Analysis of The White Doe Of Rylstone, Or, The Fate Of The Nortons - Dedication
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
IN trellised shed with clustering roses gay,
And, MARY! oft beside our blazing fire,
When yeas of wedded life were as a day
Whose current answers to the heart's desire,
Did we together read in Spenser's Lay
How Una, sad of soul--in sad attire,
The gentle Una, of celestial birth,
To seek her Knight went wandering o'er the earth.
Ah, then, Beloved! pleasing was the smart,
And the tear precious in compassion shed
For Her, who, pierced by sorrow's thrilling dart,
Did meekly bear the pang unmerited;
Meek as that emblem of her lowly heart
The milk-white Lamb which in a line she led,--
And faithful, loyal in her innocence,
Like the brave Lion slain in her defence.
Notes could we hear as of a faery shell
Attuned to words with sacred wisdom fraught;
Free Fancy prized each specious miracle,
And all its finer inspiration caught;
Till in the bosom of our rustic Cell,
We by a lamentable change were taught
That 'bliss with mortal Man may not abide:'
How nearly joy and sorrow are allied!
For us the stream of fiction ceased to flow,
For us the voice of melody was mute.
--But, as soft gales dissolve the dreary snow,
And give the timid herbage leave to shoot,
Heaven's breathing influence failed not to bestow
A timely promise of unlooked-for fruit,
Fair fruit of pleasure and serene content
From blossoms wild of fancies innocent.
It soothed us--it beguiled us--then, to hear
Once more of troubles wrought by magic spell;
And griefs whose aery motion comes not near
The pangs that tempt the Spirit to rebel:
Then, with mild Una in her sober cheer,
High over hill and low adown the dell
Again we wandered, willing to partake
All that she suffered for her dear Lord's sake.
Then, too, this Song 'of mine' once more could please,
Where anguish, strange as dreams of restless sleep,
Is tempered and allayed by sympathies
Aloft ascending, and descending deep,
Even to the inferior Kinds; whom forest-trees
Protect from beating sunbeams, and the sweep
Of the sharp winds;--fair Creatures!--to whom Heaven
A calm and sinless life, with love, hath given.
This tragic Story cheered us; for it speaks
Of female patience winning firm repose;
And, of the recompense that conscience seeks,
A bright, encouraging, example shows;
Needful when o'er wide realms the tempest breaks,
Needful amid life's ordinary woes;--
Hence, not for them unfitted who would bless
A happy hour with holier happiness.
He serves the Muses erringly and ill,
Whose aim is pleasure light and fugitive:
Oh, that my mind were equal to fulfil
The comprehensive mandate which they give--
Vain aspiration of an earnest will!
Yet in this moral Strain a power may live,
Beloved Wife! such solace to impart
As it hath yielded to thy tender heart.
RYDAL MOUNT, WESTMORELAND,
April , 1815.
_____________
'Action is transitory--a step, a blow,
The motion of a muscle--this way or that--
'Tis done; and in the after-vacancy
We wonder at ourselves like men betrayed:
Suffering is permanent, obscure and dark,
And has the nature of infinity.
Yet through that darkness (infinite though it seem
And irremoveable) gracious openings lie,
By which the soul--with patient steps of thought
Now toiling, waked now on wings of prayer--
May pass in hope, and, though from mortal bonds
Yet undelivered, rise with sure ascent
Even to the fountain-head of peace divine.'
Scheme | ABABABCC DEDDDEXX FGHGFGII JKJKJKLX XFMFMFNN OPOPOPQQ RSRSXSXX XTFTHTDD XHX JXUXXUXXGBXLX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0111100101 010101101010 1111010101 11010101010 1101010101 11011101010 0101010101 110111001001 110110101 0011000101 101111101 1101011 1111010101 0111100111 0101000100 1011010001 111111011 0111110101 1101110100 011100101 10010110101 1100100101 1111011101 1101010101 1101110111 1101110011 1111010101 010101111 101010011101 010101111 1111000110 1101110100 1111011111 1111011101 011110111 0111010110 1111000101 110101101 0111010101 1111010111 1111111111 1101111101 1100011100 0101000101 1010010011101 011101001 10111101110 0101111110 1101011111 111010101 010101101 0101000101 10110110101 100111001 11111111 010101100100 11010101 1111010100 111101011 00101111 101011101 10110101011 011110101 1111011101 11010 10 1 1011000101 01010101111 1100010100 11010011101 10011000101 0101010100 11110100111 01101001 1101110111 110111111 1101011101 101011101 10101011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 3,241 |
Words | 570 |
Sentences | 18 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 3, 13 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 33 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 260 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 56 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:52 min read
- 94 Views
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"The White Doe Of Rylstone, Or, The Fate Of The Nortons - Dedication" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42410/the-white-doe-of-rylstone%2C-or%2C-the-fate-of-the-nortons-----dedication>.
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