Analyzing the Speaker's Feeling in Break, Break, Break

Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Break, Break, Break" is a deeply emotional work that reflects on grief and the sense of loss. The speaker observes the natural world and scenes of everyday life, contrasting them with their own internal state of sorrow.

The Scene with the Sailor

Among the scenes the speaker observes are the actions of a fisherman's boy and a sailor. The line referring to the sailor is:

And the sailor lad sings in his boat,
The brown sails of the bay!

This imagery presents a picture of simple, ordinary life continuing. The sailor lad is shown singing, suggesting a mood of happiness or contentment while going about his activity on the water.

Contrasting Joy and Grief in Break, Break, Break

The speaker, however, is experiencing profound grief. They lament the absence of a loved one, expressing a longing for "the touch of a vanish'd hand, / And the sound of a voice that is still!". This highlights a significant contrast between the speaker's internal world of sorrow and the external world where others, like the sailor lad, are capable of experiencing simple joys and carrying on with their lives.

Why Resentment?

Given this stark contrast, the feeling the speaker expresses towards the sailor (and implicitly, the fisherman's boy) can be interpreted as resentment. This resentment is not necessarily directed personally at the sailor, but rather stems from the speaker's bitter feeling about the continuation of normal, happy life that they are currently excluded from due to their overwhelming grief. The sailor's song and activity serve as a painful reminder of the joy and connection the speaker has lost and cannot currently access. It highlights the unfairness, in the speaker's eyes, of their situation compared to those who can still experience simple happiness.

Considering Other Options

• Envy: While there might be an element of envy – wishing they could feel the way the sailor does – resentment is a stronger term that captures the bitterness resulting from the contrast with their own suffering.
• Admiration: There is nothing in the text to suggest the speaker admires the sailor. The observation is purely contrastive.
• Indifference: The speaker is clearly not indifferent; the observation of the sailor's happiness evokes a strong emotional reaction by highlighting the speaker's own sorrow and isolation in the "Break, Break, Break" poem.

Therefore, in the context of the poem's portrayal of deep grief contrasted with ongoing life, the feeling of resentment best describes the speaker's reaction to the simple joy displayed by figures like the sailor in "Break, Break, Break".