'The Brook' by Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Here is a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, which touched my heart. Please share your thoughts about this poem, and upload some of your favorite poems on Brilliant.
................................................... $\large The Brook$ .....................................................

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 thorpes, 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.

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 fore-land 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.

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.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,

I slide by hazel covers;

I move the sweet forget-me-nots

That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,

Among my skimming swallows;

I make the netted sunbeam dance

Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars

In brambly wildernesses;

I linger by my shingly bars;

I loiter round my cresses;

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.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

Please share your thoughts on this poem, and don't forget to reshare this poem for all to see.

Markdown

Appears as

*italics* or _italics_

italics

**bold** or __bold__

bold


- bulleted
- list

bulleted
list


1. numbered
2. list

numbered
list

Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

paragraph 1

paragraph 2

[example link](https://brilliant.org)

example link

> This is a quote

This is a quote

    # I indented these lines
    # 4 spaces, and now they show
    # up as a code block.

    print "hello world"

# I indented these lines
# 4 spaces, and now they show
# up as a code block.

print "hello world"

Math

Appears as

Remember to wrap math in $ ... $ or \[ ... \] to ensure proper formatting.

2 \times 3

2 \times 3

2^{34}

2^{34}

a_{i-1}

a_{i-1}

\frac{2}{3}

\frac{2}{3}

\sqrt{2}

\sqrt{2}

\sum_{i=1}^3

\sum_{i=1}^3

\sin \theta

\sin \theta

\boxed{123}

\boxed{123}

Easy Math Editor

This discussion board is a place to discuss our Daily Challenges and the math and science related to those challenges. Explanations are more than just a solution — they should explain the steps and thinking strategies that you used to obtain the solution. Comments should further the discussion of math and science.

When posting on Brilliant:

Use the emojis to react to an explanation, whether you're congratulating a job well done , or just really confused .
Ask specific questions about the challenge or the steps in somebody's explanation. Well-posed questions can add a lot to the discussion, but posting "I don't understand!" doesn't help anyone.
Try to contribute something new to the discussion, whether it is an extension, generalization or other idea related to the challenge.
Stay on topic — we're all here to learn more about math and science, not to hear about your favorite get-rich-quick scheme or current world events.

Markdown	Appears as
`italics` or `_italics_`	italics
`bold` or `__bold__`	bold
- bulleted - list	bulleted list
1. numbered 2. list	numbered list
Note: you must add a full line of space before and after lists for them to show up correctly
paragraph 1 paragraph 2	paragraph 1 paragraph 2
`[example link](https://brilliant.org)`	example link
`> This is a quote`	This is a quote
# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"	# I indented these lines # 4 spaces, and now they show # up as a code block. print "hello world"

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$

Comments

I too love this poem you must be in 9th grade isn't it?

Abhishek Singh - 7 years, 3 months ago

Yes, I am Indeed!

Satvik Golechha - 7 years, 3 months ago

Now that when you go to 10th grade, I bet you'll love Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner. ;)

Kou$htav Chakrabarty - 7 years, 3 months ago

@Kou$htav Chakrabarty – I too liked it. I just gave Class 10 board exam...

Shabarish Ch - 7 years, 3 months ago

@Shabarish Ch – How was it? I too gave it!

Ameya Salankar - 7 years, 3 months ago

@Kou$htav Chakrabarty – But the bad part in it is that we are only given two parts but the whole poem is in seven parts I too loved it .(Rime of the ancient Mariner)

@Abhishek Singh – Well you might want to listen to Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7zk4as9kzA) ;)

Yes because this poem is included in the syllabus and I think your exam must be over by now .

@Abhishek Singh – Just on left now! Abhishek, are you in class 11 or 12 (or between them) ?

@Satvik Golechha – I'm about to enter 12th

yes

Kavya Rawat - 7 years, 3 months ago

The best pat is -"For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever."

Yes, is is the tagline of the poem.

These are the most famous lines of of A.L.Tennyson

Try this one !

Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed--and gazed--but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.

                   William Wordsworth

We had this poem in the 9th standard!!

Eddie The Head - 7 years, 3 months ago

My Personal Favourite was 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. Its a really inspiring and motivating poem

IF you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue

' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

if neither* foes nor loving friends can hurt you,*

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Shikhar Jaiswal - 7 years, 3 months ago

Wow I love it

Were u in icse 10th standard????We had this poem...

Tanya Gupta - 7 years, 3 months ago

Yes...and i'm still in ISC

@Shikhar Jaiswal – Does ICSE also follow NCERT books ?? If no, can I find them online?

Satvik Golechha - 7 years, 2 months ago

@Satvik Golechha – Well...I shifted to HSC....(no good ISC school close to my place) Satvik, While I was in ICSE , they didn't follow NCERT.....I am not sure about ISC...

Tanya Gupta - 7 years, 2 months ago

@Satvik Golechha – no they don't follow NCERT books

Shikhar Jaiswal - 7 years, 1 month ago

This poem is based on the journey of life... it is a metaphor and a beautiful explanation of hope, helping and kindness... Like the brook, our life also starts from small places and our journey begins with ups and downs... We help many people in our life like the brook and few appreciate us and few don't. In the end its all the same fate for everybody, We go join the ocean... (hope this helps)

Swathi Nair - 7 years, 3 months ago

Yep! That's exactly what my teacher taught me.

I remember all these words and the expression of my teacher !!!!!1

Do listen to Bob Dylan's "Blowing In The Wind".....Its a song, but we had it as a poem in 7th or 8th standard i think....Its amazing....

this is very nice lovely I like to sing this poem

Drupath Krishna - 7 years, 3 months ago

Nice one..........!

Prasad Nikam - 7 years, 3 months ago

Hi Prasad.......are you the famous actor of India.....I remember his face.....

yes...have read this poem.We had this in 9th grade !

anukriti singh - 7 years, 3 months ago

Brings back memories. Read it nearly 4 years ago. Thanks for posting

Aman Jaiswal - 7 years, 3 months ago

Guys, the reshare and like buttons are there to press!!!

"For men may come and men may go, but I go on forever." is my favourite line.

SAurav TYagi - 7 years, 2 months ago

it is in grade 7, we r reading it, got a A- in the test,...........

Aareyan Manzoor - 6 years, 7 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$