Analysis of Yarrow Unvisited
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
. From Stirling castle we had seen
The mazy Forth unravelled;
Had trod the banks of Clyde, and Tay,
And with the Tweed had travelled;
And when we came to Clovenford,
Then said my "winsome Marrow ,"
"Whate'er betide, we'll turn aside,
And see the Braes of Yarrow."
"Let Yarrow folk, frae Selkirk town,
Who have been buying, selling,
Go back to Yarrow, 'tis their own;
Each maiden to her dwelling!
On Yarrow's banks let her herons feed,
Hares couch, and rabbits burrow!
But we will downward with the Tweed
Nor turn aside to Yarrow.
"There's Galla Water, Leader Haughs,
Both lying right before us;
And Dryborough, where with chiming Tweed
The lintwhites sing in chorus;
There's pleasant Tiviot-dale, a land
Made blithe with plough and harrow:
Why throw away a needful day
To go in search of Yarrow?
"What's Yarrow but a river bare,
That glides the dark hills under?
There are a thousand such elsewhere
As worthy of your wonder."
--Strange words they seemed of slight and scorn;
My True-love sighed for sorrow;
And looked me in the face, to think
I thus could speak of Yarrow!
"Oh! green," said I, "are Yarrow's holms,
And sweet is Yarrow flowing!
Fair hangs the apple frae the rock,
But we will leave it growing.
O'er hilly path, and open Strath,
We'll wander Scotland thorough;
But, though so near, we will not turn
Into the dale of Yarrow.
"Let beeves and home-bred kine partake
The sweets of Burn-mill meadow,
The swan on still St. Mary's Lake
Float double, swan and shadow!
We will not see them; will not go,
To-day, nor yet to-morrow;
Enough if in our hearts we know
There's such a place as Yarrow.
"Be Yarrow stream unseen, unknown!
It must, or we shall rue it:
We have a vision of our own;
Ah! why should we undo it?
The treasured dreams of times long past,
We'll keep them, winsome Marrow!
For when we'er there, although 'tis fair,
'Twill be another Yarrow!
"If Care with freezing years should come,
And wandering seem but folly,--
Should we be loth to stir from home,
And yet be melancholy;
Should life be dull, and spirits low,
'Twill soothe us in our sorrow,
That earth has something yet to show,
The bonny holms of Yarrow!"
Scheme | XAAAABABXCDCABAB EEAEABAB FGFGXBXB ECXCXBXB HAHABBBB DADAABFB XIXIBBBB |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010111 0111 11011101 0101110 011111 1111010 10011101 0101110 11011101 1111010 11110111 1101010 11110101 1101010 11110101 1101110 11010101 1101011 011111 011010 1101101 1111010 11010101 1101110 11010101 1101110 1101011 1101110 11111101 1111110 01100111 1111110 1111111 0111010 11010101 1111110 101010101 1101010 11111111 0101110 11011101 011111 01111101 110101 11111111 1111110 011010111 1101110 11010101 1111111 110101101 1111011 01011111 1111010 11101111 1101010 11110111 01001110 11111111 011100 11110101 11101010 11110111 0101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,214 |
Words | 388 |
Sentences | 22 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 64 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 233 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 55 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 264 Views
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"Yarrow Unvisited" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42490/yarrow-unvisited>.
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