Analysis of Yarrow Revisited
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
. The gallant Youth, who may have gained,
Or seeks, a "winsome Marrow,"
Was but an Infant in the lap
When first I looked on Yarrow;
Once more, by Newark's Castle-gate
Long left without a warder,
I stood, looked, listened, and with Thee,
Great Minstrel of the Border!
Grave thoughts ruled wide on that sweet day,
Their dignity installing
In gentle bosoms, while sere leaves
Were on the bough, or falling;
But breezes played, and sunshine gleamed-
The forest to embolden;
Reddened the fiery hues, and shot
Transparence through the golden.
For busy thoughts the Stream flowed on
In foamy agitation;
And slept in many a crystal pool
For quiet contemplation:
No public and no private care
The freeborn mind enthralling,
We made a day of happy hours,
Our happy days recalling.
Brisk Youth appeared, the Morn of youth,
With freaks of graceful folly,-
Life's temperate Noon, her sober Eve,
Her Night not melancholy;
Past, present, future, all appeared
In harmony united,
Like guests that meet, and some from far,
By cordial love invited.
And if, as Yarrow, through the woods
And down the meadow ranging,
Did meet us with unaltered face,
Though we were changed and changing;
If, then, some natural shadows spread
Our inward prospect over,
The soul's deep valley was not slow
Its brightness to recover.
Eternal blessings on the Muse,
And her divine employment!
The blameless Muse, who trains her Sons
For hope and calm enjoyment;
Albeit sickness, lingering yet,
Has o'er their pillow brooded;
And Care waylays their steps-a Sprite
Not easily eluded.
For thee, O Scott! compelled to change
Green Eildon-hill and Cheviot
For warm Vesuvio's vine-clad slopes;
And leave thy Tweed and Tiviot
For mild Sorrento's breezy waves;
May classic Fancy, linking
With native Fancy her fresh aid,
Preserve thy heart from sinking!
Oh! while they minister to thee,
Each vying with the other,
May Health return to mellow Age
With Strength, her venturous brother;
And Tiber, and each brook and rill
Renowned in song and story,
With unimagined beauty shine,
Nor lose one ray of glory!
For Thou, upon a hundred streams,
By tales of love and sorrow,
Of faithful love, undaunted truth
Hast shed the power of Yarrow;
And streams unknown, hills yet unseen,
Wherever they invite Thee,
At parent Nature's grateful call,
With gladness must requite Thee.
A gracious welcome shall be thine,
Such looks of love and honour
As thy own Yarrow gave to me
When first I gazed upon her;
Beheld what I had feared to see,
Unwilling to surrender
Dreams treasured up from early days,
The holy and the tender.
And what, for this frail world, were all
That mortals do or suffer,
Did no responsive harp, no pen,
Memorial tribute offer?
Yea, what were mighty Nature's self?
Her features, could they win us,
Unhelped by the poetic voice
That hourly speaks within us?
Nor deem that localized Romance
Plays false with our affections;
Unsanctifies our tears-made sport
For fanciful dejections:
Ah, no! the visions of the past
Sustain the heart in feeling
Life as she is-our changeful Life,
With friends and kindred dealing.
Bear witness, Ye, whose thoughts that day
In Yarrow's groves were centred;
Who through the silent portal arch
Of mouldering Newark entered;
And clomb the winding stair that once
Too timidly was mounted
By the "last Minstrel,"(not the last!)
Ere he his Tale recounted.
Flow on for ever, Yarrow Stream!
Fulfil thy pensive duty,
Well pleased that future Bards should chant
For simple hearts thy beauty;
To dream-light dear while yet unseen,
Dear to the common sunshine,
And dearer still, as now I feel,
To memory's shadowy moonshine!
Scheme | ABXBXCDCEFGFXHXH XHXHXFXF IDXDXJXJ XFXFXCBC XKLKXMXM XXXAXFXF DCXCXDND XBIBODPD NBDCDCXC PCXCXQXQ XLXGRFXF EAXXXJRM XDXDONXN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011111 1101010 11110001 1111110 11110101 1101010 11110011 1101010 11111111 1100010 0101111 0101110 1101011 0101010 10100101 11010 11010111 010010 010100101 110010 11001101 01011 110111010 10101010 11010111 1111010 11010101 011100 11010101 0100010 11110111 1101010 01110101 010110 11110101 1101010 11110011 10101010 01110111 1101010 01010101 0001010 01011101 1101010 010101001 11011010 0111101 1100010 11110111 1110100 111111 011101 111101 1101010 11010011 0111110 11110011 1101010 11011101 110110 01001101 0101010 1010101 1111110 11010101 1111010 11010101 11010110 01011101 0101011 11010101 11111 01010111 111101 11110111 1111010 1111111 0101010 11011101 0100010 01111101 1101110 11010111 01001010 11010101 0101111 1100101 1101011 1111001 11110010 110111 11001 11010101 0101010 11111011 1101010 11011111 01101 11010101 111010 01010111 1100110 10110101 1111010 11110101 111010 11110111 1101110 11111101 110101 01011111 111001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 3,721 |
Words | 610 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 112 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 219 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 3:05 min read
- 278 Views
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"Yarrow Revisited" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42489/yarrow-revisited>.
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