"Break, Break, Break" is a lyric poem that Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) was believed to have completed in 1834. It centers on Tennyson's grief over the death of his best friend, Arthur Hallam, a fellow poet. Lyrical poetry presents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as opposed to poetry that tells a story or presents a witty observation. A lyric poem often has a pleasing musical quality. The word lyric derives from the Greek word for lyre, a stringed instrument in use since ancient times. 

Rhyme Scheme and Meter

Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza have end rhyme. The meter in the poem varies, but the anapestic foot creates the musicality of the poem, as in the following lines:

.iamb.........anapest......anapest.........iamb
But O| for the TOUCH | of a VAN | ished HAND,

......anapest...........anapest.........anapest.....
And the SOUND| of a VOICE| that is STILL!

Following are examples of figures of speech and other rhetorical devices in "Break, Break, Break": 

Apostrophe (Lines 1 and 2): The narrator addresses the sea. 
Personification and metaphor also occur in Lines 1 and 2, for the poet regards the sea as a human being. 
Alliteration (Line 8): boat on the bay
(Lines 9-12): Stanza 3 uses this figure of speech as follows:

And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!

Themes

Grief

The main theme is bereavement, heartache, emptiness. In the narrator's dark hour of grief, the sun rises, children laugh, business goes on as usual. How could the world be so cruel and unfeeling?

Preciousness of Youth

Tennyson's friend, Arthur Hallam, was only 22 when he died. The shock of Hallam's death impressed upon Tennyson how priceless youth is. To underscore this idea, and to express the agony he suffers at the loss of young Hallam, Tennyson presents images of youthful joy: the fisherman's son playing with his sister and the "sailor lad" singing in the bay. 

Indifference of Nature

Nature continues to function according to its rhythms and cycles regardless of what happens, good or bad, to human beings. The temperature may plummet just when a poor family runs out of fuel. The sun may shine and the birds may sing in the middle of the bloodiest of battles. And the sea will rise and fall in a defiant, unrelenting rhythm that refuses to acknowledge tragedy in the everyday life of average men. Tennyson laments this cold indifference in "Break, Break, Break." 
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