Ring Out , Wild Bells by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Ring Out, Wild Bells

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

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Works cited

Accessed on 17 February 2011

at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ring-out-wild-bells-2/

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Throughout the whole poem, I found almost everything to be a visual imagery because as I read through everything, its like for every word, it comes out as like a short movie just going on and on as I read. The most common visual imagery for me is the ringing of the bells because at the start of every paragraph, there are always bells ringing. I can imagine the cartoons that bells are chasing out the old and allowing the new to come in.

I feel that the tone for this poem is CHANGE, like making new-year’s resolutions. While I read this, I felt like it was new year, I felt like people are trying to change, ringing out the bad, and allowing the good to come in the new year. I feel that the mood of the poem is more on having a new life. Starting from the beginning.