Style and Techniques – The major rhetorical device that Tennyson has used in the poem is anaphora, transferred epithet and written in a free verse with rhyming schemes. The anaphora in the poem creates a sense of repetitive ideas which the poet tries to draw attention to the readers. The poet weaves the repetitions and refrain most likely to draw attention to certain ideas or themes on continuous flow of life and the unending optimism life of future. In the first stanza , the phrases of “when will the ” is repeated and it is anaphora and the transferred epithet is the adjective “aweary” addressing to “stream”, “wind”, “clouds” and “heart” where the adjective is used to describe these nouns which are restless and never at rest.
When will the stream be aweary of flowing
Under my eye?
When will the wind be aweary of blowing
Over the sky?
When will the clouds be aweary of fleeting?
When will the heart be aweary of beating?
The technique of anaphora is beautifully weaved and is entirely a cemented structure of the poem. The nouns are constantly moving and flowing which according to the poet is restless and dynamic or simply the immortal movement of these elements in one’s life. The below lines are also anaphora and shows the same nouns the poet mentions above-
The stream flows,
The wind blows,
The cloud fleets,
The heart beats,
Nothing will die.
The last line of the poem actually sums up the entire meaning of the poem of dynamism and the immortal movement of the nouns as the poet describes. The lines are repeated in a way to address the theme of the poem and highlights the major theme of immortality and the unending restlessness of these nouns –
Nothing was born;
Nothing will die;
All things will change.
Thematic Concerns – The major theme of the poem are dynamism , regeneration, continuous flow of life and the cycle of unending life. The dynamism of continuous movement of winds, river, heart and cloud shows that these aspects of life moves dynamically and progresses without resting or getting even tired. The idea of cycle of new life and the regeneration is another aspect of the theme in the poem. The poet states that the elements that exist in the world of nature is immortal and it just continuously change with time but it will not decay and die. The poet immortalizes indirectly the world of nature highlighting that the autumn and summer season is long gone but a new regeneration out of this natural world or nouns as the poet suggested will blow, flow, fleet and beat again in the period of transition. The idea of replacing something old with a new is evoked in the poem where the world according to the poet was never made yet the elements will change or transient but it will fade or go away or weary away with time. Critically, the elements are immortal and nothing will grow out of this elements but it will just gradually change as time progresses.
Victorian Temperament – As Tennyson is a Victorian poet, the Victorian spirit of dynamism, progression is imbued in the poem. Tennyson did not directly address the Victorian socio-political issues in the poem but directly addresses the spirit of Victorianism in a different way. Tennyson most important writing style is the multiple depiction of life in his poem where he uses the imagery of nature but at the same time depicts other layers of human life, society and political spaces. In the poem, the poem is talking about the images of nature and how the natural world and its elements does not die but changes over time. Similarly, Tennyson is exposing the Victorian spirit of dynamic life of the society whose values are gradually changing and progressing through time yet does not die. The major dynamism of exploring the world, colonialism , archaeology, science and politics never stops yet changes over time. The poem is clearly indicating these social and political aspects in directly withing the narratives in the poem. The multiplicity depiction of human life shows the parallel flows of the age and the world of nature bridging a sense of balance towards realism and the world of nature.
