Classic and Contemporary Poetry
DIRGE, by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: Mourn shepherd, near thy old grey stone Last Line: Shining upon thy happy grave. | ||||||||
Mourn, Shepherd, near thy old grey stone; Thou Angler, by the silent flood; And mourn when thou art all alone, Thou Woodman, in the distant wood! Thou one blind Sailor, rich in joy Though blind, thy tunes in sadness hum; And mourn, thou poor half-witted Boy! Born deaf, and living deaf and dumb. Thou drooping sick Man, bless the Guide Who checked or turned thy headstrong youth, As he before had sanctified Thy infancy with heavenly truth. Ye Striplings, light of heart and gay, Bold settlers on some foreign shore, Give, when your thoughts are turned this way, A sigh to him whom we deplore. For us who here in funeral strain With one accord our voices raise, Let sorrow overcharged with pain Be lost in thankfulness and praise. And when our hearts shall feel a sting From ill we meet or good we miss, May touches of his memory bring Fond healing, like a mother's kiss. BY THE SIDE OF THE GRAVE SOME YEARS AFTER LONG time his pulse hath ceased to beat But benefits, his gift, we trace -- Expressed in every eye we meet Round this dear Vale, his native place. To stately Hall and Cottage rude Flowed from his life what still they hold, Light pleasures, every day, renewed; And blessings half a century old. Oh true of heart, of spirit gay, Thy faults, where not already gone From memory, prolong their stay For charity's sweet sake alone. Such solace find we for our loss; And what beyond this thought we crave Comes in the promise from the Cross, Shining upon thy happy grave. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A JEWISH FAMILY; IN A SMALL VALLEY OPPOSITE ST. GOAR by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ADMONITION [TO A TRAVELLER] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AN APRIL MORNING by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ANECDOTE FOR FATHERS by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ANIMAL TRANQUILITY AND DECAY; A SKETCH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AT FLORENCE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AT THE GRAVE OF BURNS; SEVEN YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH BUONAPARTE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH COMPOSED AT NEIDPATH CASTLE, 1803 by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH COMPOSED BY THE SEA-SIDE NEAR CALAIS [AUGUST 1802] by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |
|