Composed in the Valley Near Dover, on the Day of Landing
Here, on our native soil, we breathe once more.The cock that crows, the smoke that curls, that soundOf bells;--those boys who in yon meadow-groundIn white-sleeved shirts are playing; and the roarOf the waves breaking on the chalky shore;--All, all are English. Oft have I looked roundWith joy in Kent's green vales; but never foundMyself so satisfied in heart before.Europe is yet in bonds; but let that pass,Thought for another moment. Thou art free,My Country! and 'tis joy enough and prideFor one hour's perfect bliss, to tread the grassOf England once again, and hear and see,With such a dear Companion at my side.
About this text
Composed in the Valley Near Dover, on the Day of Landing 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, Composed in the Valley Near Dover, on the Day of Landing, in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/composed-in-the-valley-near-dover-on-the-day-of-landing.html, id L17363.
Form and metre
Composed in the Valley Near Dover, on the Day of Landing is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABBAABBACDECDE, the pattern of the Italian sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.9 syllables. 50% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other Italian sonnets, 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 ABBAABBACDECDE moreA · soundB · groundB · roarA · shoreA · roundB · foundB · beforeA · passC · freeD · prideE · grassC · seeD · sideE
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Here, on our native soil, we breathe once more. | 10 | ··//˘····· |
| The cock that crows, the smoke that curls, that sound | 10 | ·········· |
| Of bells;--those boys who in yon meadow-ground | 10 | ·······/·· |
| In white-sleeved shirts are playing; and the roar | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Of the waves breaking on the chalky shore;-- | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| All, all are English. Oft have I looked round | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| With joy in Kent's green vales; but never found | 9 | ·······/· |
| Myself so satisfied in heart before. | 10 | ·/·/˘····· |
| Europe is yet in bonds; but let that pass, | 10 | /˘········ |
| Thought for another moment. Thou art free, | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| My Country! and 'tis joy enough and pride | 10 | ·/˘···˘/·· |
| For one hour's perfect bliss, to tread the grass | 10 | ··/˘/····· |
| Of England once again, and hear and see, | 10 | ·/˘·˘/···· |
| With such a dear Companion at my side. | 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.