Appendix, Note I: 'Poems on the Naming of Places'
When from the restlessness of crowded lifeBack to my native vales I turned, and fixedMy habitation in this peaceful spot,Sharp season was it of continuous stormIn deepest winter; and, from week to week,Pathway, and lane, and public way were cloggedWith frequent showers of snow ...
When first attracted by this happy ValeHither I came, among old Shepherd SwainsTo fix my habitation,'t was a timeOf deepest winter, and from week to weekPathway, and lane, and public way were clogged
Preferring {ease and liberty } I chose{peace and liberty } I chose{studious leisure I had chosenA habitation in this peaceful valeSharp season {was it of } continuous storm{followed by } continuous storm
Words in this poem
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- 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.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Appendix, Note I: 'Poems on the Naming of Places' is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth — Volume 3 (of 8), Project Gutenberg ebook #12383; 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, Appendix, Note I: 'Poems on the Naming of Places', in The Prelude, and Other Poems (1802–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12383, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol3/appendix-note-i-poems-on-the-naming-of-places.html, id L17451.
Form and metre
Appendix, Note I: 'Poems on the Naming of Places' is 18 lines in 3 stanzas. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%).
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.
- 3 AA--BB choseA · choseA · chosen · vale · stormB · stormB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| When from the restlessness of crowded life | 10 | ···/˘˘·/˘· |
| Back to my native vales I turned, and fixed | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My habitation in this peaceful spot, | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Sharp season was it of continuous storm | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| In deepest winter; and, from week to week, | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Pathway, and lane, and public way were clogged | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| With frequent showers of snow ... | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| When first attracted by this happy Vale | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Hither I came, among old Shepherd Swains | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| To fix my habitation,'t was a time | 11 | ····˘/˘···· |
| Of deepest winter, and from week to week | 10 | ·/˘/˘····· |
| Pathway, and lane, and public way were clogged | 10 | /····/˘··· |
| Preferring {ease and liberty } I chose | 10 | ˘/˘··/˘˘·· |
| {peace and liberty } I chose | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| {studious leisure I had chosen | 9 | /˘˘/˘··/˘ |
| A habitation in this peaceful vale | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| Sharp season {was it of } continuous storm | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘· |
| {followed by } continuous storm | 9 | /˘˘·˘/˘˘· |
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