Guilt And Sorrow, Or, Incidents Upon Salisbury Plain by William Wordsworth
I A TRAVELLER on the skirt of Sarum’s Plain Pursued his vagrant way, with feet half bare; Stooping his gait, but not as if to gain Help from the staff he bore; for mien and air Were hardy, though his cheek seemed worn with care Both of the time to come, and time long fled: […]
Great Men Have Been Among Us by William Wordsworth
GREAT men have been among us; hands that penned And tongues that uttered wisdom–better none: The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington, Young Vane, and others who called Milton friend. These moralists could act and comprehend: They knew how genuine glory was put on; Taught us how rightfully nation shone In splendour: what strength was, that would […]
Goody Blake And Harry Gill by William Wordsworth
A True Story OH! what’s the matter? what’s the matter? What is’t that ails young Harry Gill? That evermore his teeth they chatter, Chatter, chatter, chatter still! Of waistcoats Harry has no lack, Good duffle grey, and flannel fine; He has a blanket on his back, And coats enough to smother nine. In March, December, […]
Gipsies by William Wordsworth
YET are they here the same unbroken knot Of human Beings, in the self-same spot! Men, women, children, yea the frame Of the whole spectacle the same! Only their fire seems bolder, yielding light, Now deep and red, the colouring of night; That on their Gipsy-faces falls, Their bed of straw and blanket-walls. –Twelve hours, […]
George and Sarah Green by William Wordsworth
WHO weeps for strangers? Many wept For George and Sarah Green; Wept for that pair’s unhappy fate, Whose grave may here be seen. By night, upon these stormy fells, Did wife and husband roam; Six little ones at home had left, And could not find that home. For ‘any’ dwelling-place of man As vainly did […]
From The Italian Of Michael Angelo by William Wordsworth
YES! hope may with my strong desire keep pace, And I be undeluded, unbetrayed; For if of our affections none finds grace In sight of Heaven, then, wherefore hath God made The world which we inhabit? Better plea Love cannot have, than that in loving thee Glory to that eternal Peace is paid, Who such […]
From The Dark Chambers Of Dejection Freed by William Wordsworth
FROM the dark chambers of dejection freed, Spurning the unprofitable yoke of care, Rise, GILLIES, rise; the gales of youth shall bear Thy genius forward like a winged steed. Though bold Bellerophon (so Jove decreed In wrath) fell headlong from the fields of air, Yet a rich guerdon waits on minds that dare, If aught […]
From The Cuckoo And The Nightingale by William Wordsworth
I The God of Love-“ah, benedicite!” How mighty and how great a Lord is he! For he of low hearts can make high, of high He can make low, and unto death bring nigh; And hard-hearts he can make them kind and free. II Within a little time, as hath been found, He can make […]
Foresight by William Wordsworth
That is work of waste and ruin- Do as Charles and I are doing! Strawberry-blossoms, one and all, We must spare them-here are many: Look at it-the flower is small, Small and low, though fair as any: Do not touch it! summers two I am older, Anne, than you. Pull the primrose, sister Anne! Pull […]
Fidelity by William Wordsworth
A BARKING sound the Shepherd hears, A cry as of a dog or fox; He halts–and searches with his eyes Among the scattered rocks: And now at distance can discern A stirring in a brake of fern; And instantly a dog is seen, Glancing through that covert green. The Dog is not of mountain breed; […]
Feelings Of The Tyrolese by William Wordsworth
THE Land we from our fathers had in trust, And to our children will transmit, or die: This is our maxim, this our piety; And God and Nature say that it is just. That which we ‘would’ perform in arms–we must! We read the dictate in the infant’s eye; In the wife’s smile; and in […]
Feelings Of A Noble Biscayan At One Of Those Funerals by William Wordsworth
YET, yet, Biscayans! we must meet our Foes With firmer soul, yet labour to regain Our ancient freedom; else ’twere worse than vain To gather round the bier these festal shows. A garland fashioned of the pure white rose Becomes not one whose father is a slave: Oh, bear the infant covered to his grave! […]
Feelings of A French Royalist, On The Disinterment Of The Remains Of The Duke D’Enghien by William Wordsworth
DEAR Reliques! from a pit of vilest mould Uprisen–to lodge among ancestral kings; And to inflict shame’s salutary stings On the remorseless hearts of men grown old In a blind worship; men perversely bold Even to this hour,–yet, some shall now forsake Their monstrous Idol if the dead e’er spake, To warn the living; if […]
Extract From The Conclusion Of A Poem Composed In Anticipation Of Leaving School by William Wordsworth
DEAR native regions, I foretell, From what I feel at this farewell, That, wheresoe’er my steps may tend, And whensoe’er my course shall end, If in that hour a single tie Survive of local sympathy, My soul will cast the backward view, The longing look alone on you. Thus, while the Sun sinks down to […]
Extempore Effusion upon the Death of James Hogg by William Wordsworth
. When first, descending from the moorlands, I saw the Stream of Yarrow glide Along a bare and open valley, The Ettrick Shepherd was my guide. When last along its banks I wandered, Through groves that had begun to shed Their golden leaves upon the pathways, My steps the Border-minstrel led. The mighty Minstrel breathes […]
Expostulation and Reply by William Wordsworth
Why, William, on that old gray stone, Thus for the length of half a day, Why, William, sit you thus alone, And dream your time away? “Where are your books? – that light bequeathed To Beings else forlorn and blind! Up! up! and drink the spirit breathed From dead men to their kind. “You look […]
Even As A Dragon’s Eye That Feels The Stress by William Wordsworth
EVEN as a dragon’s eye that feels the stress Of a bedimming sleep, or as a lamp Suddenly glaring through sepulchral damp, So burns yon Taper ‘mid a black recess Of mountains, silent, dreary, motionless: The lake below reflects it not; the sky, Muffled in clouds, affords no company To mitigate and cheer its loneliness. […]
Epitaphs Translated From Chiabrera by William Wordsworth
I WEEP not, beloved Friends! nor let the air For me with sighs be troubled. Not from life Have I been taken; this is genuine life And this alone–the life which now I live In peace eternal; where desire and joy Together move in fellowship without end.– Francesco Ceni willed that, after death, His tombstone […]
England! The Time Is Come When Thou Should’st Wean by William Wordsworth
ENGLAND! the time is come when thou should’st wean Thy heart from its emasculating food; The truth should now be better understood; Old things have been unsettled; we have seen Fair seed-time, better harvest might have been But for thy trespasses; and, at this day, If for Greece, Egypt, India, Africa, Aught good were destined, […]
Emperors And Kings, How Oft Have Temples Rung by William Wordsworth
EMPERORS and Kings, how oft have temples rung With impious thanksgiving, the Almighty’s scorn! How oft above their altars have been hung Trophies that led the good and wise to mourn Triumphant wrong, battle of battle born, And sorrow that to fruitless sorrow clung! Now, from Heaven-sanctioned victory, Peace is sprung; In this firm hour […]
Ellen Irwin Or The Braes Of Kirtle by William Wordsworth
FAIR Ellen Irwin, when she sate Upon the braes of Kirtle, Was lovely as a Grecian maid Adorned with wreaths of myrtle; Young Adam Bruce beside her lay, And there did they beguile the day With love and gentle speeches, Beneath the budding beeches. From many knights and many squires The Bruce had been selected; […]
Elegiac Stanzas Suggested By A Picture Of Peele Castle by William Wordsworth
I was thy neighbour once, thou rugged Pile! Four summer weeks I dwelt in sight of thee: I saw thee every day; and all the while Thy Form was sleeping on a glassy sea. So pure the sky, so quiet was the air! So like, so very like, was day to day! Whene’er I looked, […]
Dion [See Plutarch] by William Wordsworth
Serene, and fitted to embrace, Where’er he turned, a swan-like grace Of haughtiness without pretence, And to unfold a still magnificence, Was princely Dion, in the power And beauty of his happier hour. And what pure homage then did wait On Dion’s virtues, while the lunar beam Of Plato’s genius, from its lofty sphere, Fell […]
Crusaders by William Wordsworth
FURL we the sails, and pass with tardy oars Through these bright regions, casting many a glance Upon the dream-like issues–the romance Of many-coloured life that Fortune pours Round the Crusaders, till on distant shores Their labours end; or they return to lie, The vow performed, in cross-legged effigy, Devoutly stretched upon their chancel floors. […]
Composed While The Author Was Engaged In Writing A Tract Occasioned By The Convention Of Cintra by William Wordsworth
NOT ‘mid the world’s vain objects that enslave The free-born Soul–that World whose vaunted skill In selfish interest perverts the will, Whose factions lead astray the wise and brave– Not there; but in dark wood and rocky cave, And hollow vale which foaming torrents fill With omnipresent murmur as they rave Down their steep beds, […]
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 by William Wordsworth
Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie Open unto the fields, and to the sky; […]
Composed on The Eve Of The Marriage Of A Friend In The Vale Of Grasmere by William Wordsworth
WHAT need of clamorous bells, or ribands gay, These humble nuptials to proclaim or grace? Angels of love, look down upon the place; Shed on the chosen vale a sun-bright day! Yet no proud gladness would the Bride display Even for such promise:–serious is her face, Modest her mien; and she, whose thoughts keep pace […]
Composed Near Calais, On The Road Leading To Ardres, August 7, 1802 by William Wordsworth
JONES! as from Calais southward you and I Went pacing side by side, this public Way Streamed with the pomp of a too-credulous day, When faith was pledged to new-born Liberty: A homeless sound of joy was in the sky: From hour to hour the antiquated Earth Beat like the heart of Man: songs, garlands, […]
Composed In The Valley Near Dover, On The Day Of Landing by William Wordsworth
HERE, on our native soil, we breathe once more. The cock that crows, the smoke that curls, that sound Of bells; those boys who in yon meadow-ground In white-sleeved shirts are playing; and the roar Of the waves breaking on the chalky shore;– All, all are English. Oft have I looked round With joy in […]
Composed During A Storm by William Wordsworth
One who was suffering tumult in his soul, Yet failed to seek the sure relief of prayer, Went forth-his course surrendering to the care Of the fierce wind, while mid-day lightnings prowl Insidiously, untimely thunders growl; While trees, dim-seen, in frenzied numbers, tear The lingering remnant of their yellow hair, And shivering wolves, surprised with […]
Composed By The Side Of Grasmere Lake 1806 by William Wordsworth
CLOUDS, lingering yet, extend in solid bars Through the grey west; and lo! these waters, steeled By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield A vivid repetition of the stars; Jove, Venus, and the ruddy crest of Mars Amid his fellows beauteously revealed At happy distance from earth’s groaning field, Where ruthless mortals wage incessant wars. […]
Composed By The Sea-Side, Near Calais, August 1802 by William Wordsworth
FAIR Star of evening, Splendour of the west, Star of my Country!–on the horizon’s brink Thou hangest, stooping, as might seem, to sink On England’s bosom; yet well pleased to rest, Meanwhile, and be to her a glorious crest Conspicuous to the Nations. Thou, I think, Should’st be my Country’s emblem; and should’st wink, Bright […]
Composed At The Same Time And On The Same Occasion by William Wordsworth
I DROPPED my pen; and listened to the Wind That sang of trees uptorn and vessels tost– A midnight harmony; and wholly lost To the general sense of men by chains confined Of business, care, or pleasure; or resigned To timely sleep. Thought I, the impassioned strain, Which, without aid of numbers, I sustain, Like […]
Composed After A Journey Across The Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire by William Wordsworth
DARK and more dark the shades of evening fell; The wished-for point was reached–but at an hour When little could be gained from that rich dower Of prospect, whereof many thousands tell. Yet did the glowing west with marvellous power Salute us; there stood Indian citadel, Temple of Greece, and minster with its tower Substantially […]
Characteristics Of A Child Three Years Old by William Wordsworth
LOVING she is, and tractable, though wild; And Innocence hath privilege in her To dignify arch looks and laughing eyes; And feats of cunning; and the pretty round Of trespasses, affected to provoke Mock-chastisement and partnership in play. And, as a faggot sparkles on the hearth, Not less if unattended and alone Than when both […]
Character Of The Happy Warrior by William Wordsworth
Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he That every man in arms should wish to be? -It is the generous Spirit, who, when brought Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought: Whose high endeavours are an inward light That makes the path before him always […]
Calm is all Nature as a Resting Wheel. by William Wordsworth
Calm is all nature as a resting wheel. The kine are couched upon the dewy grass; The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass, Is cropping audibly his later meal: Dark is the ground; a slumber seems to steal O’er vale, and mountain, and the starless sky. Now, in this blank of things, […]
“Call Not The Royal Swede Unfortunate” by William Wordsworth
CALL not the royal Swede unfortunate, Who never did to Fortune bend the knee; Who slighted fear; rejected steadfastly Temptation; and whose kingly name and state Have “perished by his choice, and not his fate!” Hence lives He, to his inner self endeared; And hence, wherever virtue is revered, He sits a more exalted Potentate, […]
Calais, August 1802 by William Wordsworth
IS it a reed that’s shaken by the wind, Or what is it that ye go forth to see? Lords, lawyers, statesmen, squires of low degree, Men known, and men unknown, sick, lame, and blind, Post forward all, like creatures of one kind, With first-fruit offerings crowd to bend the knee In France, before the […]
Calais, August 15, 1802 by William Wordsworth
FESTIVALS have I seen that were not names: This is young Buonaparte’s natal day, And his is henceforth an established sway- Consul for life. With worship France proclaims Her approbation, and with pomps and games. Heaven grant that other Cities may be gay! Calais is not: and I have bent my way To the sea-coast, […]