Summary of Lullaby: “Lullaby” is a part of “The Princess”, a blank-verse narrative poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The poem begins abruptly, with winds blowing sweet and low over the western sea. A mother requests the winds to blow her beloved back to her, while she holds their child to her breast. In the second stanza, the woman tries to console her child. She coos to the child that his father will return soon. She tries to comfort the baby by telling him that his father will come back ‘under the silver moon’, and that he must sleep. Also Read: Flux Summary and Analysis by Carl Sandburg Critical Analysis of Lullaby: This 16-line poem aims to portray the longing of a mother for her husband, while she tries to convince her young child that his father will return soon. The father of the child, however, is dead. Tennyson utilises natural elements such as the “dying moon” and the western direction to symbolise the father’s death. The narrator of the poem is the mother, who holds her child to her breast. Throughout the poem, she attempts to calm the child down so that he can sleep. The vocabulary Tennyson employs in this poem is extremely simple. That gives it a realistic edge, since the poem is meant to be a child’s lullaby and simplistic language can be understood easily by children. A notable characteristic of the poem is that the rhyming words are short and monosyllabic. This reflects the mother’s anxiety and frustration. She awaits for her husband’s return; she longs for him. From the phrase ‘silver sails’, we can infer that the father has gone to war. She is aware of his death. She wistfully tells her child that his father will return from moonlit oceans. However, ‘silver moon’ is a metaphor for a silver coffin. She does not wish to make her young, innocent child upset by informing him of his father’s death, and hence speaks in metaphors. In “Lullaby”, the poet has made use of simple and careful rhythms and repetition of phrases that contain no spirit but maintain the structure of the piece. Tennyson uses blank verse in this poem to depict spontaneity. The mother doesn’t put much thought into the lullaby, as her mind is occupied with the thoughts of the father and his death. This confusion can also be noticed in the last lines of each stanza, where the rhyme is broken. While attempting to comfort the baby, the mother appears to be trying to comfort herself too. She constantly urges her baby to sleep. She wants to comfort him, but she also wants to soothe her own thoughts. The best way for her to believe that the child is comforted is for him to fall asleep. The repetition of the line “father will come to thee soon” may reflect a shred of hope and optimism in the mother’s heart. She is sorrowful, but perhaps not utterly hopeless. Perhaps, she holds the belief that her husband will really return. Throughout the poem, the reader can find a repetition of ‘s’ sounds (sweet, sea, sail). The ‘s’ sound is a delicate, soft sound that reflects monotony associated with death. Central Idea of Lullaby: This poem is fundamentally, a lullaby composed to soothe and comfort the reader. The subject of this poem, a woman, longs for her husband. She pleads to the winds to return her husband to him. It is obvious that she is in agony. However, she is also tending to an innocent child, and thus must retain her calm. Tone of Lullaby: The tone of the poem is sweet and sad, and so insistent on being reassuring that one feels something must be wrong. In “Lullaby”, Tennyson maintains a tone that depicts a sense of melancholy and regret of the mother for the loss of the father. However, with the help of pleasant imagery, the poem appears to be very soothing. Moreover, it appears to have a sense of hope that the father may be back one day. There is, hence, a very small hint of optimism. Conclusion Also Read: Solved Question of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich “Lullaby” by Alfred Lord Tennyson is a marvelous poem as it conveys its message in just a few words. Tennyson employs evocative language to express the feelings of the mother, and makes heavy use of visual imagery. “Lullaby” stands as a successful proof of how even the simplest language can convey the most complicated emotions. Contrubutor: Palak Gupta CategoriesAlfred Tennyson, Poets with initials A Tagsalfred lord tennyson, poem analysis, poem summary Post navigation Self Portrait: Summary and Analysis Summary and Analysis of Prospective Immigrants Please Note by Adrienne Rich ADS ADVERTISEMENT © 2022 BEAMING NOTES, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.