A RED, RED ROSE (1793) O my Luve's like a red, red rose, Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt wi' the sun: I will luve thee still, my dear, While the sands o' life shall run. And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve! Their tinsel show, and a' that The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor, 15 10 15 Is king o' men for a' that. Ye see you birkie2 ca'd a lord, Wha struts, an' stares an' a' that; Tho' hundreds worship at his word, He's but a coof3 for a' that: For a' that, and a' that, His ribband, star, an' a' that: A prince can mak a belted knight, For a' that, an' a that, Their dignities an' a' that; The pith o' sense, an' pride o' worth, Are higher rank than a' that. Then let us pray that come it may, (As come it will for a' that), 20 25 30 That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth, 35 May bear the gree, an' a' that. For a that, an' a' that, It's coming yet for a' that, That Man to Man, the warld o'er, 40 O, WERT THOU IN THE CAULD BLAST (1796) O wert thou in the cauld blast, I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee; To share it a', to share it a'. Or were I in the wildest waste, Sae bleak and bare, sae bleak and bare, 10 The desert were a Paradise, If thou wert there, if thou wert there; Or were I monarch o' the globe, Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign, The brightest jewel in my Crown 15 Wad be my Queen, wad be my Queen. 1 Hodden grey, a coarse woolen stuff, which (being undyed) retained the natural gray color of the wool. Try. 2 A conceited, self-assertive man; a "young sport." Lout, fool. 1 Shelter. VII. THE AGE OF WORDSWORTH AND SCOTT William Wordsworth 1770-1850 LINES c. 1784-c. 1837 25 30 These beauteous forms, Through a long absence, have not been to me As is a landscape to a blind man's eye: But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; And passing even into my purer mind, With tranquil restoration:-feelings too Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps, As have no slight or trivial influence On that best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered, acts Of kindness and of love. Nor less, I trust, To them I may have owed another gift, Of aspect more sublime; that blessed mood, 35 This poem was composed during a short excursion in the valley of the Wye, which Wordsworth made with his sister. He visited the ruins of Tintern Abbey, but the poem, we are told, was composed some miles from the historic ruin, and deals entirely with the beauties of the Wye valley, and apparently with some scenes especially associated with memories of the past. In which the burthen of the mystery, Is lightened: that serene and blessed mood, If this 40 45 50 55 Be but a vain belief, yet, oh! how oft— How often has my spirit turned to thee! And now, with gleams of half-extinguished thought, With many recognitions dim and faint, 60 The picture of the mind revives again: when first 66 (The coarser pleasures of my boyish days, 1 125 130 For thou art with me here upon the banks 135 140 146 For all sweet sounds and harmonies; oh! then, "You look round on your Mother Earth, One morning thus, by Esthwaite lake, "The eye-it cannot choose but see; 10 15 20 Of tender joy wilt thou remember me, 150 (1798) Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you'll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble? She died, and left to me This heath, this calm, and quiet scene; The memory of what has been, And never more will be. 25 30 30 35 40 SHE DWELT AMONG THE UNTRODDEN WAYS (1799) She dwelt among the untrodden ways A Maid whom there were none to praise, A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye! -Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. If from the public way you turn your steps That overhead are sailing in the sky. It is in truth an utter solitude; 10 Nor should I have made mention of this Dell But for one object which you might pass by, 15 Might see and notice not. Beside the brook Appears a straggling heap of unhewn stones: And to that simple object appertains 1 Narrow valley or ravine. 40 45 Upon the forest-side in Grasmere Vale2 There dwelt a Shepherd, Michael was his name; An old man, stout of heart, and strong of limb. His bodily frame had been from youth to age Of an unusual strength: his mind was keen, Intense, and frugal, apt for all affairs, And in his shepherd's calling he was prompt And watchful more than ordinary men. Hence had he learned the meaning of all winds, Of blasts of every tone; and, oftentimes, When others heeded not, he heard the South 50 Make subterraneous music, like the noise Of bagpipers on distant Highland hills. The Shepherd, at such warning, of his flock Bethought him, and he to himself would say, "The winds are now devising work for me!" 55 And, truly, at all times, the storm, that drives The traveller to a shelter, summoned him Up to the mountains: he had been alone Amid the heart of many thousand mists, That came to him, and left him, on the heights. So lived he till his eightieth year was past. And grossly that man errs, who should suppose That the green valleys, and the streams and rocks, 61 Were things indifferent to the Shepherd's thoughts. Fields, where with cheerful spirits he had breathed 65 Was ended, Luke (for so the Son was named) Down from the ceiling, by the chimney's edge, 110 115 That in our ancient uncouth country style 120 And now, when Luke had reached his eighteenth year, 125 There by the light of this old lamp they sate, 130 Stood single, with large prospect, north and south. |