To a Highland Girl (At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond)
Sweet Highland Girl, a very showerOf beauty is thy earthly dower!Twice seven consenting years have shedTheir utmost bounty on thy head:And these grey rocks; that household lawn;Those trees, a veil just half withdrawn;This fall of water that doth makeA murmur near the silent lake;This little bay; a quiet roadThat holds in shelter thy Abode--In truth together do ye seemLike something fashioned in a dream;Such Forms as from their covert peepWhen earthly cares are laid asleep!But, O fair Creature! in the lightOf common day, so heavenly bright,I bless Thee, Vision as thou art,I bless thee with a human heart;God shield thee to thy latest years!Thee, neither know I, nor thy peers;And yet my eyes are filled with tears.
With earnest feeling I shall prayFor thee when I am far away:For never saw I mien, or face,In which more plainly I could traceBenignity and home-bred senseRipening in perfect innocence.Here scattered, like a random seed,Remote from men, Thou dost not needThe embarrassed look of shy distress,And maidenly shamefacedness:Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clearThe freedom of a Mountaineer:A face with gladness overspread!Soft smiles, by human kindness bred!And seemliness complete, that swaysThy courtesies, about thee plays;With no restraint, but such as springsFrom quick and eager visitingsOf thoughts that lie beyond the reachOf thy few words of English speech:A bondage sweetly brooked, a strifeThat gives thy gestures grace and life!So have I, not unmoved in mind,Seen birds of tempest-loving kind--Thus beating up against the wind.
What hand but would a garland cullFor thee who art so beautiful?O happy pleasure! here to dwellBeside thee in some heathy dell;Adopt your homely ways and dress,A Shepherd, thou a Shepherdess!But I could frame a wish for theeMore like a grave reality:Thou art to me but as a waveOf the wild sea; and I would haveSome claim upon thee, if I could,Though but of common neighbourhood.What joy to hear thee, and to see!Thy elder Brother I would be,Thy Father--anything to thee!
Now thanks to Heaven! that of its graceHath led me to this lonely place.Joy have I had; and going henceI bear away my recompence.In spots like these it is we prizeOur Memory, feel that she hath eyes:Then, why should I be loth to stir?I feel this place was made for her;To give new pleasure like the past,Continued long as life shall last.Nor am I loth, though pleased at heart,Sweet Highland Girl! from thee to part;For I, methinks, till I grow old,As fair before me shall behold,As I do now, the cabin small,The lake, the bay, the waterfall;And Thee, the Spirit of them all!
Words in this poem 16
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
- 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,]
- benignity n.
- The quality of being benign; goodness; kindness; graciousness. [OE. benignite, F. bénignité, OF. bénigneté, fr. L. benignitas. See Benign.]
- maidenly a.
- Like a maid; suiting a maid; maiden-like; gentle, modest, reserved.
- mountaineer n.
- An inhabitant of a mountain; one who lives among mountains. [OF. montanier, LL. montanarius. See Mountain.]
- seemliness n.
- The quality or state of being seemly: comeliness; propriety.
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- unmoved a.
- Not moved; fixed; firm; unshaken; calm; apathetic.
- cull v. t.
- To separate, select, or pick out; to choose and gather or collect; as, to cuil flowers. [OE., OF. cuillir, coillir, F.cueillir, to gather, pluck, pick, fr. L. colligere. See Coil, v. t., and cf. Collect.]
- 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]
- heathy a.
- Full of heath; abounding with heath; as, heathy land; heathy hills.
- dell n.
- A small, retired valley; a ravine. [AS. del, akin to E. dale; cf. D. delle, del, low ground. See Dale.]
- homely a.
- Belonging to, or having the characteristics of, home; domestic; familiar; intimate. [From Home, n.]
- shepherdess n.
- A woman who tends sheep; hence, a rural lass.
- methinks v.
- It seems to me; I think. See Me. [AS. þyncan to seem, me þynceedh, me þuhte, OE. me thinketh, me thoughte; akin to G. dünken to seem, denken to think, and E. think. See Me, and Think.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
To a Highland Girl (At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond) 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, To a Highland Girl (At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond), in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/to-a-highland-girl-at-inversneyde-upon-loch-lomond.html, id L17385.
Form and metre
To a Highland Girl (At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond) is 78 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 90% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 6 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 32% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, 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 --AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIII shower · dower · shedA · headA · lawnB · withdrawnB · makeC · lakeC · roadD · abodeD · seemE · dreamE · peepF · asleepF · lightG · brightG · artH · heartH · yearsI · peersI · tearsI
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLL prayA · awayA · faceB · traceB · senseC · innocenceC · seedD · needD · distressE · shamefacednessE · clearF · mountaineerF · overspreadG · bredG · swaysH · playsH · springsI · visitingsI · reachJ · speechJ · strifeK · lifeK · mindL · kindL · windL
- 3 AABBCCD-EEFFDDD cullA · beautifulA · dwellB · dellB · dressC · shepherdessC · theeD · reality · waveE · haveE · couldF · neighbourhoodF · seeD · beD · theeD
- 4 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHH graceA · placeA · henceB · recompenceB · prizeC · eyesC · stirD · herD · pastE · lastE · heartF · partF · oldG · beholdG · smallH · waterfallH · allH
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Highland Girl, a very shower | 9 | ·/˘··/˘/˘ |
| Of beauty is thy earthly dower! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Twice seven consenting years have shed | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Their utmost bounty on thy head: | 8 | ·/·/˘··· |
| And these grey rocks; that household lawn; | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Those trees, a veil just half withdrawn; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| This fall of water that doth make | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A murmur near the silent lake; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| This little bay; a quiet road | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| That holds in shelter thy Abode-- | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| In truth together do ye seem | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Like something fashioned in a dream; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Such Forms as from their covert peep | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| When earthly cares are laid asleep! | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| But, O fair Creature! in the light | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Of common day, so heavenly bright, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| I bless Thee, Vision as thou art, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I bless thee with a human heart; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| God shield thee to thy latest years! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Thee, neither know I, nor thy peers; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And yet my eyes are filled with tears. | 8 | ········ |
| With earnest feeling I shall pray | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| For thee when I am far away: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| For never saw I mien, or face, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In which more plainly I could trace | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Benignity and home-bred sense | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| Ripening in perfect innocence. | 9 | /˘˘·/·/˘˘ |
| Here scattered, like a random seed, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Remote from men, Thou dost not need | 8 | ˘/······ |
| The embarrassed look of shy distress, | 9 | ·˘/˘···˘/ |
| And maidenly shamefacedness: | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clear | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The freedom of a Mountaineer: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A face with gladness overspread! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Soft smiles, by human kindness bred! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And seemliness complete, that sways | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| Thy courtesies, about thee plays; | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| With no restraint, but such as springs | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| From quick and eager visitings | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Of thoughts that lie beyond the reach | 8 | ········ |
| Of thy few words of English speech: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| A bondage sweetly brooked, a strife | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| That gives thy gestures grace and life! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So have I, not unmoved in mind, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Seen birds of tempest-loving kind-- | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Thus beating up against the wind. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| What hand but would a garland cull | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| For thee who art so beautiful? | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| O happy pleasure! here to dwell | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Beside thee in some heathy dell; | 8 | ˘/···/˘· |
| Adopt your homely ways and dress, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| A Shepherd, thou a Shepherdess! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| But I could frame a wish for thee | 8 | ········ |
| More like a grave reality: | 8 | ····˘/˘˘ |
| Thou art to me but as a wave | 8 | ········ |
| Of the wild sea; and I would have | 8 | ········ |
| Some claim upon thee, if I could, | 8 | ········ |
| Though but of common neighbourhood. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What joy to hear thee, and to see! | 8 | ········ |
| Thy elder Brother I would be, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Thy Father--anything to thee! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Now thanks to Heaven! that of its grace | 8 | ···/···· |
| Hath led me to this lonely place. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Joy have I had; and going hence | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| I bear away my recompence. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| In spots like these it is we prize | 8 | ········ |
| Our Memory, feel that she hath eyes: | 8 | //˘····· |
| Then, why should I be loth to stir? | 8 | ········ |
| I feel this place was made for her; | 8 | ········ |
| To give new pleasure like the past, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Continued long as life shall last. | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| Nor am I loth, though pleased at heart, | 8 | ········ |
| Sweet Highland Girl! from thee to part; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For I, methinks, till I grow old, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| As fair before me shall behold, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| As I do now, the cabin small, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The lake, the bay, the waterfall; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And Thee, the Spirit of them all! | 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.