Lost Hope
Lost Hope - meaning Summary
Hope Displaced by Loss
Tennyson’s poem describes a speaker whose hope has been destroyed by another’s harsh action. The first quatrain records lament and the ritual of tears for a heart emptied of hope. The couplet then offers a natural image: an acorn that grew on an oak sprout is shaken out, leaving the cup filled with dew. The image reframes loss as sudden displacement, with lingering tenderness or mourning remaining in place of hope.
Read Complete AnalysesYou cast to ground the hope which once was mine, But did the while your harsh decree deplore, Embalming with sweet tears the vacant shrine, My heart, where Hope had been and was no more. So on an oaken sprout A goodly acorn grew; But winds from heaven shook the acorn out, And filled the cup with dew.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.