Volume 6 — 1819
Reading edition
With the exception of The Haunted Tree, and the lines entitled September 1819, all the poems composed during the year 1819 were sonnets. Four of the latter were published along with Peter Bell, in the first edition of that poem; and other twelve, along with The Waggoner, which was first published in the same year. One of the twelve refers to the Old Hall of Donnerdale, and belongs to the series of Sonnets on the River Duddon, where it will be found (No. XXVII.) It was first published, along with those referring to Rydal, in the volume of 1819, and probably detached from the rest of the series, because originally it had no particular reference to the Old Hall in the Duddon Valley; but was (as Wordsworth indicates in the third of the Fenwick notes to the Duddon) "taken from a tradition belonging to Rydal Hall, which once stood, as is believed, upon a rocky and woody hill on the right hand as you go from Rydal to Ambleside, and was deserted from the superstitious fear here described, and the present site fortunately chosen instead."—Ed.
THIS, AND THE TWO FOLLOWING, WERE SUGGESTED[347] BY MR. W. WESTALL'S VIEWS OF THE CAVES,[DJ] ETC., IN YORKSHIRE
This, and the two following sonnets, were first published in Blackwood's Magazine, vol. iv., January 1819, p. 471. They were reprinted in The Poetical Album, edited by Alaric Watts, in 1829 (Second Series, vol. i. pp. 332, 333) under the title, "The Caves of Yorkshire." The same volume of the Album contains (p. 43) the sonnet beginning—
Not Love, not War, nor the tumultuous swell.
In the 1819 edition of Peter Bell, p. 84, a note, prefatory to the four following sonnets, occurs to this effect: "The following Sonnets having lately appeared in Periodical Publications are here reprinted."—Ed.
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Pure element of waters! wheresoe'er Thou dost forsake thy subterranean haunts, Green herbs, bright flowers, and berry-bearing plants, Rise[348] into life and in thy train appear: 5 And, through the sunny portion of the year, Swift insects shine, thy hovering pursuivants: And, if thy bounty fail, the forest pants; And hart and hind and hunter with his spear, Languish and droop together. Nor unfelt 10 In man's perturbèd soul thy sway benign; And, haply, far within the marble belt Of central earth, where tortured Spirits pine For grace and goodness lost, thy murmurs melt Their anguish,—and they blend sweet songs with thine.[DK]
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MALHAM COVE
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Was the aim frustrated by force or guile, When giants scooped from out the rocky ground, Tier under tier, this semicirque profound? (Giants—the same who built in Erin's isle 5 That Causeway with incomparable toil!)— O, had this vast theatric structure wound[349][DL] With finished sweep into a perfect round, No mightier work had gained the plausive smile Of all-beholding Phœbus! But, alas, 10 Vain earth! false world! Foundations must be laid In Heaven; for, 'mid the wreck of IS and WAS, Things incomplete and purposes betrayed Make sadder transits o'er thought's optic glass[350] Than noblest objects utterly decayed.[DM]
Malham Cove is a noble amphitheatre of perpendicular limestone rock, lying in regular strata, the height being 300 feet in the centre. The Aire issues from the rock at the base of the cliff, a considerable stream. Possibly Westall's picture of Malham Cove suggested to Wordsworth the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, and its legend. They have the same columnar appearance; although the former is limestone, and the latter basalt.—Ed.
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GORDALE
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
At early dawn, or rather when the air[351] Glimmers with fading light, and shadowy Eve Is busiest to confer and to bereave; Then, pensive Votary! let thy feet repair[352] 5 To Gordale-chasm, terrific as the lair Where the young lions couch; for so,[353] by leave Of the propitious hour, thou may'st perceive The local Deity, with oozy hair 9 And mineral crown, beside his jagged urn, Recumbent: Him thou may'st behold, who hides His lineaments by day,[354] yet[355] there presides, Teaching the docile waters how to turn, Or (if need be) impediment to spurn, And force their passage to[356] the salt-sea tides!
There are many legendary stories connected with the Yorkshire caves, particularly in the Giggleswick district; but I have been unable to trace any legend about the "local Deity" of Gordale. There is nothing in the letterpress of Westall's views, or in the "addenda" to West's Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, about these legends. The chasm is a very remarkable cleft in the limestone rock, near Malham. Gray's description of Gordale, in his Journal (1796), may be referred to.—Ed.
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COMPOSED DURING A STORM[357]
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
[Written in Rydal Woods, by the side of a torrent.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
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 5 Insidiously, untimely thunders growl; While trees, dim-seen, in frenzied numbers, tear The lingering remnant of their yellow hair, And shivering wolves, surprised with darkness, howl As if the sun were not. He raised his eye 10 Soul-smitten; for, that instant, did appear[358] Large space ('mid dreadful clouds) of purest sky, An azure disc[359]—shield of Tranquillity; Invisible, unlooked-for, minister Of providential goodness ever nigh!
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"AERIAL ROCK—WHOSE SOLITARY BROW"
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
[A projecting point of Loughrigg, nearly in front of Rydal Mount. Thence looking at it, you are struck with the boldness of its aspect; but walking under it, you admire the beauty of its details. It is vulgarly called Holme-scar, probably from the insulated pasture by the waterside below it.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Aerial Rock—whose solitary brow From this low threshold daily meets my sight; When I step[360] forth to hail the morning light; Or quit the stars with a lingering farewell—how[361] 5 Shall Fancy pay to thee a grateful vow? How, with the Muse's aid, her love attest? —By planting on thy naked head the crest[362] Of an imperial Castle, which the plough Of ruin shall not touch. Innocent scheme! 10 That doth presume no more than to supply A grace the sinuous vale and roaring stream Want, through neglect of hoar Antiquity. Rise, then, ye votive Towers! and catch a gleam Of golden sunset, ere it fade and die.
Compare the sonnet No. XXVII. of the Duddon Series, beginning "Fallen, and diffused into a shapeless heap," as it was evidently written with reference to the old (traditional) Hall of Rydal. If an
. . . embattled House, whose massy Keep Flung from yon cliff a shadow large and cold,
stood in "the sinuous vale" of Rydal, there was no "neglect of hoar Antiquity."—Ed.
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THE WILD DUCK'S NEST
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
[I observed this beautiful nest on the largest island of Rydal Water.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
The imperial[363] Consort of the Fairy-king Owns not a sylvan bower; or gorgeous cell[364] With emerald floored, and with purpureal shell Ceilinged and roofed; that is so fair a thing[365] 5 As this low structure, for the tasks of Spring, Prepared by one who loves the buoyant swell Of the brisk waves, yet here consents to dwell; And spreads[366] in steadfast peace her brooding wing. Words cannot paint the o'ershadowing yew-tree bough, 10 And dimly-gleaming Nest,—a hollow crown Of golden leaves inlaid with silver down, Fine as the mother's softest plumes allow:[367] I gazed—and, self-accused while gazing, sighed For human-kind, weak slaves of cumbrous pride![368]
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WRITTEN UPON A BLANK LEAF IN "THE COMPLETE ANGLER"
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
While flowing rivers yield a blameless sport, Shall live the name of Walton: Sage benign! Whose pen, the mysteries of the rod and line Unfolding, did not fruitlessly exhort 5 To reverend watching of each still report That Nature utters from her rural shrine. Meek, nobly versed in simple discipline— He found the longest summer day too short, To his[369] loved pastime given by sedgy Lee, 10 Or down the tempting maze of Shawford brook— Fairer than life itself, in this[370] sweet Book, The cowslip-bank[371] and shady willow-tree; And the fresh meads—where flowed, from every nook Of his[372] full bosom, gladsome Piety!
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CAPTIVITY—MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS[373]
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
"As the cold aspect of a sunless way Strikes through the Traveller's frame with deadlier chill, Oft as appears a grove, or obvious hill, Glistening with unparticipated ray, 5 Or shining slope where he must never stray; So joys, remembered without wish or will, Sharpen the keenest edge of present ill,— On the crushed heart a heavier burthen lay. Just Heaven, contract the compass of my mind 10 To fit proportion with my altered state! Quench those felicities whose light I find Reflected in[374] my bosom all too late!— O be my spirit, like my thraldom, strait; And, like mine eyes that stream with sorrow, blind!"
Compare the Lament of Mary Queen of Scots, p. 162.
Why this sonnet was printed, from 1819 (in which year it appeared in The Waggoner, a Poem, to which are added Sonnets,) to the last edition of 1849, within inverted commas, I have never been able to discover.—Ed.
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TO A SNOW-DROP[375]
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Lone Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they But hardier far, once more I see thee bend Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend, Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,[376] 5 Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, way-lay The rising sun, and on the plains descend; Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend[377] Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May Shall soon behold this border thickly set 10 With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers; Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,[378] Chaste Snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring, And pensive monitor of fleeting years!
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"WHEN HAUGHTY EXPECTATIONS PROSTRATE LIE"
Composed 1819.—Published 1820
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
When haughty expectations prostrate lie,[DN] And grandeur crouches like a guilty thing, Oft shall the lowly weak, till nature bring Mature release, in fair society 5 Survive, and Fortune's utmost anger try; Like these frail snow-drops that together cling, And nod their helmets, smitten by the wing Of many a furious whirl-blast sweeping by. Observe the faithful flowers![DO] if small to great May lead the thoughts, thus struggling used to stand 11 The Emathian phalanx,[DP] nobly obstinate; And so the bright immortal Theban band,[DQ] Whom onset, fiercely urged at Jove's command, Might overwhelm, but could not separate!
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TO THE RIVER DERWENT
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
This sonnet was first published along with The Waggoner. In the editions from 1820 to 1832 it was placed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets." In 1835 it was included in the series of "Poems, composed or suggested during a tour, in the summer of 1833."—Ed.
Among the mountains were we nursed, loved Stream! Thou near the eagle's nest—within brief sail, I, of his bold wing floating on the gale, Where thy deep voice could lull me! Faint the beam 5 Of human life when first allowed to gleam On mortal notice.—Glory of the vale, Such thy meek outset, with a crown, though frail, Kept in perpetual verdure by the steam Of thy soft breath!—Less vivid wreath[379] entwined 10 Nemæan victor's brow; less bright was worn, Meed of some Roman chief—in triumph borne With captives chained; and shedding from his car The sunset splendours of a finished war Upon the proud enslavers of mankind!
The Derwent has its source on the slopes of Glaramara; and an Eagle Crag rises above one of its affluents (the Langstrath beck, separating the Langstrath from the Greenup Valley). Doubtless there were eagles there in the last century when Wordsworth was born, and they would soar over Skiddaw and the Grasmere group of mountains towards Cockermouth, his birth-place.—Ed.
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COMPOSED IN ONE OF THE VALLEYS OF WESTMORELAND, ON EASTER SUNDAY[380]
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
With each recurrence of this glorious morn That saw the Saviour in his human frame Rise from the dead, erewhile the Cottage-dame Put on fresh raiment—till that hour unworn: 5 Domestic[381] hands the home-bred wool had shorn, And she who span it culled[382] the daintiest fleece, In thoughtful reverence to the Prince of Peace, Whose temples bled beneath the platted thorn. A blest estate when piety sublime These humble props disdained not! O green dales! 11 Sad may I be who heard your sabbath chime When Art's abused inventions were unknown; Kind Nature's various wealth was all your own; And benefits were weighed in Reason's scales!
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The following (incomplete) version of this Easter Sunday sonnet exists in MS.:—
COMPOSED ON EASTER SUNDAY
Erewhile to celebrate this glorious morn That saw the unvanquished Saviour of mankind Rise from the grave, the Ruler and the Hind Put on fresh raiment, till that hour unworn, Fair cloth of home-bred wool which he had shorn, Her hands had spun, culling her daintiest fleece, Such reverence paid they to the Prince of Peace. O blest estate, when Piety sublime These humble props disdained not! Are thy flowers Banished for aye, from Britain's hills and vales Extinct, or lingering in a happier clime, Where our abused inventions are unknown Ed. And benefits are weighed in Reason's scales?
"GRIEF, THOU HAST LOST AN EVER READY FRIEND"
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
[I could write a treatise of lamentation upon the changes brought about among the cottages of Westmoreland by the silence of the spinning-wheel.[DR] During long winter nights and wet days, the wheel upon which wool was spun gave employment to a great part of a family. The old man, however infirm, was able to card the wool, as he sate in a corner by the fire-side; and often, when a boy, have I admired the cylinders of carded wool which were softly laid upon each other by his side. Two wheels were often at work on the same floor; and others of the family, chiefly little children, were occupied in teasing and cleaning the wool to fit it for the hand of the carder. So that all, except the smallest infants, were contributing to mutual support. Such was the employment that prevailed in the pastoral vales. Where wool was not at hand, in the small rural towns, the wheel for spinning flax was almost in as constant use, if knitting was not preferred; which latter occupation has the advantage (in some cases disadvantage) that, not being of necessity stationary, it allowed of gossiping about from house to house, which good housewives reckoned an idle thing.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
Grief, thou hast lost an ever ready friend Now that the cottage Spinning-wheel is mute; And Care—a comforter that best could suit Her froward mood, and softliest reprehend; 5 And Love—a charmer's voice, that used to lend, More efficaciously than aught that flows From harp or lute, kind influence to compose The throbbing pulse—else troubled without end: Even Joy could tell,[383] Joy craving truce and rest 10 From her own overflow, what power sedate On those revolving motions did await Assiduously—to soothe her aching breast; And, to a point of just relief, abate The mantling triumphs of a day too blest.
The following version of the last seven lines of this sonnet is from a MS. copy of it:—
The panting breast else troubled without end: And fancy prized the murmuring spinning-wheel In sympathies inexplicably fine, Instilled a confidence how sweet to feel! That ever, in the night calm, when the sheep Upon their grassy beds lay couched in sleep, The quickening spindle drew a trustier line. Ed.
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FOOTNOTE:
"I WATCH, AND LONG HAVE WATCHED, WITH CALM REGRET"
Composed 1819.—Published 1819[DS]
[Suggested in front of Rydal Mount, the rocky parapet being the summit of Loughrigg Fell opposite. Not once only, but a hundred times, have the feelings of this sonnet been awakened by the same objects seen from the same place.—I. F.]
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
I watch, and long have watched, with calm regret Yon slowly-sinking star—immortal Sire (So might he seem) of all the glittering quire! Blue ether still surrounds him—yet—and yet; 5 But now the horizon's rocky parapet Is reached, where, forfeiting his bright attire, He burns—transmuted to a dusky fire— Then pays submissively the appointed debt To the flying moments, and is seen no more.[384] 10 Angels and gods! We struggle with our fate, While health, power, glory, from their height decline,[385] Depressed; and then extinguished: and our state, In this, how different, lost Star, from thine, That no to-morrow shall our beams restore![DT]
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I HEARD (ALAS! 'TWAS ONLY IN A DREAM)
Composed 1819.—Published 1819
One of the "Miscellaneous Sonnets."—Ed.
I heard (alas! 'twas only in a dream) Strains—which, as sage Antiquity believed, By waking[386] ears have sometimes been received Wafted adown the wind from lake or stream; 5 A most melodious requiem, a supreme And perfect harmony of notes, achieved By a fair Swan on drowsy billows heaved, O'er which her pinions shed a silver gleam. For is she not the votary of Apollo? 10 And knows she not, singing as he inspires,[387] That bliss awaits her which the ungenial Hollow[DU] Of the dull earth partakes not, nor desires? Mount, tuneful Bird, and join the immortal quires! She soared—and I awoke, struggling in vain to follow.
Socrates to Simmias.—"Will you not allow that I have as much of the spirit of prophecy in me as the swans? For they, when they perceive that they must die, having sung all their life long, do then sing more than ever, rejoicing in the thought that they are about to go away to the God, whose ministers they are. But men, because they are themselves afraid of death, slanderously affirm of the swans, that they sing a lament at the last, not considering that no bird sings when cold, or hungry, or in pain, not even the nightingale, nor the swallow, nor yet the hoopoe, which are said indeed to tune a lay of sorrow, although I do not believe this to be true of them any more than of the swans. But because they are sacred to Apollo, they have the gift of prophecy, and anticipate the good things of another world; wherefore they sing and rejoice in that day more than ever they did before. And I too, believing myself to be the consecrated servant of the same God, and the fellow-servant of the swans, and thinking that I have received from my master gifts of prophecy which are not inferior to theirs, would not go out of life less merrily than the swans." Phædo, 85 (Jowett's translation, vol. i. p. 462).—Ed.
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FOOTNOTE:
THE HAUNTED TREE[DV]
To ——
Composed 1819.—Published 1820
[This tree grew in the park of Rydal, and I have often listened to its creaking as described.—I. F.]
One of the "Poems of the Imagination."—Ed.
Those silver clouds collected round the sun His mid-day warmth abate not, seeming less To overshade than multiply his beams 4 By soft reflection—grateful to the sky, To rocks, fields, woods. Nor doth our human sense Ask, for its pleasure, screen or canopy More ample than the[388] time-dismantled Oak Spreads o'er this tuft of heath, which now, attired In the whole fulness of its bloom, affords 10 Couch beautiful as e'er for earthly use[389] Was fashioned; whether by the hand of Art, That eastern Sultan, amid flowers enwrought On silken tissue, might diffuse his limbs In languor; or, by Nature, for repose 15 Of panting Wood-nymph, wearied with the chase.[390] O Lady! fairer in thy Poet's sight Than fairest spiritual creature of the groves, Approach;—and, thus invited, crown with rest The noontide hour: though truly some there are 20 Whose footsteps superstitiously avoid This venerable Tree; for, when the wind Blows keenly, it sends forth a creaking sound (Above the general roar of woods and crags) Distinctly heard from far—a doleful note! 25 As if (so Grecian shepherds would have deemed) The Hamadryad, pent within, bewailed Some bitter wrong.[DW] Nor is it unbelieved, By ruder fancy, that a troubled ghost Haunts the old trunk;[391] lamenting deeds of which 30 The flowery ground is conscious. But no wind Sweeps now along this elevated ridge; Not even a zephyr stirs;—the obnoxious Tree Is mute: and, in his silence, would look down, O lovely Wanderer of the trackless hills, 35 On thy[392] reclining form with more delight Than his coevals in the sheltered vale Seem to participate, the while they view[393] Their own far-stretching arms and leafy heads Vividly pictured in some glassy pool, 40 That, for a brief space, checks the hurrying stream!
Where this Haunted Tree stood in Rydal Park, or whether it is still standing, cannot be determined. There are several "time-dismantled oaks" in the Park, but none with a heather couch beneath them, so far as I know. I have, however, heard stories of this tree from old residenters. The "Lady," the "lovely wanderer of the trackless hills," may have been the poet's daughter, Dora, to whom (probably) this poem was inscribed.—Ed.
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SEPTEMBER, 1819
Composed 1819.—Published 1820
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."—Ed.
The sylvan slopes with corn-clad fields Are hung, as if with golden shields, Bright trophies of the sun! Like a fair sister of the sky, 5 Unruffled doth the blue lake lie, The mountains looking on.[DX] And, sooth to say, yon vocal grove, Albeit uninspired by love, By love untaught to ring, 10 May well afford to mortal ear An impulse more profoundly dear Than music of the Spring. For that from turbulence and heat Proceeds, from some uneasy seat 15 In nature's struggling frame, Some region of impatient life: And jealousy, and quivering strife, Therein a portion claim. This, this is holy;—while I hear 20 These vespers of another year, This hymn of thanks and praise, My spirit seems to mount above The anxieties of human love, And earth's precarious days. 25 But list!—though winter storms be nigh, Unchecked is that soft harmony; There lives Who can provide For all His creatures; and in Him, Even like the radiant Seraphim, 30 These choristers confide.
See the Fenwick note to the second of the two Odes to Lycoris. This poem and the next in order are "the two that follow," referred to in that note as "composed in front of Rydal Mount, and during my walks in the neighbourhood." Note the eulogy of Spring, and (comparative) disparagement of Autumn, in Lycoris; and the complimentary truth, in reference to Autumn, brought out in this fragment.—Ed.
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UPON THE SAME OCCASION
Composed 1819.—Published 1820
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection."—Ed.
Departing summer hath assumed An aspect tenderly illumed, The gentlest look of spring; That calls from yonder leafy shade 5 Unfaded, yet prepared to fade, A timely carolling. No faint and hesitating trill, Such tribute as to winter chill The lonely redbreast pays! 10 Clear, loud, and lively is the din, From social warblers gathering in Their harvest of sweet lays. Nor doth the example fail to cheer Me, conscious that my leaf is sere,[DY] 15 And yellow on the bough:— Fall, rosy garlands, from my head! Ye myrtle wreaths, your fragrance shed Around a younger brow! Yet will I temperately rejoice; 20 Wide is the range, and free the choice Of undiscordant themes; Which, haply, kindred souls may prize Not less than vernal ecstasies, And passion's feverish dreams. 25 For deathless powers to verse belong, And they like Demi-gods are strong On whom the Muses smile; But some their function have disclaimed, Best pleased with what is aptliest framed 30 To enervate and defile.[DZ] Not such the initiatory strains Committed to the silent plains In Britain's earliest dawn: Trembled the groves, the stars grew pale, 35 While all-too-daringly the veil Of nature was withdrawn![EA] Nor such the spirit-stirring note When the live chords Alcæus smote,[EB] Inflamed by sense of wrong; 40 Woe! woe to Tyrants! from the lyre Broke threateningly, in sparkles dire Of fierce vindictive song.[EC] And not unhallowed was the page By wingèd Love inscribed, to assuage 45 The pangs of vain pursuit; Love listening while the Lesbian Maid[ED] With finest touch of passion swayed[394] Her own Æolian lute. O ye, who patiently explore 50 The wreck of Herculanean lore,[EE] What rapture! could ye seize Some Theban fragment, or unroll One precious, tender-hearted, scroll Of pure Simonides.[EF] 55 That were, indeed, a genuine birth Of poesy; a bursting forth Of genius from the dust: What Horace gloried to behold,[395][EG] What Maro loved[EH] shall we enfold? 60 Can haughty Time be just!
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