The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)

Name: The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)
Author: Wordsworth, William

Wordsworth, William

English poetry -- 18th century; English poetry -- 19th century

To William Wordsworth: Composed for the greater part on the same night
after the finishing of his recitation of the Poem, in Thirteen Books, on
the growth of his own mind.


  O Friend! O Teacher! God's great Gift to me!
  Into my Heart have I received that Lay
  More than historic, that prophetic Lay
  Wherein (high theme by thee first sung aright)
  Of the foundations and the building up                           5
  Of thine own spirit thou hast loved to tell
  What _may_ be told, by words revealable:
  With heavenly breathings, like the secret soul
  Of vernal growth, oft quickening in the heart
  Thoughts, that obey no mastery of words,                        10
  Pure Self-beholdings! Theme as hard as high,
  Of Smiles spontaneous and mysterious Fear!
  The first born they of Reason and twin birth!
  Of tides obedient to external force,
  And currents self-determin'd, as might seem,                    15
  Or by some inner power! Of moments awful,
  Now in thy hidden life, and now abroad,
  When power stream'd from thee, and thy soul receiv'd
  The light reflected, as a light bestow'd!
  Of fancies fair, and milder hours of youth,                     20
  Hybloean murmurs of poetic thought
  Industrious in its joy, in vales and glens
  Native or outland, Lakes and famous Hills;
  Or on the lonely high-road, when the stars
  Were rising; or by secret mountain streams,                     25
  The guides and the companions of thy way!
  Of more than Fancy--of the SOCIAL SENSE
  Distending, and of Man belov'd as Man,
  Where France in all her Towns lay vibrating,
  Even as a Bark becalm'd on sultry seas                          30
  Quivers beneath the voice from Heaven, the burst
  Of Heaven's immediate thunder, when no cloud
  Is visible, or shadow on the main!
  For thou wert there, thy own brows garlanded,
  Amid the tremor of a Realm aglow!                               35
  Amid a mighty nation jubilant!
  When from the general Heart of Human Kind
  Hope sprang forth, like an armed Deity!
  Of that dear Hope afflicted and struck down,
  So summon'd homeward; thenceforth calm and sure,                40
  As from the Watch-tower of Man's absolute Self,
  With light unwaning on her eyes, to look
  Far on--herself a Glory to behold,
  The Angel of the Vision! Then (last strain)
  Of Duty, chosen Laws controlling choice,                        45
  Action and Joy!--an Orphic Tale indeed,
  A Tale divine of high and passionate Thoughts,
  To their own Music chaunted!--

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)Wordsworth, William

General

The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)

Wordsworth, William

English poetry -- 18th century; English poetry -- 19th century

To William Wordsworth: Composed for the greater part on the same night
after the finishing of his recitation of the Poem, in Thirteen Books, on
the growth of his own mind.


  O Friend! O Teacher! God's great Gift to me!
  Into my Heart have I received that Lay
  More than historic, that prophetic Lay
  Wherein (high theme by thee first sung aright)
  Of the foundations and the building up                           5
  Of thine own spirit thou hast loved to tell
  What _may_ be told, by words revealable:
  With heavenly breathings, like the secret soul
  Of vernal growth, oft quickening in the heart
  Thoughts, that obey no mastery of words,                        10
  Pure Self-beholdings! Theme as hard as high,
  Of Smiles spontaneous and mysterious Fear!
  The first born they of Reason and twin birth!
  Of tides obedient to external force,
  And currents self-determin'd, as might seem,                    15
  Or by some inner power! Of moments awful,
  Now in thy hidden life, and now abroad,
  When power stream'd from thee, and thy soul receiv'd
  The light reflected, as a light bestow'd!
  Of fancies fair, and milder hours of youth,                     20
  Hybloean murmurs of poetic thought
  Industrious in its joy, in vales and glens
  Native or outland, Lakes and famous Hills;
  Or on the lonely high-road, when the stars
  Were rising; or by secret mountain streams,                     25
  The guides and the companions of thy way!
  Of more than Fancy--of the SOCIAL SENSE
  Distending, and of Man belov'd as Man,
  Where France in all her Towns lay vibrating,
  Even as a Bark becalm'd on sultry seas                          30
  Quivers beneath the voice from Heaven, the burst
  Of Heaven's immediate thunder, when no cloud
  Is visible, or shadow on the main!
  For thou wert there, thy own brows garlanded,
  Amid the tremor of a Realm aglow!                               35
  Amid a mighty nation jubilant!
  When from the general Heart of Human Kind
  Hope sprang forth, like an armed Deity!
  Of that dear Hope afflicted and struck down,
  So summon'd homeward; thenceforth calm and sure,                40
  As from the Watch-tower of Man's absolute Self,
  With light unwaning on her eyes, to look
  Far on--herself a Glory to behold,
  The Angel of the Vision! Then (last strain)
  Of Duty, chosen Laws controlling choice,                        45
  Action and Joy!--an Orphic Tale indeed,
  A Tale divine of high and passionate Thoughts,
  To their own Music chaunted!--

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)

The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8)

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