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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


TO WHITTIER, ON HIS SEVENTY-FIFTH BIRTHDAY by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL

Poet Analysis

First Line: NEW ENGLAND'S POET, RICH IN LOVE AS YEARS
Last Line: FAR HEARD ACROSS THE NEW WORLD AND THE OLD.
Subject(s): WHITTIER, JOHN GREENLEAF (1807-1892);

NEW ENGLAND'S poet, rich in love as years,
Her hills and valleys praise thee, her swift brooks
Dance in thy verse; to her grave sylvan nooks
Thy steps allure us, which the wood-thrush hears
As maids their lovers', and no treason fears;
Through thee her Merrimacs and Agiochooks
And many a name uncouth win gracious looks,
Sweetly familiar to both Englands' ears:
Peaceful by birthright as a virgin lake,
The lily's anchorage, which no eyes behold
Save those of stars, yet for thy brother's sake
That lay in bonds, thou blewst a blast as bold
As that wherewith the heart of Roland brake,
Far heard across the New World and the Old.



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