or when they are just thinking about it the other is he is morning over the loss of his true love while he is thinking about his own death he wants to go back and relive those moments they had that is what I got out of this poem by Tennyson. Darrin from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Tears, Idle Tears, has received 12 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
Tears, Idle Tears Last read: 2008-07-02 11:06:32 Poem of the Day on: Jul 27 2004 Viewed 10471 times. Added on March 24th, 2005 at 10:54 AM.

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