Analysis of Nutting
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
---------------------It seems a day
(I speak of one from many singled out)
One of those heavenly days that cannot die;
When, in the eagerness of boyish hope,
I left our cottage-threshold, sallying forth
With a huge wallet o'er my shoulders slung,
A nutting-crook in hand; and turned my steps
Tow'rd some far-distant wood, a Figure quaint,
Tricked out in proud disguise of cast-off weeds
Which for that service had been husbanded,
By exhortation of my frugal Dame--
Motley accoutrement, of power to smile
At thorns, and brakes, and brambles,--and, in truth,
More ragged than need was! O'er pathless rocks,
Through beds of matted fern, and tangled thickets,
Forcing my way, I came to one dear nook
Unvisited, where not a broken bough
Drooped with its withered leaves, ungracious sign
Of devastation; but the hazels rose
Tall and erect, with tempting clusters hung,
A virgin scene!--A little while I stood,
Breathing with such suppression of the heart
As joy delights in; and, with wise restraint
Voluptuous, fearless of a rival, eyed
The banquet;--or beneath the trees I sate
Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played;
A temper known to those, who, after long
And weary expectation, have been blest
With sudden happiness beyond all hope.
Perhaps it was a bower beneath whose leaves
The violets of five seasons re-appear
And fade, unseen by any human eye;
Where fairy water-breaks do murmur on
For ever; and I saw the sparkling foam,
And--with my cheek on one of those green stones
That, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees,
Lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep--
I heard the murmur and the murmuring sound,
In that sweet mood when pleasure loves to pay
Tribute to ease; and, of its joy secure,
The heart luxuriates with indifferent things,
Wasting its kindliness on stocks and stones,
And on the vacant air. Then up I rose,
And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash
And merciless ravage: and the shady nook
Of hazels, and the green and mossy bower,
Deformed and sullied, patiently gave up
Their quiet being: and, unless I now
Confound my present feelings with the past;
Ere from the mutilated bower I turned
Exulting, rich beyond the wealth of kings,
I felt a sense of pain when I beheld
The silent trees, and saw the intruding sky--
Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades
In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand
Touch--for there is a spirit in the woods.
Scheme | Text too long |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101 1111110101 11110011101 1001001101 111010111 10110101101 0101010111 1111010101 1101011111 11110111 11011101 10010011011 1101010001 1101111011 1111101010 1011111111 1110101 11110111 10101011 1001110101 0101010111 1011010101 1101001101 01001010101 0101010111 010100101011 0101111101 010010111 1101000111 01110100111 01001110101 0101110101 1101011101 1100110101 0111111111 1111100101 1111010111 11010001001 0111110111 1011011101 01110101 10111101 0101011111 0111110111 01001000101 110010110 0101010011 1101000111 0111010101 1101001011 0101010111 110111111 01010100101 1101010111 0100111101 1111010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,403 |
Words | 417 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 56 |
Lines Amount | 56 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,867 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 412 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 2:06 min read
- 348 Views
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"Nutting" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42283/nutting>.
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