[10]
Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill [11]
He is the darling and the joy;
And often, when no cause appears, 40
The mountain-ponies prick their ears,
--They hear the Danish Boy,
While in the dell he sings [12] alone
Beside the tree and corner-stone.
Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill [11]
He is the darling and the joy;
And often, when no cause appears, 40
The mountain-ponies prick their ears,
--They hear the Danish Boy,
While in the dell he sings [12] alone
Beside the tree and corner-stone.
William Wordsworth
It was entirely a fancy; but intended as a
prelude to a ballad-poem never written. --I. F. ]
In the editions of 1800-1832 this poem was called 'A Fragment'. From
1836 onwards it was named 'The Danish Boy. A Fragment'. It was one of
the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
I Between two sister moorland rills
There is a spot that seems to lie
Sacred to flowerets of the hills,
And sacred to the sky.
And in this smooth and open dell 5
There is a tempest-stricken tree;
A corner-stone by lightning cut,
The last stone of a lonely hut; [1]
And in this dell you see
A thing no storm can e'er destroy, 10
The shadow of a Danish Boy. [A]
II In clouds above, the lark is heard,
But drops not here to earth for rest; [2]
Within [3] this lonesome nook the bird
Did never build her [4] nest. 15
No beast, no bird hath here his home;
Bees, wafted on [5] the breezy air,
Pass high above those fragrant bells
To other flowers:--to other dells
Their burthens do they bear; [6] 20
The Danish Boy walks here alone:
The lovely dell is all his own.
III A Spirit of noon-day is he;
Yet seems [7] a form of flesh and blood;
Nor piping shepherd shall he be, 25
Nor herd-boy of the wood. [8]
A regal vest of fur he wears,
In colour like a raven's wing;
It fears not [9] rain, nor wind, nor dew;
But in the storm 'tis fresh and blue 30
As budding pines in spring;
His helmet has a vernal grace,
Fresh as the bloom upon his face.
IV A harp is from his shoulder slung;
Resting the harp upon his knee; 35
To words of a forgotten tongue,
He suits its melody.
[10]
Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill [11]
He is the darling and the joy;
And often, when no cause appears, 40
The mountain-ponies prick their ears,
--They hear the Danish Boy,
While in the dell he sings [12] alone
Beside the tree and corner-stone.
[13]
V There sits he; in his face you spy 45
No trace of a ferocious air,
Nor ever was a cloudless sky
So steady or so fair.
The lovely Danish Boy is blest
And happy in his flowery cove: 50
From bloody deeds his thoughts are far;
And yet he warbles songs of war,
That seem [14] like songs of love,
For calm and gentle is his mien;
Like a dead Boy he is serene. 55
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
. . . a cottage hut; 1800. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
He sings his blithest and his best; 1800.
She sings, regardless of her rest, 1820. ]
[Variant 3:
1827.
But in . . . 1800.
prelude to a ballad-poem never written. --I. F. ]
In the editions of 1800-1832 this poem was called 'A Fragment'. From
1836 onwards it was named 'The Danish Boy. A Fragment'. It was one of
the "Poems of the Fancy. "--Ed.
I Between two sister moorland rills
There is a spot that seems to lie
Sacred to flowerets of the hills,
And sacred to the sky.
And in this smooth and open dell 5
There is a tempest-stricken tree;
A corner-stone by lightning cut,
The last stone of a lonely hut; [1]
And in this dell you see
A thing no storm can e'er destroy, 10
The shadow of a Danish Boy. [A]
II In clouds above, the lark is heard,
But drops not here to earth for rest; [2]
Within [3] this lonesome nook the bird
Did never build her [4] nest. 15
No beast, no bird hath here his home;
Bees, wafted on [5] the breezy air,
Pass high above those fragrant bells
To other flowers:--to other dells
Their burthens do they bear; [6] 20
The Danish Boy walks here alone:
The lovely dell is all his own.
III A Spirit of noon-day is he;
Yet seems [7] a form of flesh and blood;
Nor piping shepherd shall he be, 25
Nor herd-boy of the wood. [8]
A regal vest of fur he wears,
In colour like a raven's wing;
It fears not [9] rain, nor wind, nor dew;
But in the storm 'tis fresh and blue 30
As budding pines in spring;
His helmet has a vernal grace,
Fresh as the bloom upon his face.
IV A harp is from his shoulder slung;
Resting the harp upon his knee; 35
To words of a forgotten tongue,
He suits its melody.
[10]
Of flocks upon the neighbouring hill [11]
He is the darling and the joy;
And often, when no cause appears, 40
The mountain-ponies prick their ears,
--They hear the Danish Boy,
While in the dell he sings [12] alone
Beside the tree and corner-stone.
[13]
V There sits he; in his face you spy 45
No trace of a ferocious air,
Nor ever was a cloudless sky
So steady or so fair.
The lovely Danish Boy is blest
And happy in his flowery cove: 50
From bloody deeds his thoughts are far;
And yet he warbles songs of war,
That seem [14] like songs of love,
For calm and gentle is his mien;
Like a dead Boy he is serene. 55
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1836.
. . . a cottage hut; 1800. ]
[Variant 2:
1827.
He sings his blithest and his best; 1800.
She sings, regardless of her rest, 1820. ]
[Variant 3:
1827.
But in . . . 1800.
