Fidelity
"How long did'st thou think that his silence was slumber!When the wind waved his garment how oft did'st thou start!"
A barking sound the Shepherd hears,A cry as of a dog or fox;He halts--and searches with his eyesAmong the scattered rocks:And now at distance can discernA stirring in a brake of fern;And instantly a dog is seen,Glancing through that covert green.
The Dog is not of mountain breed;Its motions, too, are wild and shy;With something, as the Shepherd thinks,Unusual in its cry:Nor is there any one in sightAll round, in hollow or on height;Nor shout, nor whistle strikes his ear;What is the creature doing here?
It was a cove, a huge recess,That keeps, till June, December's snow;A lofty precipice in front,A silent tarn below!Far in the bosom of Helvellyn,Remote from public road or dwelling,Pathway, or cultivated land;From trace of human foot or hand.
There sometimes doth a leaping fishSend through the tarn a lonely cheer;The crags repeat the raven's croak,In symphony austere;Thither the rainbow comes--the cloud--And mists that spread the flying shroud;And sunbeams; and the sounding blast,That, if it could, would hurry past;But that enormous barrier holds it fast.
Not free from boding thoughts, a whileThe Shepherd stood; then makes his wayO'er rocks and stones, following the DogAs quickly as he may;Nor far had gone before he foundA human skeleton on the ground;The appalled Discoverer with a sighLooks round, to learn the history.
From those abrupt and perilous rocksThe Man had fallen, that place of fear!At length upon the Shepherd's mindIt breaks, and all is clear:He instantly recalled the name,And who he was, and whence he came;Remembered, too, the very dayOn which the Traveller passed this way.
But hear a wonder, for whose sakeThis lamentable tale I tell!A lasting monument of wordsThis wonder merits well.The Dog, which still was hovering nigh,Repeating the same timid cry,This Dog, had been through three months' spaceA dweller in that savage place.
Yes, proof was plain that, since the dayWhen this ill-fated Traveller died,The Dog had watched about the spot,Or by his master's side:How nourished here through such long timeHe knows, who gave that love sublime;And gave that strength of feeling, greatAbove all human estimate!
Words in this poem
- glancing a.
- Shooting, as light.
- cove v. t.
- To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs. [CF. F. couver, It. covare. See Covey.]
- precipice n.
- A sudden or headlong fall. Fuller. [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]
- tarn n.
- A mountain lake or pool. [OE. terne, Icel. tjörn.]
- pathway n.
- A footpath; a beaten track; any path or course. Also used figuratively.
- croak v. i.
- To make a low, hoarse noise in the throat, as a frog, a raven, or a crow; hence, to make any hoarse, dismal sound. [From the primitive of AS. cracettan to croak as a raven; akin to G. kr to croak, and to E. creak, crake.]
- symphony n.
- A consonance or harmony of sounds, agreeable to the ear, whether the sounds are vocal or instrumental, or both. [F. symphonie (cf. It. sinfonia), L. symphonia, Gr. Phonetic.]
- boding a.
- Foreshowing; presaging; ominous.
- discoverer n.
- One who discovers; one who first comes to the knowledge of something; one who discovers an unknown country, or a new principle, truth, or fact.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fidelity 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, Fidelity, in The Prelude, and Other Poems (1802–1815), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12383, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/wordsworth-vol3/fidelity.html, id L17416.
Form and metre
Fidelity is 67 lines in 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 91% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.2 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 27% 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 -A-ABBCC hears · foxA · eyes · rocksA · discernB · fernB · seenC · greenC
- 3 -A-ABBCC breed · shyA · thinks · cryA · sightB · heightB · earC · hereC
- 4 -A-A--BB recess · snowA · front · belowA · helvellyn · dwelling · landB · handB
- 5 -A-ABBCCC fish · cheerA · croak · austereA · cloudB · shroudB · blastC · pastC · fastC
- 6 -A-ABB-- while · wayA · dog · mayA · foundB · groundB · sigh · history
- 7 -A-ABBCC rocks · fearA · mind · clearA · nameB · cameB · dayC · wayC
- 8 -A-ABBCC sake · tellA · words · wellA · nighB · cryB · spaceC · placeC
- 9 -A-ABBCC day · diedA · spot · sideA · timeB · sublimeB · greatC · estimateC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| "How long did'st thou think that his silence was slumber! | 12 | ·······/˘·/˘ |
| When the wind waved his garment how oft did'st thou start!" | 12 | ·····/˘····· |
| A barking sound the Shepherd hears, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| A cry as of a dog or fox; | 8 | ········ |
| He halts--and searches with his eyes | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Among the scattered rocks: | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| And now at distance can discern | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| A stirring in a brake of fern; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And instantly a dog is seen, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Glancing through that covert green. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| The Dog is not of mountain breed; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Its motions, too, are wild and shy; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| With something, as the Shepherd thinks, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Unusual in its cry: | 7 | ˘/˘˘··· |
| Nor is there any one in sight | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| All round, in hollow or on height; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Nor shout, nor whistle strikes his ear; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| What is the creature doing here? | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| It was a cove, a huge recess, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| That keeps, till June, December's snow; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| A lofty precipice in front, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| A silent tarn below! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Far in the bosom of Helvellyn, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Remote from public road or dwelling, | 9 | ˘/·/˘··/˘ |
| Pathway, or cultivated land; | 8 | /··/˘·˘· |
| From trace of human foot or hand. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| There sometimes doth a leaping fish | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| Send through the tarn a lonely cheer; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The crags repeat the raven's croak, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| In symphony austere; | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| Thither the rainbow comes--the cloud-- | 8 | /˘·/···· |
| And mists that spread the flying shroud; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And sunbeams; and the sounding blast, | 8 | ·/···/˘· |
| That, if it could, would hurry past; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But that enormous barrier holds it fast. | 10 | ··˘/˘/˘··· |
| Not free from boding thoughts, a while | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Shepherd stood; then makes his way | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O'er rocks and stones, following the Dog | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| As quickly as he may; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Nor far had gone before he found | 8 | ········ |
| A human skeleton on the ground; | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The appalled Discoverer with a sigh | 10 | ·˘/˘/˘˘··· |
| Looks round, to learn the history. | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| From those abrupt and perilous rocks | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| The Man had fallen, that place of fear! | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| At length upon the Shepherd's mind | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| It breaks, and all is clear: | 6 | ······ |
| He instantly recalled the name, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/·· |
| And who he was, and whence he came; | 8 | ········ |
| Remembered, too, the very day | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| On which the Traveller passed this way. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| But hear a wonder, for whose sake | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This lamentable tale I tell! | 8 | ·˘/˘˘··· |
| A lasting monument of words | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| This wonder merits well. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The Dog, which still was hovering nigh, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Repeating the same timid cry, | 8 | ˘/˘··/˘· |
| This Dog, had been through three months' space | 8 | ········ |
| A dweller in that savage place. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Yes, proof was plain that, since the day | 8 | ········ |
| When this ill-fated Traveller died, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The Dog had watched about the spot, | 8 | ········ |
| Or by his master's side: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| How nourished here through such long time | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| He knows, who gave that love sublime; | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And gave that strength of feeling, great | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Above all human estimate! | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 12
William Knight's notes to The Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Volume 3 (1896; Project Gutenberg #12383): Wordsworth's own Isabella Fenwick notes and Knight's headnotes on composition and publication, plus his lettered footnotes (restarting at A for every poem/book; Book First of The Prelude runs past Z into lowercase a, b, c...).
- Stanza 2, line 8 1820. From which immediately leaps out A Dog, and yelping runs about. 1807. And instantly a Dog is seen, Glancing from that covert green. 1815.
- Stanza 4, line 4 Tarn is a small Mere or Lake mostly high up in the mountains,--W. W.
- Stanza 4, line 4 Compare the reference to Helvellyn, and its "deep coves, shaped by skeleton arms," in the 'Musings near Aquapendente' (1837). Wordsworth here describes Red Tarn, under Helvellyn, to the east; but Charles Gough was killed on the Kepplecove side of Swirell Edge, and not at Red Tarn. Bishop Watson of Llandaff, writing to Hayley (see 'Anecdotes of the Life of Bishop Watson', p. 440), writes about Charles Gouche (evidently Gough). He had been lodging at "the Cherry Inn," near Wytheburn, sometime before his death.--Ed.
- Stanza 5, line 1 1820. ... does ... 1807.
- Stanza 5, line 3 Compare 'The Excursion', book iv. ll. 1185-94.--Ed.
- Stanza 5, line 9 1837. binds 1807.
- Stanza 6, line 1 1815. Not knowing what to think 1807.
- Stanza 6, line 3 1837. Towards the Dog, o'er rocks and stones, 1807.
- Stanza 6, line 7 1815. Sad sight! the Shepherd with a sigh 1807.
- Stanza 7, line 5 And signs and circumstances dawned Till everything was clear; He made discovery of his name. MS.
- Stanza 8, line 2 1815. But hear a wonder now, for sake Of which this mournful Tale I tell! 1807.
- Stanza 9, line 2 1827. On which the Traveller thus had died 1807.
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.