Jordan+and+Josh+E

In the poem “Tears, Idle Tears” by Lord Alfred Tennyson portrays the theme of loss, as the poet discusses a feeling of despair towards the future as a result of a tragic event. In the final lines of the poem, Tennyson displays a feeling of regret towards the days that have passed, saying, “ Deep as first love, and wild with all regret; O Death in Life, the days that are no more!” In saying this, the poet is showing that his passion towards whatever it may be that has caused him distress has resulted in a feeling of regret. Through this regret, he sees that that which he was once passionate about, “Life”, has caused him to lose sight of the future, representing “Death.” When Tennyson compares Death in Life to “the days that are no more”, he is showing that although he once found pleasure in something, those days are gone, and he is left with nothing but the memories. In these memories, the poet looks back and feels regretful towards what has happened, showing that although his passion was once comparable to that of one’s first love, he cannot go back, and sees that there may have been something he could have done to prevent this dismal outcome. Through this experience, Tennyson becomes increasingly pessimistic, dwelling more on what has happened, rather than focusing on the future. This can be related to the story of Boobie Miles in __Friday Night Lights__, who has the very same outlook after a knee injury prior to football season.

In __Friday Night Lights__ by H.G. Bissinger, the story of Boobie Miles shows that one can have everything, but soon end up with nothing. After Boobie Miles is injured, he does not know what to do with his life, saying, “All I wanted to do was make it to the pros” (Bissinger 57). Bissinger shows that Boobie was relying solely on his athletic success to get him through life, and after losing the ability to play for Permian, he has nothing left. The "Pros" is where Boobie was working so diligently to get to but it doing this lost site of his like. The accident on his knee made him realize that he has nothing else to pursue. Much like the speaker in “Tears, Idle Tears,” Boobie focuses on nothing but the past, regretting his inability to play. As in the poem, Boobie felt very passionate about football, seemingly as deeply “as first love.” This very passion causes Boobie to slip into a feeling of regret, causing him to lose focus on his future. The two are very similar, as both characters dwell on, “the days that are no more.” While the poem shows nothing of what happens to the speaker, Bissinger shows a dark future for Boobie by quoting a man who believes that without football, Boobie would be nothing but “a big ol’ dumb nigger” (67).