Analysis Of The Poem Tears Idle Tears

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Recommended: Theme of death in poetry

Maya Savoie-O'Hara
Tears, Idle Tears
Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote the poem Tears, Idle Tears explaining his hardships and heartbreak. In this poem, he is talking about a loved one leaving him and a controlling relationship. I know this because he keeps reflecting on the past, he also talks a lot about love and lost happiness.
My first reason that he is talking about heartbreak is that he does a lot of reflecting and comparing of the past and present. This shows that he is nostalgic about what he had and is reminiscing about what he had that he now knows is lost forever. Even the title says that he knows his tears are wasted, they are pointless yet he cannot help them from flooding his bloodshot eyes and rolling down his puffy cheeks because …show more content…

What this means is that the days with her are over and he now leads an empty life because as mentioned before, he is dead inside because of his overwhelming devastation. Others may interpret as he is actually dying or someone he cared for died. I know that this is not what he is talking about because how would you explain That brings our friends from the underworld or On lips that are for others. If it is his loved one that is dying then how would her lips be made for others? Dead people will have no need for lips. However if it is him that is dying it would make sense although the line That brings friends from the underworld would not. Finally, I think that in the poem Tears, Idle Tears by Alfred Lord Tennyson was talking about a lover that left him because; he reflects a lot on a happier past, he talks about a fresh start, he is dying inside due to grief, he talks about lips that are for others (he would not bring up kisses and lips if he were not talking about a lover), and finally, some of the lines would not make sense if it were not about someone he loved who left

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