Author: Alfred Lord Tennyson

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I.

At times our Britain cannot rest,
At times her steps are swift and rash;
She moving, at her girdle clash
The golden keys of East and West.

 
II.

Not swift or rash, when late she lent
The sceptres of her West, her East,
To one, that ruling has increased
Her greatness and her self-content.

 
III.

Your rule has made the people love
Their ruler. Your viceregal days
Have added fulness to the phrase
Of Gauntlet in the velvet glove.

 
IV.

But since your name will grow with Time,
Not all, as honouring your fair fame
Of Statesman, have I made the name
A golden portal to my rhyme:

 
V.

But more, that you and yours may know
From me and mine, how dear a debt
We owed you, and are owing yet
To you and yours, and still would owe.

 
VI.

For heyour India was his Fate,
And drew him over sea to you
He fain had ranged her thro and thro,
To serve her myriads and the State,

 
VII.

A soul that, watchd from earliest youth,
And on thro many a brightening year,
Had never swerved for craft or fear,
By one side-path, from simple truth;

 
VIII.

Who might have chased and claspt Renown
And caught her chaplet hereand there
In haunts of jungle-poisond air
The flame of life went wavering down;

 
IX.

But ere he left your fatal shore,
And lay on that funereal boat,
Dying, Unspeakable he wrote
Their kindness, and he wrote no more;

 
X.

And sacred is the latest word;
And now the Was, the Might-have-been,
And those lone rites I have not seen,
And one dear sound I have not heard,

 
XI.

Are dreams that scarce will let me be,
Not there to bid my boy farewell,
When That within the coffin fell,
Felland flashd into the Red Sea,

 
XII.

Beneath a hard Arabian moon
And alien stars. To question, why
The sons before the fathers die,
Not mine! and I may meet him soon;

 
XIII.

But while my lifes late eve endures,
Nor settles into hueless gray,
My memories of his briefer day
Will mix with love for you and yours.

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Type of Poem: Elegy

Date Written:

Date Published:

Language: English

Keywords: Public Domain

Source: Public Domain Collection

Publisher:

Rights/Permissions: Public Domain

Comments/Notes: This poem elegantly explores themes of national identity, duty, loss, and remembrance. The speaker uses the metaphor of Britain personified as a woman to illuminate the country's dynamic character, as demonstrated in the first stanza. The "golden keys of East and West" clashing at her girdle signify Britain's imperial power and the tensions therein.

The poem also presents a poignant narrative of personal loss intertwined with public duty, suggesting the subject to be a respected statesman who has earned the love of his people. The reference to "Your India" and the "funereal boat" imply the death of someone close to the speaker while in service to the empire, which brings an air of melancholy and mourning to the poem.

The structure consists of thirteen stanzas, each with four lines, and follows an ABBA rhyming scheme. This structure, along with the regular rhythm, creates a sense of stability and formality, fitting for a poem that addresses national and personal narratives. The use of metaphor and personification are standout literary devices that bring depth to the poem's thematic exploration.

The tone shifts from respectful and admiring when discussing the statesman to sorrowful and reflective when considering personal loss. The phrase "The sons before the fathers die" encapsulates the tragic reversal of the natural order of life and death, reinforcing the theme of loss. The concluding note of the poem, while melancholic, also carries a hint of resilience and enduring love, demonstrating the complexity of human emotion in the face of grief.