"Who Fancied What a Pretty Sight"
In the edition of 1807 this poem was No. VIII. of the series entitled"Moods of my own Mind." It was afterwards included among the "Poems of
Who fancied what a pretty sightThis Rock would be if edged aroundWith living snow-drops? circlet bright!How glorious to this orchard-ground!Who loved the little Rock, and setUpon its head this coronet?
Was it the humour of a child?Or rather of some gentle maid,Whose brows, the day that she was styledThe shepherd-queen, were thus arrayed?Of man mature, or matron sage?Or old man toying with his age?
I asked--'twas whispered; The deviceTo each and all might well belong:It is the Spirit of ParadiseThat prompts such work, a Spirit strong,That gives to all the self-same bentWhere life is wise and innocent.
Words in this poem
- circlet n.
- A little circle; esp., an ornament for the person, having the form of a circle; that which encircles, as a ring, a bracelet, or a headband.
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- humour n.
- Moisture, especially, the moisture or fluid of animal bodies, as the chyle, lymph, etc.; as, the humors of the eye, etc. [OE. humour, OF. humor, umor, F. humeur, L. humor, umor, moisture, fluid, fr. humere, umere, to be moist. See Humid.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
"Who Fancied What a Pretty Sight" 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, "Who Fancied What a Pretty Sight", in The Poetical Works, Volume II (1798–1807), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12145, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol2/who-fancied-what-a-pretty-sight.html, id L17379.
Form and metre
"Who Fancied What a Pretty Sight" is 20 lines in 4 stanzas. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 3 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.0 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% 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.
- 2 ABABCC sightA · aroundB · brightA · groundB · setC · coronetC
- 3 ABABCC childA · maidB · styledA · arrayedB · sageC · ageC
- 4 ABABCC deviceA · belongB · paradiseA · strongB · bentC · innocentC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| In the edition of 1807 this poem was No. VIII. of the series entitled | 18 | ··˘/˘··/·····/˘˘/˘ |
| "Moods of my own Mind." It was afterwards included among the "Poems of | 18 | ·······/˘˘/˘···/˘· |
| Who fancied what a pretty sight | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| This Rock would be if edged around | 8 | ········ |
| With living snow-drops? circlet bright! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| How glorious to this orchard-ground! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who loved the little Rock, and set | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Upon its head this coronet? | 8 | ·····/˘/ |
| Was it the humour of a child? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or rather of some gentle maid, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Whose brows, the day that she was styled | 8 | ········ |
| The shepherd-queen, were thus arrayed? | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Of man mature, or matron sage? | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Or old man toying with his age? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I asked--'twas whispered; The device | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To each and all might well belong: | 8 | ······˘/ |
| It is the Spirit of Paradise | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| That prompts such work, a Spirit strong, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That gives to all the self-same bent | 8 | ········ |
| Where life is wise and innocent. | 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.