Laurel · William Wordsworth · The Poetical Works, Volume II

A Farewell

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) · 1798–1807

iambic pentameter · ABABBABA · 64 lines · from The Poetical Works, Volume II

Farewell, thou little Nook of mountain-ground,Thou rocky corner in the lowest stairOf that magnificent temple which doth boundOne side of our whole vale with grandeur rare;Sweet garden-orchard, eminently fair,The loveliest spot that man hath ever found,Farewell!--we leave thee to Heaven's peaceful care,Thee, and the Cottage which thou dost surround.

Our boat is safely anchored by the shore,And there will safely ride when we are gone;The flowering shrubs that deck our humble doorWill prosper, though untended and alone:Fields, goods, and far-off chattels we have none:These narrow bounds contain our private storeOf things earth makes, and sun doth shine upon;Here are they in our sight--we have no more.

Sunshine and shower be with you, bud and bell!For two months now in vain we shall be sought;We leave you here in solitude to dwellWith these our latest gifts of tender thought;Thou, like the morning, in thy saffron coat,Bright gowan, and marsh-marigold, farewell!Whom from the borders of the Lake we brought,And placed together near our rocky Well.

We go for One to whom ye will be dear;And she will prize this Bower, this Indian shed,Our own contrivance, Building without peer!--A gentle Maid, whose heart is lowly bred,Whose pleasures are in wild fields gathered,With joyousness, and with a thoughtful cheer,Will come to you; to you herself will wed;And love the blessed life that we lead here.

Dear Spot! which we have watched with tender heed,Bringing thee chosen plants and blossoms blownAmong the distant mountains, flower and weed,Which thou hast taken to thee as thy own.Making all kindness registered and known;Thou for our sakes, though Nature's child indeed,Fair in thyself and beautiful alone,Hast taken gifts which thou dost little need.

And O most constant, yet most fickle Place,That hast thy wayward moods, as thou dost showTo them who look not daily on thy face;Who, being loved, in love no bounds dost know,And say'st, when we forsake thee, "Let them go!"Thou easy-hearted Thing, with thy wild raceOf weeds and flowers, till we return be slow,And travel with the year at a soft pace.

Help us to tell Her tales of years gone by,And this sweet spring, the best beloved and best;Joy will be flown in its mortality;Something must stay to tell us of the rest.Here, thronged with primroses, the steep rock's breastGlittered at evening like a starry sky;And in this bush our sparrow built her nest,Of which I sang one song that will not die.

O happy Garden! whose seclusion deepHath been so friendly to industrious hours;And to soft slumbers, that did gently steepOur spirits, carrying with them dreams of flowers,And wild notes warbled among leafy bowers;Two burning months let summer overleap,And, coming back with Her who will be ours,Into thy bosom we again shall creep.

Words in this poem 15

nook n.: A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
vale n.: A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
anchored a.: Held by an anchor; at anchor; held safely; as, an anchored bark; also, shaped like an anchor; forked; as, an anchored tongue.
prosper v. t.: To favor; to render successful. [F. prospérer v. i., or L. prosperare, v. i., or L. prosperare, v. t., fr. prosper or prosperus. See Prosperous.]
sunshine n.: The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
shall v. i.: To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
dwell v. i.: To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
gowan n.: The daisy, or mountain daisy. [Scot., fr. Gael. gugan bud, flower, daisy.]
hast: , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
wayward a.: Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
flown a.: Flushed, inflated.
mortality n.: The condition or quality of being mortal; subjection to death or to the necessity of dying. [L. mortalitas: cf. F. mortalité.]
starry a.: Abounding with stars; adorned with stars.
industrious a.: Given to industry; characterized by diligence; constantly, regularly, or habitually occupied; busy; assiduous; not slothful or idle; -- commonly implying devotion to lawful and useful labor. [L. industrius, industriosus: cf. F. industrieux. See Industry.]
overleap v. t.: To leap over or across; hence, to omit; to ignore. [AS. oferhleápan. See Over, and Leap.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

A Farewell is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 2 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12145; 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 Wordsworth, A Farewell, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/a-farewell.html, id L17352.

Form and metre

A Farewell is 64 lines in 8 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABBABA, complete in 5 of its 8 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% 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 ABABBABA ground^A · stair^B · bound^A · rare^B · fair^B · found^A · care^B · surround^A
2 A-A--A-A shore^A · gone · door^A · alone · none · store^A · upon · more^A
3 ABAB-ABA bell^A · sought^B · dwell^A · thought^B · coat · farewell^A · brought^B · well^A
4 ABABBABA dear^A · shed^B · peer^A · bred^B · gathered^B · cheer^A · wed^B · here^A
5 ABABBABA heed^A · blown^B · weed^A · own^B · known^B · indeed^A · alone^B · need^A
6 ABABBABA place^A · show^B · face^A · know^B · go^B · race^A · slow^B · pace^A
7 AB-BBABA by^A · best^B · mortality · rest^B · breast^B · sky^A · nest^B · die^A
8 ABABBABA deep^A · hours^B · steep^A · flowers^B · bowers^B · overleap^A · ours^B · creep^A

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
Farewell, thou little Nook of mountain-ground,	10	·/·/˘··/˘·
Thou rocky corner in the lowest stair	10	·/˘/˘··/˘·
Of that magnificent temple which doth bound	10	··˘/˘/˘···
One side of our whole vale with grandeur rare;	10	···/···˘/·
Sweet garden-orchard, eminently fair,	8	·/˘/˘/˘·
The loveliest spot that man hath ever found,	10	········/·
Farewell!--we leave thee to Heaven's peaceful care,	11	·/····/˘/˘·
Thee, and the Cottage which thou dost surround.	10	···/˘···˘/
Our boat is safely anchored by the shore,	10	/··/˘/˘···
And there will safely ride when we are gone;	10	···/˘·····
The flowering shrubs that deck our humble door	10	·/˘···//˘·
Will prosper, though untended and alone:	10	·/˘·····˘/
Fields, goods, and far-off chattels we have none:	10	·····/˘···
These narrow bounds contain our private store	10	·/˘·˘///˘·
Of things earth makes, and sun doth shine upon;	10	··········
Here are they in our sight--we have no more.	10	····/·····
Sunshine and shower be with you, bud and bell!	10	/··/······
For two months now in vain we shall be sought;	10	··········
We leave you here in solitude to dwell	10	·····/˘···
With these our latest gifts of tender thought;	10	··//˘··/˘·
Thou, like the morning, in thy saffron coat,	10	···/˘··/˘·
Bright gowan, and marsh-marigold, farewell!	10	·/˘··/˘··/
Whom from the borders of the Lake we brought,	10	···/˘·····
And placed together near our rocky Well.	10	··˘/˘·//˘·
We go for One to whom ye will be dear;	10	··········
And she will prize this Bower, this Indian shed,	10	·····/·/˘·
Our own contrivance, Building without peer!	10	/·˘/˘/˘···
--A gentle Maid, whose heart is lowly bred,	10	·/˘····/˘·
Whose pleasures are in wild fields gathered,	9	·/˘····/˘
With joyousness, and with a thoughtful cheer,	9	······/˘·
Will come to you; to you herself will wed;	10	······˘/··
And love the blessed life that we lead here.	9	·········
Dear Spot! which we have watched with tender heed,	10	·······/˘·
Bringing thee chosen plants and blossoms blown	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
Among the distant mountains, flower and weed,	10	···/˘/˘/··
Which thou hast taken to thee as thy own.	10	···/˘·····
Making all kindness registered and known;	9	/˘·/˘/˘··
Thou for our sakes, though Nature's child indeed,	10	··/··/˘·˘/
Fair in thyself and beautiful alone,	9	··˘/·/˘˘/
Hast taken gifts which thou dost little need.	10	·/˘····/˘·
And O most constant, yet most fickle Place,	10	···/˘··/˘·
That hast thy wayward moods, as thou dost show	10	···/˘·····
To them who look not daily on thy face;	10	·····/˘···
Who, being loved, in love no bounds dost know,	9	·/·······
And say'st, when we forsake thee, "Let them go!"	10	····˘/····
Thou easy-hearted Thing, with thy wild race	10	·/˘/˘·····
Of weeds and flowers, till we return be slow,	10	···/··˘/··
And travel with the year at a soft pace.	10	·/˘·······
Help us to tell Her tales of years gone by,	10	··········
And this sweet spring, the best beloved and best;	10	······˘/··
Joy will be flown in its mortality;	9	······˘/˘
Something must stay to tell us of the rest.	10	/˘········
Here, thronged with primroses, the steep rock's breast	10	···/·˘····
Glittered at evening like a starry sky;	10	/˘·/˘··/˘·
And in this bush our sparrow built her nest,	10	····//˘···
Of which I sang one song that will not die.	10	··········
O happy Garden! whose seclusion deep	10	·/˘/˘·˘/˘·
Hath been so friendly to industrious hours;	10	···/˘·˘/˘/
And to soft slumbers, that did gently steep	10	···/˘··/˘·
Our spirits, carrying with them dreams of flowers,	10	//˘/˘····/
And wild notes warbled among leafy bowers;	10	···/˘··/˘/
Two burning months let summer overleap,	10	·/˘··/˘···
And, coming back with Her who will be ours,	10	·/˘······/
Into thy bosom we again shall creep.	10	···/˘·˘/··

The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.

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