The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 7 (of 8)Wordsworth, William
Religion
The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 7 (of 8)
Wordsworth, William
English poetry -- 18th century; English poetry -- 19th century
[690] Wordsworth arrived at Abbotsford with his daughter to say
farewell to Scott on the 21st September 1831. "On the 22nd," says Mr.
Lockhart, "these two great poets, who had through life loved each other
well, and in spite of very different theories as to art, appreciated
each other's genius more justly than infirm spirits ever did either of
them, spent the morning together in a visit to Newark. Hence the last
of the three poems by which Wordsworth has connected his name to all
time with the most romantic of Scottish streams."--_Memoirs of the Life
of Sir Walter Scott_, vol. x. ch. lxxx. p. 104.
Compare the note to _Musings near Aquapendente_, in the Poems of the
Italian Tour of 1837.--ED.
[691] Compare Tennyson's _Brook_, and Burns's _Epistle to William
Simpson, Ochiltree_, stanza 15.--ED.
[692] 1837.
... waylay ... 1835.
[693] 1837.
Where'er thy path ... 1835.
II
ON THE DEPARTURE OF SIR WALTER SCOTT FROM ABBOTSFORD, FOR NAPLES
A trouble, not of clouds, or weeping rain,
Nor of the setting sun's pathetic light
Engendered, hangs o'er Eildon's triple height:
Spirits of Power, assembled there, complain
For kindred Power departing from their sight; 5
While Tweed, best pleased in chanting a blithe strain,
Saddens his voice again, and yet again.
Lift up your hearts, ye Mourners! for the might
Of the whole world's good wishes with him goes;
Blessings and prayers in nobler retinue 10
Than sceptred king or laurelled conqueror knows,
Follow this wondrous Potentate. Be true,
Ye winds of ocean, and the midland sea,
Wafting your Charge to soft Parthenope!
With the closing lines of this sonnet addressed to the "winds of
ocean," and Sir Walter's departure for Naples, compare Horace's ode to
the Ship carrying Virgil to Athens (_Odes_, I. 3).
On the 19th October 1833, Henry Crabb Robinson wrote thus to his
friend Masquerier--"It is, I think, the most perfect sonnet in the
language. Every word is a gem, from the 'pathetic light' in the second
to the 'soft Parthenope' in the last line. It is composed with that
deep feeling and perfection of style united that bespeak the master."
(_Diary, Reminiscences, etc._, vol. iii. p. 32.)
The sonnet was sent to Alaric Watts for his _Souvenir_ in 1832.
Wordsworth wrote, "I enclose a sonnet for your next volume if you
choose to insert it. It would have appeared with more advantage in this
year's, but was not written in time. It is proper that I should mention
it has been sent to Sir Walter Scott, and one or two of my other
friends." (See _Alaric Watts, a Narrative of his Life_, vol. ii. p.
190.)--ED.
III
A PLACE OF BURIAL IN THE SOUTH OF SCOTLAND
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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