Literary Devices in The Brook

The verb “to murmur” creates auditory imagery that complements the poem’s vivid imagery of the brook’s traveling the countryside. Furthermore, verbs like “to murmur” and “to chatter,” which are usually used to describe a person’s behavior, develop Tennyson’s personification of the brook.

Tennyson employs alliteration, or the repetition of consonant sounds, in this poem. In this stanza, the repetition of the consonant sound “f” in the words “foamy” and “flake” and the consonant sound “g” in the words “golden” and “gravel” enhances the rich imagery of the natural scene. Additionally, alliteration reinforces the poem’s steady rhythm as the brook travels toward the “brimming river.”

Line twenty-one uses epizeuxis, or the repetition of words in rapid succession without intervening words in between. In this case, the repetition of the verb “chatter” augments the poem’s auditory imagery while extending Tennyson’s personification of the brook.

The third stanza ends with a refrain, or a line or group of lines that repeat throughout a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. By repeating the lines “To join the brimming river / For men may come and men may go, / But I go on for ever,” Tennyson reminds readers of the fleeting nature of human life in comparison to the immortality of the brook, or nature.

Lines ten and eleven use enjambment, a device in which a thought or phrase that begins in one line flows into the next line of verse. Through enjambment, along with the visual effect of short lines, the poem is made to resemble the movement and shape of an actual brook.

The poem frequently features assonance, or the repetition of vowel sounds. By repeating the “i” sound in the words “hills,” “slip,” “ridges,” “little,” and “bridges,” Tennyson establishes a musical quality to the poem and highlights the sound of each word. Ultimately, this assonance creates an auditory flow through the poem’s separate lines that resembles the flow of the brook itself.

The entire poem uses personification, or the attribution of human-like characteristics to nonhuman things. Tennyson casts the brook as the poem’s speaker in order to encourage readers to empathize with nature, which was being negatively affected by the Industrial Revolution. Further, by writing from the brook’s perspective, Tennyson suggests that nature has power and agency as opposed to being at the mercy of humankind.

Lines two and three contain sibilance, or the repetition of words containing the letter “s” in order to create a distinct hissing sound when read aloud. The sibilance generated by the words “sudden,” “sally,” and “sparkle” creates a sweet tone and flowing rhythm that seems to mimic the movement of the brook, as well as the sound of water falling over stones.

Tennyson begins “The Brook” with an end-stopped line, or a phrase or thought that concludes at the end of a line of verse and is marked with punctuation. In this case, ending the first line with a comma creates a natural pause that emphasizes the vivid imagery of the scene.