Analysis of The Waggoner - Canto Third
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
RIGHT gladly had the horses stirred,
When they the wished-for greeting heard,
The whip's loud notice from the door,
That they were free to move once more.
You think, those doings must have bred
In them disheartening doubts and dread;
No, not a horse of all the eight,
Although it be a moonless night,
Fears either for himself or freight;
For this they know (and let it hide,
In part, the offences of their guide)
That Benjamin, with clouded brains,
Is worth the best with all their pains;
And, if they had a prayer to make,
The prayer would be that they may take
With him whatever comes in course,
The better fortune or the worse;
That no one else may have business near them,
And, drunk or sober, he may steer them.
So, forth in dauntless mood they fare,
And with them goes the guardian pair.
Now, heroes, for the true commotion,
The triumph of your late devotion
Can aught on earth impede delight,
Still mounting to a higher height;
And higher still--a greedy flight!
Can any low-born care pursue her,
Can any mortal clog come to her?
No notion have they--not a thought,
That is from joyless regions brought!
And, while they coast the silent lake,
Their inspiration I partake;
Share their empyreal spirits--yea,
With their enraptured vision, see--
O fancy--what a jubilee!
What shifting pictures--clad in gleams
Of colour bright as feverish dreams!
Earth, spangled sky, and lake serene,
Involved and restless all--a scene
Pregnant with mutual exaltation,
Rich change, and multiplied creation!
This sight to me the Muse imparts;--
And then, what kindness in their hearts!
What tears of rapture, what vow-making,
Profound entreaties, and hand-shaking!
What solemn, vacant, interlacing,
As if they'd fall asleep embracing!
Then, in the turbulence of glee,
And in the excess of amity,
Says Benjamin, 'That Ass of thine,
He spoils thy sport, and hinders mine:
If he were tethered to the waggon,
He'd drag as well what he is dragging,
And we, as brother should with brother,
Might trudge it alongside each other!'
Forthwith, obedient to command,
The horses made a quiet stand;
And to the waggon's skirts was tied
The Creature, by the Mastiff's side,
The Mastiff wondering, and perplext
With dread of what will happen next;
And thinking it but sorry cheer,
To have such company so near!
This new arrangement made, the Wain
Through the still night proceeds again;
No Moon hath risen her light to lend;
But indistinctly may be kenned
The VANGUARD, following close behind,
Sails spread, as if to catch the wind!
'Thy wife and child are snug and warm,
Thy ship will travel without harm;
I like,' said Benjamin, 'her shape and stature:
And this of mine--this bulky creature
Of which I have the steering--this,
Seen fairly, is not much amiss!
We want your streamers, friend, you know;
But, altogether as we go,
We make a kind of handsome show!
Among these hills, from first to last,
We've weathered many a furious blast;
Hard passage forcing on, with head
Against the storm, and canvas spread.
I hate a boaster; but to thee
Will say't, who know'st both land and sea,
The unluckiest hulk that stems the brine
Is hardly worse beset than mine,
When cross-winds on her quarter beat;
And, fairly lifted from my feet,
I stagger onward--heaven knows how;
But not so pleasantly as now:
Poor pilot I, by snows confounded,
And many a foundrous pit surrounded!
Yet here we are, by night and day
Grinding through rough and smooth our way;
Through foul and fair our task fulfilling;
And long shall be so yet--God willing!'
'Ay,' said the Tar, 'through fair and foul--
But save us from yon screeching owl!'
That instant was begun a fray
Which called their thoughts another way:
The mastiff, ill-conditioned carl!
What must he do but growl and snarl,
Still more and more dissatisfied
With the meek comrade at his side!
Till, not incensed though put to proof,
The Ass, uplifting a hind hoof,
Salutes the Mastiff on the head;
And so were better manners bred,
And all was calmed and quieted.
'Yon screech-owl,' says the Sailor, turning
Back to his former cause of mourning,
'Yon owl!--pray God that all be well!
'Tis worse than any funeral bell;
As sure as I've the gift of sight,
We shall be meeting ghosts to-night!'
--Said Benjamin, 'This whip shall lay
A thousand, if they cross our way.
I know that Wanton's noisy station,
I know him and his occupation;
The jolly bird hath learned his cheer
Upon the banks of Wi
Scheme | Text too long |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 11011101 01110101 11011111 11110111 010100101 11011101 111011 11010111 11110111 0101111 11001101 11011111 01110111 01111111 1110101 01010101 1111111011 011101111 1101111 011101001 110101010 010111010 11110101 11010101 01010101 110111010 110101110 11011101 1111101 01110101 1010101 111101 11010101 1101010 11010101 11111001 11010101 01010101 1011001 11010010 11110101 01110011 111101110 010100110 110101 111101010 10010011 00011100 11001111 11110101 11010101 111111110 011101110 111011110 110100101 01010101 0101111 0101011 01010001 11111101 01011101 11110011 11010101 10110101 111100111 11111 01100101 11111101 11011101 11110011 11110001010 011111010 11110101 11011101 11110111 1010111 11011101 01111111 1101001001 11010111 01010101 1101111 1111111101 0111101 11010111 11110101 01010111 110101011 11110011 110111010 010011010 11111101 101101101 1101101010 011111110 11011101 11111101 11010101 11110101 01010101 11111101 1101010 1011111 1111111 0110011 01010101 01010101 01110100 111101010 111101110 11111111 111101001 11110111 11110111 11001111 010111101 11111010 11101010 01011111 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 4,280 |
Words | 772 |
Sentences | 29 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 121 |
Lines Amount | 121 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 3,408 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 763 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:52 min read
- 86 Views
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"The Waggoner - Canto Third" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42401/the-waggoner-----canto-third>.
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