"The Brook" by Lord Alfred Tennyson is a poem that celebrates the beauty and majesty of nature through the journey of a small brook. The speaker of the poem is the brook itself, and it describes its journey from its source among the haunts of coot and hern to where it joins the "brimming river" by Philip's farm. Along the way, the brook passes through thirty hills, twenty Thorpes, and half a hundred bridges. The brook describes itself as a lively and chatty presence, babbling over pebbles and through eddying bays.
The brook winds its way through fields and fallow lands, passing fairy forelands with willow-weed and mallow. It plays host to many a lusty trout and grayling and occasionally has foamy flakes upon it as it travels above golden gravel. It moves sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers and makes the netted sunbeams dance against its sandy shallows.
Through it all, the brook goes on forever, chattering and babbling as it flows. It murmurs under the moon and stars, lingers by its shingly bars, and loiters around its cresses.
The poem captures the beauty of nature through the perspective of the brook, allowing the reader to experience its journey and appreciate its vitality and charm. Tennyson's use of vivid imagery and lyrical language creates a sense of wonder and awe, inviting the reader to revel in the majesty of the natural world.