The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth - BestLightNovel.com
You’re reading novel The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth Volume Ii Part 36 online at BestLightNovel.com. Please use the follow button to get notification about the latest chapter next time when you visit BestLightNovel.com. Use F11 button to read novel in full-screen(PC only). Drop by anytime you want to read free – fast – latest novel. It’s great if you could leave a comment, share your opinion about the new chapters, new novel with others on the internet. We’ll do our best to bring you the finest, latest novel everyday. Enjoy
I Between two sister moorland rills There is a spot that seems to lie Sacred to flowerets of the hills, And sacred to the sky.
And in this smooth and open dell 5 There is a tempest-stricken tree; A corner-stone by lightning cut, The last stone of a lonely hut; [1]
And in this dell you see A thing no storm can e'er destroy, 10 The shadow of a Danish Boy. [A]
II In clouds above, the lark is heard, But drops not here to earth for rest; [2]
Within [3] this lonesome nook the bird Did never build her [4] nest. 15 No beast, no bird hath here his home; Bees, wafted on [5] the breezy air, Pa.s.s high above those fragrant bells To other flowers:--to other dells Their burthens do they bear; [6] 20 The Danish Boy walks here alone: The lovely dell is all his own.
III A Spirit of noon-day is he; Yet seems [7] a form of flesh and blood; Nor piping shepherd shall he be, 25 Nor herd-boy of the wood. [8]
A regal vest of fur he wears, In colour like a raven's wing; It fears not [9] rain, nor wind, nor dew; But in the storm 'tis fresh and blue 30 As budding pines in spring; His helmet has a vernal grace, Fresh as the bloom upon his face.
IV A harp is from his shoulder slung; Resting the harp upon his knee; 35 To words of a forgotten tongue, He suits its melody. [10]
Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill [11]
He is the darling and the joy; And often, when no cause appears, 40 The mountain-ponies p.r.i.c.k their ears, --They hear the Danish Boy, While in the dell he sings [12] alone Beside the tree and corner-stone.
[13]
V There sits he; in his face you spy 45 No trace of a ferocious air, Nor ever was a cloudless sky So steady or so fair.
The lovely Danish Boy is blest And happy in his flowery cove: 50 From b.l.o.o.d.y deeds his thoughts are far; And yet he warbles songs of war, That seem [14] like songs of love, For calm and gentle is his mien; Like a dead Boy he is serene. 55
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
... a cottage hut; 1800.]
[Variant 2:
1827.
He sings his blithest and his best; 1800.
She sings, regardless of her rest, 1820.]
[Variant 3:
1827.
But in ... 1800.]
[Variant 4:
1820.
... his ... 1800.]
[Variant 5:
1827.
The bees borne on ... 1800.]
[Variant 6:
1827.
Nor ever linger there. 1800.]
[Variant 7:
1836.
He seems ... 1800.]
[Variant 8:
1802.
A piping Shepherd he might be, A Herd-boy of the wood. 1800.]
[Variant 9:
1802.
... nor ... 1800.]
[Variant 10:
1836.
He rests the harp upon his knee, And there in a forgotten tongue He warbles melody. 1800.]
[Variant 11:
