A Fragment
I Between two sister moorland rillsThere is a spot that seems to lieSacred to flowerets of the hills,And sacred to the sky.And in this smooth and open dellThere is a tempest-stricken tree;A corner-stone by lightning cut,The last stone of a lonely hut;And in this dell you seeA thing no storm can e'er destroy,The shadow of a Danish Boy.
II In clouds above, the lark is heard,But drops not here to earth for rest;Within this lonesome nook the birdDid never build her nest.No beast, no bird hath here his home;Bees, wafted on the breezy air,Pass high above those fragrant bellsTo other flowers:--to other dellsTheir burthens do they bear;The Danish Boy walks here alone:The lovely dell is all his own.
III A Spirit of noon-day is he;Yet seems a form of flesh and blood;Nor piping shepherd shall he be,Nor herd-boy of the wood.A regal vest of fur he wears,In colour like a raven's wing;It fears not rain, nor wind, nor dew;But in the storm 'tis fresh and blueAs budding pines in spring;His helmet has a vernal grace,Fresh as the bloom upon his face.
IV A harp is from his shoulder slung;Resting the harp upon his knee;To words of a forgotten tongue,He suits its melody.Of flocks upon the neighbouring hillHe is the darling and the joy;And often, when no cause appears,The mountain-ponies prick their ears,--They hear the Danish Boy,While in the dell he sings aloneBeside the tree and corner-stone.
V There sits he; in his face you spyNo trace of a ferocious air,Nor ever was a cloudless skySo steady or so fair.The lovely Danish Boy is blestAnd happy in his flowery cove:From bloody deeds his thoughts are far;And yet he warbles songs of war,That seem like songs of love,For calm and gentle is his mien;Like a dead Boy he is serene.
Words in this poem
- moorland n.
- Land consisting of a moor or moors. [AS. morland.]
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- stricken p. p.
- Struck; smitten; wounded; as, the stricken deer.
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- 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.]
- breezy a.
- Characterized by, or having, breezes; airy.
- piping a.
- Playing on a musical pipe. [From Pipe, v.]
- 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,]
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- neighbouring a.
- Living or being near; adjacent; as, the neighboring nations or countries.
- cloudless a.
- Without a cloud; clear; bright.
- cove v. t.
- To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs. [CF. F. couver, It. covare. See Covey.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Fragment 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 Fragment, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/a-fragment.html, id L17307.
Form and metre
A Fragment is 55 lines in 5 stanzas of 11 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.8 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 24% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 ABAB-CDDCEE rillsA · lieB · hillsA · skyB · dell · treeC · cutD · hutD · seeC · destroyE · boyE
- 2 ABAB-CDDCEE heardA · restB · birdA · nestB · home · airC · bellsD · dellsD · bearC · aloneE · ownE
- 3 ABAB-CDDCEE heA · bloodB · beA · woodB · wears · wingC · dewD · blueD · springC · graceE · faceE
- 4 A-A--BCCBDD slungA · knee · tongueA · melody · hill · joyB · appearsC · earsC · boyB · aloneD · stoneD
- 5 ABAB-----CC spyA · airB · skyA · fairB · blest · cove · far · war · love · mienC · sereneC
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I Between two sister moorland rills | 9 | ····/˘/·· |
| There is a spot that seems to lie | 8 | ········ |
| Sacred to flowerets of the hills, | 9 | /˘······· |
| And sacred to the sky. | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And in this smooth and open dell | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| There is a tempest-stricken tree; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| A corner-stone by lightning cut, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The last stone of a lonely hut; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And in this dell you see | 6 | ······ |
| A thing no storm can e'er destroy, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The shadow of a Danish Boy. | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| II In clouds above, the lark is heard, | 9 | ········· |
| But drops not here to earth for rest; | 8 | ········ |
| Within this lonesome nook the bird | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Did never build her nest. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| No beast, no bird hath here his home; | 8 | ········ |
| Bees, wafted on the breezy air, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Pass high above those fragrant bells | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| To other flowers:--to other dells | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| Their burthens do they bear; | 6 | ······ |
| The Danish Boy walks here alone: | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The lovely dell is all his own. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| III A Spirit of noon-day is he; | 8 | ··/····· |
| Yet seems a form of flesh and blood; | 8 | ········ |
| Nor piping shepherd shall he be, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor herd-boy of the wood. | 6 | ······ |
| A regal vest of fur he wears, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In colour like a raven's wing; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| It fears not rain, nor wind, nor dew; | 8 | ········ |
| But in the storm 'tis fresh and blue | 8 | ········ |
| As budding pines in spring; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| His helmet has a vernal grace, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Fresh as the bloom upon his face. | 8 | ········ |
| IV A harp is from his shoulder slung; | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Resting the harp upon his knee; | 8 | /˘······ |
| To words of a forgotten tongue, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| He suits its melody. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| He is the darling and the joy; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And often, when no cause appears, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| The mountain-ponies prick their ears, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| --They hear the Danish Boy, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| While in the dell he sings alone | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Beside the tree and corner-stone. | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| V There sits he; in his face you spy | 9 | ········· |
| No trace of a ferocious air, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Nor ever was a cloudless sky | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| So steady or so fair. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The lovely Danish Boy is blest | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| And happy in his flowery cove: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| From bloody deeds his thoughts are far; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And yet he warbles songs of war, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| That seem like songs of love, | 6 | ······ |
| For calm and gentle is his mien; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Like a dead Boy he is serene. | 8 | ······˘/ |
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.