The Tweed Visited
O Tweed! a stranger, that with wandering feetO'er hill and dale has journeyed many a mile,(If so his weary thoughts he might beguile),Delighted turns thy stranger-stream to greet.The waving branches that romantic bendO'er thy tall banks a soothing charm bestow;The murmurs of thy wandering wave belowSeem like the converse of some long-lost friend.Delightful stream! though now along thy shore,When spring returns in all her wonted pride,The distant pastoral pipe is heard no more;Yet here while laverocks sing could I abide,Far from the stormy world's contentious roar,To muse upon thy banks at eventide.
Alluding to the simple and affecting pastoral strains for whichScotland has been so long celebrated. I need not mention Lochaber, theBraes of Bellendine, Tweedside, et cet.
Words in this poem
- tweed n.
- A soft and flexible fabric for men's wear, made wholly of wool except in some inferior kinds, the wool being dyed, usually in two colors, before weaving. [Probably a corruption of twills. See Twill.]
- delighted a.
- Endowed with delight.
- wonted a.
- Accustomed; customary; usual.
- eventide n.
- The time of evening; evening. [AS. æfentid. See Tide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Tweed Visited is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Lisle Bowles, Vol. 1 With Memoir, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes by George Gilfillan, Project Gutenberg ebook #18915; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Lisle Bowles, The Tweed Visited, in Sonnets, and Other Poems (1789–1837), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18915, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bowles-sonnets/the-tweed-visited.html, id L09877.
Form and metre
The Tweed Visited is 17 lines in 2 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.9 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCDEFEFGG feetA · mileB · beguileA · greetB · bendC · bestowD · belowC · friendD · shoreE · prideF · moreE · abideF · roarG · eventideG
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O Tweed! a stranger, that with wandering feet | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| O'er hill and dale has journeyed many a mile, | 10 | ·····/˘/·· |
| (If so his weary thoughts he might beguile), | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Delighted turns thy stranger-stream to greet. | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘··· |
| The waving branches that romantic bend | 10 | ·/˘/˘·˘/˘· |
| O'er thy tall banks a soothing charm bestow; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The murmurs of thy wandering wave below | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Seem like the converse of some long-lost friend. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Delightful stream! though now along thy shore, | 10 | ˘/˘···˘/·· |
| When spring returns in all her wonted pride, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| The distant pastoral pipe is heard no more; | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Yet here while laverocks sing could I abide, | 11 | ·········˘/ |
| Far from the stormy world's contentious roar, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| To muse upon thy banks at eventide. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Alluding to the simple and affecting pastoral strains for which | 16 | ˘/˘··/˘·˘/˘/˘··· |
| Scotland has been so long celebrated. I need not mention Lochaber, the | 19 | /˘····/˘·˘···/˘···· |
| Braes of Bellendine, Tweedside, et cet. | 9 | ········· |
Notes from the edition 1
Bowles's own notes to his Poetical Works (Project Gutenberg #18915).
- Stanza 1, line 11 Alluding to the simple and affecting pastoral strains for which Scotland has been so long celebrated. I need not mention Lochaber, the Braes of Bellendine, Tweedside, et cet.
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