I, loving freedom, and untried; 25
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred 30
The task, in smoother walks to stray; [6]
But thee I now [7] would serve more strictly, if I may.
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred 30
The task, in smoother walks to stray; [6]
But thee I now [7] would serve more strictly, if I may.
William Wordsworth
It consoled him here
To attend upon the orphan, and perform 280
Obsequious service to the precious child,
Which, after a short time, by some mistake
Or indiscretion of the Father, died. --
The Tale I follow to its last recess
Of suffering or of peace, I know not which: 285
Theirs be the blame who caused the woe, not mine!
From this time forth he never shared a smile
With mortal creature. An Inhabitant
Of that same town, in which the pair had left
So lively a remembrance of their griefs, 290
By chance of business, coming within reach
Of his retirement, to the forest lodge
Repaired, but only found the matron there, [16]
Who told him that his pains were thrown away,
For that her Master never uttered word 295
To living thing--not even to her. --Behold!
While they were speaking, Vaudracour approached;
But, seeing some one near, as on the latch
Of the garden-gate his hand was laid, he shrunk--[17]
And, like a shadow, glided out of view. 300
Shocked at his savage aspect, from the place
The visitor retired.
Thus lived the Youth
Cut off from all intelligence with man,
And shunning even the light of common day; 305
Nor could the voice of Freedom, which through France
Full speedily resounded, public hope,
Or personal memory of his own deep wrongs,
Rouse him: but in those solitary shades
His days he wasted, an imbecile mind! 310
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
And strangers to content if long apart,
Or more divided . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Was inwardly prepared to turn aside
From law and custom, . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 3:
1836.
The sequel may be easily divined,--1820. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
. . . From this time the Youth 1820. ]
[Variant 5:
1827.
Stirred no where without arms. To their rural seat,
Meanwhile, his Parents artfully withdrew,
Upon some feigned occasion, and the Son
Remained with one attendant. At midnight 1820. ]
[Variant 6:
1836.
One, did the Youth's ungovernable hand
Assault and slay;--and to a second gave 1820. ]
[Variant 7:
1836.
. . . beheld . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 8:
1836.
The perturbation of each mind;--. . . 1820. ]
[Variant 9: This line was added in 1836. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
But . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 11:
1845.
. . . for no thought
Uncharitable, no presumptuous rising
Of hasty censure, modelled in the eclipse 1820.
. . . for no thought
Undutifully harsh dwelt in his mind,
No proud resentment cherished in the eclipse C. ]
[Variant 12:
1840.
. . . your . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 13:
1827.
. . . upon . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 14:
1836.
No words . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 15:
1836.
. . . infant Babe, 1820. ]
[Variant 16:
1827.
. . . to the spot repaired
With an intent to visit him. He reached
The house, and only found the Matron there, 1820]
[Variant 17:
1836.
But, seeing some one near, even as his hand
Was stretched towards the garden gate, he shrunk--1820]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The work was 'The Prelude'. See book ix. , p. 310 of this
volume. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare 'The Prelude', book ix. l. 548, p. 310, where
Wordsworth says it was told him "by my Patriot friend. "--Ed. ]
In the preface to his volume, "'Poems of Wordsworth' chosen and edited
by Matthew Arnold," that distinguished poet and critic has said (p.
xxv. ), "I can read with pleasure and edification . . . everything of
Wordsworth, I think, except 'Vaudracour and Julia'. "--Ed.
* * * * *
1805
During 1805, the autobiographical poem, which was afterwards named by
Mrs. Wordsworth 'The Prelude', was finished. In that year also
Wordsworth wrote the 'Ode to Duty', 'To a Sky-Lark', 'Fidelity', the
fourth poem 'To the Daisy', the 'Elegiac Stanzas suggested by a Picture
of Peele Castle in a Storm', the 'Elegiac Verses' in memory of his
brother John, 'The Waggoner', and a few other poems. --Ed.
* * * * *
FRENCH REVOLUTION,
AS IT APPEARED TO ENTHUSIASTS AT ITS COMMENCEMENT
REPRINTED FROM 'THE FRIEND'
Composed 1805. --Published 1809
[An extract from the long poem on my own poetical education. It was
first published by Coleridge in his 'Friend', which is the reason of its
having had a place in every edition of my poems since. --I. F. ]
These lines appeared first in 'The Friend', No. 11, October 26, 1809, p.
163. They afterwards found a place amongst the "Poems of the
Imagination," in all the collective editions from 1815 onwards. They are
part of the eleventh book of 'The Prelude', entitled "France--
(concluded)," ll. 105-144. Wordsworth gives the date 1805, but these
lines possibly belong to the year 1804. --Ed.
Oh! pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were [1] the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we [2] who were strong in love!
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven! --Oh! times, 5
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance!
When Reason seemed the most to assert her rights,
When most intent on making of herself 10
A prime Enchantress [3]--to assist the work,
Which then was going forward in her name!
Not favoured spots alone, but the whole earth,
The beauty wore of promise, that which sets
(As at some moment might not be unfelt [4] 15
Among the bowers of paradise itself)
The budding rose above the rose full blown.
What temper at the prospect did not wake
To happiness unthought of? The inert
Were roused, and lively natures rapt away! 20
They who had fed their childhood upon dreams,
The playfellows of fancy, who had made
All powers of swiftness, subtilty, and strength
Their ministers,--who in lordly wise had stirred [5]
Among the grandest objects of the sense, 25
And dealt [6] with whatsoever they found there
As if they had within some lurking right
To wield it;--they, too, who, of gentle mood,
Had watched all gentle motions, and to these
Had fitted their own thoughts, schemers more mild, 30
And in the region of their peaceful selves;--
Now was it that both [7] found, the meek and lofty
Did both find, helpers to their heart's desire,
And stuff at hand, plastic as they could wish;
Were called upon to exercise their skill, 35
Not in Utopia, subterranean [8] fields,
Or some secreted island, Heaven knows where!
But in the very world, which is the world
Of all of us,--the place where in the end
We find our happiness, or not at all! 40
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: "were" omitted from the 1820 edition only. ]
[Variant 2:
1809.
. . . us . . . 'The Prelude', 1850. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
. . . Enchanter . . . 1809. ]
[Variant 4:
1832.
(To take an image which was felt no doubt 1809.
(As at some moments might not be unfelt 'The Prelude', 1850. ]
[Variant 5:
1815.
Their ministers--used to stir in lordly wise 1809. ]
[Variant 6:
1815.
And deal . . . 1809. ]
[Variant 7: "both" 'italicised' from 1815 to 1832, and also in 'The
Prelude'. ]
[Variant 8:
1832
. . . subterraneous . . . 1809. ]
Compare Coleridge's remarks in 'The Friend', vol. ii. p. 38, before
quoting this poem,
"My feelings and imagination did not remain unkindled in this general
conflagration; and I confess I should be more inclined to be ashamed
than proud of myself if they had! I was a sharer in the general
vortex, though my little world described the path of its revolution in
an orbit of its own," etc.
Ed.
* * * * *
ODE TO DUTY
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
"Jam non consilio bonus, sed more eo perductus, ut non tantum recte
facere possim, sed nisi recte facere non possim. " [A]
[This Ode is on the model of Gray's 'Ode to Adversity', which
is copied from Horace's Ode to Fortune. Many and many a
time have I been twitted by my wife and sister for having
forgotten this dedication of myself to the stern law-giver.
Transgressor indeed I have been from hour to hour, from day
to day: I would fain hope, however, not more flagrantly, or
in a worse way than most of my tuneful brethren. But these
last words are in a wrong strain. We should be rigorous to
ourselves, and forbearing, if not indulgent, to others; and, if
we make comparison at all, it ought to be with those who have
morally excelled us. --I. F. ]
In pencil on the MS. ,
"But is not the first stanza of Gray's from a chorus of AEschylus? And
is not Horace's Ode also modelled on the Greek? "
This poem was placed by Wordsworth among his "Poems of Sentiment and
Reflection. "--Ed.
Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law 5
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity! [1]
There are who ask not if thine eye
Be on them; who, in love and truth, 10
Where no misgiving is, rely
Upon the genial sense of youth: [B]
Glad Hearts! without reproach or blot;
Who do thy work, [2] and know it not:
Oh, if through confidence misplaced 15
They fail, thy saving arms, dread Power! around them cast. [3]
Serene will be our days and bright,
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security. 20
And they a blissful course may hold
Even now, who, not unwisely bold, [4]
Live in the spirit of this creed;
Yet seek thy firm support, [5] according to their need.
I, loving freedom, and untried; 25
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred 30
The task, in smoother walks to stray; [6]
But thee I now [7] would serve more strictly, if I may.
Through no disturbance of my soul,
Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy control; 35
But in the quietness of thought:
Me this unchartered freedom tires; [C]
I feel the weight of chance-desires:
My hopes no more must change their name,
I long for a repose that [8] ever is the same. 40
[9]
Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear
The Godhead's most benignant grace;
Nor know we any thing so [10] fair
As is the smile upon thy face: [D]
Flowers laugh before thee on their beds 45
And fragrance in thy footing treads; [E]
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong;
And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh and strong.
To humbler functions, awful Power!
I call thee: I myself commend 50
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh, let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reason give; 55
And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live! [F]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1815
From strife and from despair; a glorious ministry. 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
. . . the right . . . MS.
. . . thy will . . . MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1837.
May joy be theirs while life shall last!
And Thou, if they should totter, teach them to stand fast! 1807.
Long may the kindly impulse last!
But Thou, . . . 1827.
And may that genial sense remain, when youth is past. MS. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
And bless'd are they who in the main
This faith, even now, do entertain: 1807.
Even now this creed do entertain MS.
This holy creed do entertain MS. ]
[Variant 5:
1845.
Yet find that other strength, . . . 1807.
Yet find thy firm support, . . . 1837. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
Resolved that nothing e'er should press
Upon my present happiness,
I shoved unwelcome tasks away; 1807.
Full oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred
The task imposed, from day to day; 1815. ]
[Variant 7:
But henceforth I would . . . MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1827.
. . . which . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 9:
Yet not the less would I throughout
Still act according to the voice
Of my own wish; and feel past doubt
That my submissiveness was choice:
Not seeking in the school of pride
For "precepts over dignified,"
Denial and restraint I prize
No farther than they breed a second Will more wise.
Only in the edition of 1807. ]
[Variant 10:
. . . more . . . MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: This motto was added in the edition of 1837. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare S. T. C. in 'The Friend' (edition 1818, vol. iii.
p. 62),
"Its instinct, its safety, its benefit, its glory is to love, to
admire, to feel, and to labour. "
Ed. ]
[Footnote C: Compare Churchill's 'Gotham', i. 49:
'An Englishman in chartered freedom born. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote D: Compare in 'Sartor Resartus',
"Happy he for whom a kind of heavenly sun brightens it [Necessity]
into a ring of Duty, and plays round it with beautiful prismatic
refractions. "
Ed. ]
[Footnote E: Compare Persius, 'Satura', ii. l. 38:
'Quidquic calcaverit hic, rosa fiat. '
And Ben Jonson, in 'The Sad Shepherd', act I. scene i. ll. 8, 9:
'And where she went, the flowers took thickest root,
As she had sow'd them with her odorous foot. '
Also, a similar reference to Aphrodite in Hesiod, 'Theogony', vv. 192
'seq. '--Ed. ]
[Footnote F: Compare S. T. C. in 'The Friend' (edition 1818), vol. iii.
p. 64. --Ed. ]
Mr. J. R. Tutin has supplied me with the text of a proof copy of the
sheets of the edition of 1807, which was cancelled by Wordsworth, in
which the following stanzas take the place of the first four of that
edition:
'There are who tread a blameless way
In purity, and love, and truth,
Though resting on no better stay
Than on the genial sense of youth:
Glad Hearts! without reproach or blot;
Who do the right, and know it not:
May joy be theirs while life shall last
And may a genial sense remain, when youth is past.
Serene would be our days and bright;
And happy would our nature be;
If Love were an unerring light;
And Joy its own security.
And bless'd are they who in the main,
This creed, even now, do entertain,
Do in this spirit live; yet know
That Man hath other hopes; strength which elsewhere must grow.
I, loving freedom, and untried;
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust;
Resolv'd that nothing e'er should press
Upon my present happiness,
I shov'd unwelcome tasks away:
But henceforth I would serve; and strictly if I may.
O Power of DUTY! sent from God
To enforce on earth his high behest,
And keep us faithful to the road
Which conscience hath pronounc'd the best:
Thou, who art Victory and Law
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free,
From Strife, and from Despair, a glorious Ministry! [G]'
Ed.
[Footnote G: In the original MS. sent to the printer, I find that this
stanza was transcribed by Coleridge. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
TO A SKY-LARK
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
[Rydal Mount, 1825. [A]--I. F. ]
In pencil opposite,
"Where there are no skylarks; but the poet is everywhere. "
In the edition of 1807 this is No. 2 of the "Poems, composed during a
Tour, chiefly on foot. " [B] In 1815 it became one of the "Poems of the
Fancy. "--Ed.
Up with me! up with me into the clouds!
For thy song, Lark, is strong;
Up with me, up with me into the clouds!
Singing, singing,
With clouds and sky [1] about thee ringing, 5
Lift me, guide me till I find
That spot which seems so to thy mind!
I have walked through wildernesses dreary,
And [2] to-day my heart is weary;
Had I now the wings [3] of a Faery, 10
Up to thee would I fly.
There is madness about thee, and joy divine
In that song of thine;
Lift me, guide me high and high [4]
To thy banqueting-place in the sky. 15
Joyous as morning, [5]
Thou art laughing and scorning;
Thou hast a nest for thy love and thy rest,
And, though little troubled with sloth,
Drunken Lark! thou would'st be loth 20
To be such a traveller as I.
Happy, happy Liver,
With a soul as strong as a mountain river
Pouring out praise to the almighty Giver,
Joy and jollity be with us both! 25
Alas! my journey, rugged and uneven,
Through prickly moors or dusty ways must wind;
But hearing thee, or others of thy kind,
As full of gladness and as free of heaven,
I, with my fate contented, will plod on, 30
And hope for higher raptures, when life's day is done. [6]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
With all the heav'ns . . . 1807]
[Variant 2:
But . . . MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
the soul . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1832.
Up with me, up with me, high and high, . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 5: This and the previous stanza were omitted in the edition of
1827, but restored in that of 1832. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
Joy and jollity be with us both!
Hearing thee, or else some other,
As merry a Brother,
I on the earth will go plodding on,
By myself, chearfully, till the day is done. 1807.
What though my course be rugged and uneven,
To prickly moors and dusty ways confined,
Yet, hearing thee, or others of thy kind,
As full of gladness and as free of heaven,
I on the earth will go plodding on,
By myself, cheerfully, till the day is done. 1820. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: So it is printed in the 'Prose Works of Wordsworth' (1876);
but the date was 1805. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: In a MS. copy this series is called "Poems composed 'for
amusement' during a Tour, chiefly on foot. "--Ed. ]
Compare this poem with Shelley's 'Skylark', and with Wordsworth's poem,
on the same subject, written in the year 1825, and the last five stanzas
of his 'Morning Exercise' written in 1827; also with William Watson's
'First Skylark of Spring', 1895. --Ed.
* * * * *
FIDELITY
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
[The young man whose death gave occasion to this poem was named Charles
Gough, and had come early in the spring to Patterdale for the sake of
angling. While attempting to cross over Helvellyn to Grasmere he slipped
from a steep part of the rock where the ice was not thawed, and
perished. His body was discovered as described in this poem. Walter
Scott heard of the accident, and both he and I, without either of us
knowing that the other had taken up the subject, each wrote a poem in
admiration of the dog's fidelity. His contains a most beautiful stanza:
"How long did'st thou think that his silence was slumber!
When the wind waved his garment how oft did'st thou start! "
I will add that the sentiment in the last four lines of the last stanza
of my verses was uttered by a shepherd with such exactness, that a
traveller, who afterwards reported his account in print, was induced to
question the man whether he had read them, which he had not. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
A barking sound the Shepherd hears,
A cry as of a dog or fox;
He halts--and searches with his eyes
Among the scattered rocks:
And now at distance can discern 5
A stirring in a brake of fern;
And instantly a dog is seen,
Glancing through that covert green. [1]
The Dog is not of mountain breed;
Its motions, too, are wild and shy; 10
With something, as the Shepherd thinks,
Unusual in its cry:
Nor is there any one in sight
All round, in hollow or on height;
Nor shout, nor whistle strikes his ear; 15
What is the creature doing here?
It was a cove, a huge recess,
That keeps, till June, December's snow;
A lofty precipice in front,
A silent tarn [A] below! [B] 20
Far in the bosom of Helvellyn,
Remote from public road or dwelling,
Pathway, or cultivated land;
From trace of human foot or hand.
There sometimes doth [2] a leaping fish 25
Send through the tarn a lonely cheer;
The crags repeat the raven's croak, [C]
In symphony austere;
Thither the rainbow comes--the cloud--
And mists that spread the flying shroud; 30
And sunbeams; and the sounding blast,
That, if it could, would hurry past;
But that enormous barrier holds [3] it fast.
Not free from boding thoughts, [4] a while
The Shepherd stood; then makes his way 35
O'er rocks and stones, following the Dog [5]
As quickly as he may;
Nor far had gone before he found
A human skeleton on the ground;
The appalled Discoverer with a sigh [6] 40
Looks round, to learn the history.
From those abrupt and perilous rocks
The Man had fallen, that place of fear!
At length upon the Shepherd's mind
It breaks, and all is clear: 45
He instantly recalled the name, [7]
And who he was, and whence he came;
Remembered, too, the very day
On which the Traveller passed this way.
But hear a wonder, for whose sake 50
This lamentable tale I tell! [8]
A lasting monument of words
This wonder merits well.
The Dog, which still was hovering nigh,
Repeating the same timid cry, 55
This Dog, had been through three months' space
A dweller in that savage place.
Yes, proof was plain that, since the day
When this ill-fated Traveller died, [9]
The Dog had watched about the spot, 60
Or by his master's side:
How nourished here through such long time
He knows, who gave that love sublime;
And gave that strength of feeling, great
Above all human estimate! 65
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1820.
From which immediately leaps out
A Dog, and yelping runs about. 1807.
And instantly a Dog is seen,
Glancing from that covert green. 1815. ]
[Variant 2:
1820.
.
To attend upon the orphan, and perform 280
Obsequious service to the precious child,
Which, after a short time, by some mistake
Or indiscretion of the Father, died. --
The Tale I follow to its last recess
Of suffering or of peace, I know not which: 285
Theirs be the blame who caused the woe, not mine!
From this time forth he never shared a smile
With mortal creature. An Inhabitant
Of that same town, in which the pair had left
So lively a remembrance of their griefs, 290
By chance of business, coming within reach
Of his retirement, to the forest lodge
Repaired, but only found the matron there, [16]
Who told him that his pains were thrown away,
For that her Master never uttered word 295
To living thing--not even to her. --Behold!
While they were speaking, Vaudracour approached;
But, seeing some one near, as on the latch
Of the garden-gate his hand was laid, he shrunk--[17]
And, like a shadow, glided out of view. 300
Shocked at his savage aspect, from the place
The visitor retired.
Thus lived the Youth
Cut off from all intelligence with man,
And shunning even the light of common day; 305
Nor could the voice of Freedom, which through France
Full speedily resounded, public hope,
Or personal memory of his own deep wrongs,
Rouse him: but in those solitary shades
His days he wasted, an imbecile mind! 310
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
And strangers to content if long apart,
Or more divided . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
Was inwardly prepared to turn aside
From law and custom, . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 3:
1836.
The sequel may be easily divined,--1820. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
. . . From this time the Youth 1820. ]
[Variant 5:
1827.
Stirred no where without arms. To their rural seat,
Meanwhile, his Parents artfully withdrew,
Upon some feigned occasion, and the Son
Remained with one attendant. At midnight 1820. ]
[Variant 6:
1836.
One, did the Youth's ungovernable hand
Assault and slay;--and to a second gave 1820. ]
[Variant 7:
1836.
. . . beheld . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 8:
1836.
The perturbation of each mind;--. . . 1820. ]
[Variant 9: This line was added in 1836. ]
[Variant 10:
1836.
But . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 11:
1845.
. . . for no thought
Uncharitable, no presumptuous rising
Of hasty censure, modelled in the eclipse 1820.
. . . for no thought
Undutifully harsh dwelt in his mind,
No proud resentment cherished in the eclipse C. ]
[Variant 12:
1840.
. . . your . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 13:
1827.
. . . upon . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 14:
1836.
No words . . . 1820. ]
[Variant 15:
1836.
. . . infant Babe, 1820. ]
[Variant 16:
1827.
. . . to the spot repaired
With an intent to visit him. He reached
The house, and only found the Matron there, 1820]
[Variant 17:
1836.
But, seeing some one near, even as his hand
Was stretched towards the garden gate, he shrunk--1820]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The work was 'The Prelude'. See book ix. , p. 310 of this
volume. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare 'The Prelude', book ix. l. 548, p. 310, where
Wordsworth says it was told him "by my Patriot friend. "--Ed. ]
In the preface to his volume, "'Poems of Wordsworth' chosen and edited
by Matthew Arnold," that distinguished poet and critic has said (p.
xxv. ), "I can read with pleasure and edification . . . everything of
Wordsworth, I think, except 'Vaudracour and Julia'. "--Ed.
* * * * *
1805
During 1805, the autobiographical poem, which was afterwards named by
Mrs. Wordsworth 'The Prelude', was finished. In that year also
Wordsworth wrote the 'Ode to Duty', 'To a Sky-Lark', 'Fidelity', the
fourth poem 'To the Daisy', the 'Elegiac Stanzas suggested by a Picture
of Peele Castle in a Storm', the 'Elegiac Verses' in memory of his
brother John, 'The Waggoner', and a few other poems. --Ed.
* * * * *
FRENCH REVOLUTION,
AS IT APPEARED TO ENTHUSIASTS AT ITS COMMENCEMENT
REPRINTED FROM 'THE FRIEND'
Composed 1805. --Published 1809
[An extract from the long poem on my own poetical education. It was
first published by Coleridge in his 'Friend', which is the reason of its
having had a place in every edition of my poems since. --I. F. ]
These lines appeared first in 'The Friend', No. 11, October 26, 1809, p.
163. They afterwards found a place amongst the "Poems of the
Imagination," in all the collective editions from 1815 onwards. They are
part of the eleventh book of 'The Prelude', entitled "France--
(concluded)," ll. 105-144. Wordsworth gives the date 1805, but these
lines possibly belong to the year 1804. --Ed.
Oh! pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were [1] the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we [2] who were strong in love!
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven! --Oh! times, 5
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute, took at once
The attraction of a country in romance!
When Reason seemed the most to assert her rights,
When most intent on making of herself 10
A prime Enchantress [3]--to assist the work,
Which then was going forward in her name!
Not favoured spots alone, but the whole earth,
The beauty wore of promise, that which sets
(As at some moment might not be unfelt [4] 15
Among the bowers of paradise itself)
The budding rose above the rose full blown.
What temper at the prospect did not wake
To happiness unthought of? The inert
Were roused, and lively natures rapt away! 20
They who had fed their childhood upon dreams,
The playfellows of fancy, who had made
All powers of swiftness, subtilty, and strength
Their ministers,--who in lordly wise had stirred [5]
Among the grandest objects of the sense, 25
And dealt [6] with whatsoever they found there
As if they had within some lurking right
To wield it;--they, too, who, of gentle mood,
Had watched all gentle motions, and to these
Had fitted their own thoughts, schemers more mild, 30
And in the region of their peaceful selves;--
Now was it that both [7] found, the meek and lofty
Did both find, helpers to their heart's desire,
And stuff at hand, plastic as they could wish;
Were called upon to exercise their skill, 35
Not in Utopia, subterranean [8] fields,
Or some secreted island, Heaven knows where!
But in the very world, which is the world
Of all of us,--the place where in the end
We find our happiness, or not at all! 40
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: "were" omitted from the 1820 edition only. ]
[Variant 2:
1809.
. . . us . . . 'The Prelude', 1850. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
. . . Enchanter . . . 1809. ]
[Variant 4:
1832.
(To take an image which was felt no doubt 1809.
(As at some moments might not be unfelt 'The Prelude', 1850. ]
[Variant 5:
1815.
Their ministers--used to stir in lordly wise 1809. ]
[Variant 6:
1815.
And deal . . . 1809. ]
[Variant 7: "both" 'italicised' from 1815 to 1832, and also in 'The
Prelude'. ]
[Variant 8:
1832
. . . subterraneous . . . 1809. ]
Compare Coleridge's remarks in 'The Friend', vol. ii. p. 38, before
quoting this poem,
"My feelings and imagination did not remain unkindled in this general
conflagration; and I confess I should be more inclined to be ashamed
than proud of myself if they had! I was a sharer in the general
vortex, though my little world described the path of its revolution in
an orbit of its own," etc.
Ed.
* * * * *
ODE TO DUTY
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
"Jam non consilio bonus, sed more eo perductus, ut non tantum recte
facere possim, sed nisi recte facere non possim. " [A]
[This Ode is on the model of Gray's 'Ode to Adversity', which
is copied from Horace's Ode to Fortune. Many and many a
time have I been twitted by my wife and sister for having
forgotten this dedication of myself to the stern law-giver.
Transgressor indeed I have been from hour to hour, from day
to day: I would fain hope, however, not more flagrantly, or
in a worse way than most of my tuneful brethren. But these
last words are in a wrong strain. We should be rigorous to
ourselves, and forbearing, if not indulgent, to others; and, if
we make comparison at all, it ought to be with those who have
morally excelled us. --I. F. ]
In pencil on the MS. ,
"But is not the first stanza of Gray's from a chorus of AEschylus? And
is not Horace's Ode also modelled on the Greek? "
This poem was placed by Wordsworth among his "Poems of Sentiment and
Reflection. "--Ed.
Stern Daughter of the Voice of God!
O Duty! if that name thou love
Who art a light to guide, a rod
To check the erring, and reprove;
Thou, who art victory and law 5
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free;
And calm'st the weary strife of frail humanity! [1]
There are who ask not if thine eye
Be on them; who, in love and truth, 10
Where no misgiving is, rely
Upon the genial sense of youth: [B]
Glad Hearts! without reproach or blot;
Who do thy work, [2] and know it not:
Oh, if through confidence misplaced 15
They fail, thy saving arms, dread Power! around them cast. [3]
Serene will be our days and bright,
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security. 20
And they a blissful course may hold
Even now, who, not unwisely bold, [4]
Live in the spirit of this creed;
Yet seek thy firm support, [5] according to their need.
I, loving freedom, and untried; 25
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust:
And oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred 30
The task, in smoother walks to stray; [6]
But thee I now [7] would serve more strictly, if I may.
Through no disturbance of my soul,
Or strong compunction in me wrought,
I supplicate for thy control; 35
But in the quietness of thought:
Me this unchartered freedom tires; [C]
I feel the weight of chance-desires:
My hopes no more must change their name,
I long for a repose that [8] ever is the same. 40
[9]
Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear
The Godhead's most benignant grace;
Nor know we any thing so [10] fair
As is the smile upon thy face: [D]
Flowers laugh before thee on their beds 45
And fragrance in thy footing treads; [E]
Thou dost preserve the stars from wrong;
And the most ancient heavens, through Thee, are fresh and strong.
To humbler functions, awful Power!
I call thee: I myself commend 50
Unto thy guidance from this hour;
Oh, let my weakness have an end!
Give unto me, made lowly wise,
The spirit of self-sacrifice;
The confidence of reason give; 55
And in the light of truth thy Bondman let me live! [F]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1815
From strife and from despair; a glorious ministry. 1807. ]
[Variant 2:
. . . the right . . . MS.
. . . thy will . . . MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1837.
May joy be theirs while life shall last!
And Thou, if they should totter, teach them to stand fast! 1807.
Long may the kindly impulse last!
But Thou, . . . 1827.
And may that genial sense remain, when youth is past. MS. ]
[Variant 4:
1827.
And bless'd are they who in the main
This faith, even now, do entertain: 1807.
Even now this creed do entertain MS.
This holy creed do entertain MS. ]
[Variant 5:
1845.
Yet find that other strength, . . . 1807.
Yet find thy firm support, . . . 1837. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
Resolved that nothing e'er should press
Upon my present happiness,
I shoved unwelcome tasks away; 1807.
Full oft, when in my heart was heard
Thy timely mandate, I deferred
The task imposed, from day to day; 1815. ]
[Variant 7:
But henceforth I would . . . MS. ]
[Variant 8:
1827.
. . . which . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 9:
Yet not the less would I throughout
Still act according to the voice
Of my own wish; and feel past doubt
That my submissiveness was choice:
Not seeking in the school of pride
For "precepts over dignified,"
Denial and restraint I prize
No farther than they breed a second Will more wise.
Only in the edition of 1807. ]
[Variant 10:
. . . more . . . MS. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: This motto was added in the edition of 1837. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: Compare S. T. C. in 'The Friend' (edition 1818, vol. iii.
p. 62),
"Its instinct, its safety, its benefit, its glory is to love, to
admire, to feel, and to labour. "
Ed. ]
[Footnote C: Compare Churchill's 'Gotham', i. 49:
'An Englishman in chartered freedom born. '
Ed. ]
[Footnote D: Compare in 'Sartor Resartus',
"Happy he for whom a kind of heavenly sun brightens it [Necessity]
into a ring of Duty, and plays round it with beautiful prismatic
refractions. "
Ed. ]
[Footnote E: Compare Persius, 'Satura', ii. l. 38:
'Quidquic calcaverit hic, rosa fiat. '
And Ben Jonson, in 'The Sad Shepherd', act I. scene i. ll. 8, 9:
'And where she went, the flowers took thickest root,
As she had sow'd them with her odorous foot. '
Also, a similar reference to Aphrodite in Hesiod, 'Theogony', vv. 192
'seq. '--Ed. ]
[Footnote F: Compare S. T. C. in 'The Friend' (edition 1818), vol. iii.
p. 64. --Ed. ]
Mr. J. R. Tutin has supplied me with the text of a proof copy of the
sheets of the edition of 1807, which was cancelled by Wordsworth, in
which the following stanzas take the place of the first four of that
edition:
'There are who tread a blameless way
In purity, and love, and truth,
Though resting on no better stay
Than on the genial sense of youth:
Glad Hearts! without reproach or blot;
Who do the right, and know it not:
May joy be theirs while life shall last
And may a genial sense remain, when youth is past.
Serene would be our days and bright;
And happy would our nature be;
If Love were an unerring light;
And Joy its own security.
And bless'd are they who in the main,
This creed, even now, do entertain,
Do in this spirit live; yet know
That Man hath other hopes; strength which elsewhere must grow.
I, loving freedom, and untried;
No sport of every random gust,
Yet being to myself a guide,
Too blindly have reposed my trust;
Resolv'd that nothing e'er should press
Upon my present happiness,
I shov'd unwelcome tasks away:
But henceforth I would serve; and strictly if I may.
O Power of DUTY! sent from God
To enforce on earth his high behest,
And keep us faithful to the road
Which conscience hath pronounc'd the best:
Thou, who art Victory and Law
When empty terrors overawe;
From vain temptations dost set free,
From Strife, and from Despair, a glorious Ministry! [G]'
Ed.
[Footnote G: In the original MS. sent to the printer, I find that this
stanza was transcribed by Coleridge. --Ed. ]
* * * * *
TO A SKY-LARK
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
[Rydal Mount, 1825. [A]--I. F. ]
In pencil opposite,
"Where there are no skylarks; but the poet is everywhere. "
In the edition of 1807 this is No. 2 of the "Poems, composed during a
Tour, chiefly on foot. " [B] In 1815 it became one of the "Poems of the
Fancy. "--Ed.
Up with me! up with me into the clouds!
For thy song, Lark, is strong;
Up with me, up with me into the clouds!
Singing, singing,
With clouds and sky [1] about thee ringing, 5
Lift me, guide me till I find
That spot which seems so to thy mind!
I have walked through wildernesses dreary,
And [2] to-day my heart is weary;
Had I now the wings [3] of a Faery, 10
Up to thee would I fly.
There is madness about thee, and joy divine
In that song of thine;
Lift me, guide me high and high [4]
To thy banqueting-place in the sky. 15
Joyous as morning, [5]
Thou art laughing and scorning;
Thou hast a nest for thy love and thy rest,
And, though little troubled with sloth,
Drunken Lark! thou would'st be loth 20
To be such a traveller as I.
Happy, happy Liver,
With a soul as strong as a mountain river
Pouring out praise to the almighty Giver,
Joy and jollity be with us both! 25
Alas! my journey, rugged and uneven,
Through prickly moors or dusty ways must wind;
But hearing thee, or others of thy kind,
As full of gladness and as free of heaven,
I, with my fate contented, will plod on, 30
And hope for higher raptures, when life's day is done. [6]
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1827.
With all the heav'ns . . . 1807]
[Variant 2:
But . . . MS. ]
[Variant 3:
1815.
the soul . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 4:
1832.
Up with me, up with me, high and high, . . . 1807. ]
[Variant 5: This and the previous stanza were omitted in the edition of
1827, but restored in that of 1832. ]
[Variant 6:
1827.
Joy and jollity be with us both!
Hearing thee, or else some other,
As merry a Brother,
I on the earth will go plodding on,
By myself, chearfully, till the day is done. 1807.
What though my course be rugged and uneven,
To prickly moors and dusty ways confined,
Yet, hearing thee, or others of thy kind,
As full of gladness and as free of heaven,
I on the earth will go plodding on,
By myself, cheerfully, till the day is done. 1820. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: So it is printed in the 'Prose Works of Wordsworth' (1876);
but the date was 1805. --Ed. ]
[Footnote B: In a MS. copy this series is called "Poems composed 'for
amusement' during a Tour, chiefly on foot. "--Ed. ]
Compare this poem with Shelley's 'Skylark', and with Wordsworth's poem,
on the same subject, written in the year 1825, and the last five stanzas
of his 'Morning Exercise' written in 1827; also with William Watson's
'First Skylark of Spring', 1895. --Ed.
* * * * *
FIDELITY
Composed 1805. --Published 1807
[The young man whose death gave occasion to this poem was named Charles
Gough, and had come early in the spring to Patterdale for the sake of
angling. While attempting to cross over Helvellyn to Grasmere he slipped
from a steep part of the rock where the ice was not thawed, and
perished. His body was discovered as described in this poem. Walter
Scott heard of the accident, and both he and I, without either of us
knowing that the other had taken up the subject, each wrote a poem in
admiration of the dog's fidelity. His contains a most beautiful stanza:
"How long did'st thou think that his silence was slumber!
When the wind waved his garment how oft did'st thou start! "
I will add that the sentiment in the last four lines of the last stanza
of my verses was uttered by a shepherd with such exactness, that a
traveller, who afterwards reported his account in print, was induced to
question the man whether he had read them, which he had not. --I. F. ]
One of the "Poems of Sentiment and Reflection. "--Ed.
A barking sound the Shepherd hears,
A cry as of a dog or fox;
He halts--and searches with his eyes
Among the scattered rocks:
And now at distance can discern 5
A stirring in a brake of fern;
And instantly a dog is seen,
Glancing through that covert green. [1]
The Dog is not of mountain breed;
Its motions, too, are wild and shy; 10
With something, as the Shepherd thinks,
Unusual in its cry:
Nor is there any one in sight
All round, in hollow or on height;
Nor shout, nor whistle strikes his ear; 15
What is the creature doing here?
It was a cove, a huge recess,
That keeps, till June, December's snow;
A lofty precipice in front,
A silent tarn [A] below! [B] 20
Far in the bosom of Helvellyn,
Remote from public road or dwelling,
Pathway, or cultivated land;
From trace of human foot or hand.
There sometimes doth [2] a leaping fish 25
Send through the tarn a lonely cheer;
The crags repeat the raven's croak, [C]
In symphony austere;
Thither the rainbow comes--the cloud--
And mists that spread the flying shroud; 30
And sunbeams; and the sounding blast,
That, if it could, would hurry past;
But that enormous barrier holds [3] it fast.
Not free from boding thoughts, [4] a while
The Shepherd stood; then makes his way 35
O'er rocks and stones, following the Dog [5]
As quickly as he may;
Nor far had gone before he found
A human skeleton on the ground;
The appalled Discoverer with a sigh [6] 40
Looks round, to learn the history.
From those abrupt and perilous rocks
The Man had fallen, that place of fear!
At length upon the Shepherd's mind
It breaks, and all is clear: 45
He instantly recalled the name, [7]
And who he was, and whence he came;
Remembered, too, the very day
On which the Traveller passed this way.
But hear a wonder, for whose sake 50
This lamentable tale I tell! [8]
A lasting monument of words
This wonder merits well.
The Dog, which still was hovering nigh,
Repeating the same timid cry, 55
This Dog, had been through three months' space
A dweller in that savage place.
Yes, proof was plain that, since the day
When this ill-fated Traveller died, [9]
The Dog had watched about the spot, 60
Or by his master's side:
How nourished here through such long time
He knows, who gave that love sublime;
And gave that strength of feeling, great
Above all human estimate! 65
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1820.
From which immediately leaps out
A Dog, and yelping runs about. 1807.
And instantly a Dog is seen,
Glancing from that covert green. 1815. ]
[Variant 2:
1820.
.
