Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets.
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets.
William Wordsworth
107), Coleridge writes:
"The narrow seas that form our boundaries, what were they in times of
old? The convenient highway for Danish and Norman pirates. What are
they now? Still, but a 'Span of Waters. ' Yet they roll at the base of
the Ararat, on which the Ark of the Hope of Europe and of Civilization
rested! "
He then quotes this sonnet from the line "Even so doth God protect us if
we be. "
The note appended to the sonnet, 'Composed in the Valley near Dover, on
the day of Landing' (p. 341), shows that this one refers to the same
occasion; and that while "Inland, within a hollow vale," Wordsworth was,
at the same time, on the Dover Cliffs; the "vale" being one of the
hollow clefts in the headland, which front the Dover coast-line. The
sonnet may, however, have been finished afterwards in London. --Ed.
* * * * *
WRITTEN IN LONDON, SEPTEMBER, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
[This was written immediately after my return from France to London,
when I could not but be struck, as here described, with the vanity and
parade of our own country, especially in great towns and cities, as
contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the
Revolution had produced in France. This must be borne in mind, or else
the reader may think that in this and the succeeding Sonnets I have
exaggerated the mischief engendered and fostered among us by undisturbed
wealth. It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I
entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their
deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have I gone
from Allan Bank in Grasmere Vale, where we were then residing, to the
top of Raise-gap, as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the
morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspapers from Keswick.
Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets. --I. F. ]
O FRIEND! [A] I know not which way I must look [1]
For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,
To think that now our life is only drest
For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,
Or groom! --We must run glittering like a brook 5
In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:
The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry; and these we adore: 10
Plain living and high thinking are no more:
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
O thou proud City! which way shall I look 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The "Friend" was Coleridge. In the original MS. it stands
"Coleridge! I know not," etc. Wordsworth changed it in the proof
stage.
"The narrow seas that form our boundaries, what were they in times of
old? The convenient highway for Danish and Norman pirates. What are
they now? Still, but a 'Span of Waters. ' Yet they roll at the base of
the Ararat, on which the Ark of the Hope of Europe and of Civilization
rested! "
He then quotes this sonnet from the line "Even so doth God protect us if
we be. "
The note appended to the sonnet, 'Composed in the Valley near Dover, on
the day of Landing' (p. 341), shows that this one refers to the same
occasion; and that while "Inland, within a hollow vale," Wordsworth was,
at the same time, on the Dover Cliffs; the "vale" being one of the
hollow clefts in the headland, which front the Dover coast-line. The
sonnet may, however, have been finished afterwards in London. --Ed.
* * * * *
WRITTEN IN LONDON, SEPTEMBER, 1802
Composed September, 1802. --Published 1807
[This was written immediately after my return from France to London,
when I could not but be struck, as here described, with the vanity and
parade of our own country, especially in great towns and cities, as
contrasted with the quiet, and I may say the desolation, that the
Revolution had produced in France. This must be borne in mind, or else
the reader may think that in this and the succeeding Sonnets I have
exaggerated the mischief engendered and fostered among us by undisturbed
wealth. It would not be easy to conceive with what a depth of feeling I
entered into the struggle carried on by the Spaniards for their
deliverance from the usurped power of the French. Many times have I gone
from Allan Bank in Grasmere Vale, where we were then residing, to the
top of Raise-gap, as it is called, so late as two o'clock in the
morning, to meet the carrier bringing the newspapers from Keswick.
Imperfect traces of the state of mind in which I then was may be found
in my tract on the Convention of Cintra, as well as in these
Sonnets. --I. F. ]
O FRIEND! [A] I know not which way I must look [1]
For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,
To think that now our life is only drest
For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,
Or groom! --We must run glittering like a brook 5
In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:
The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
This is idolatry; and these we adore: 10
Plain living and high thinking are no more:
The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
And pure religion breathing household laws. [B]
* * * * *
VARIANT ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1:
1807.
O thou proud City! which way shall I look 1838.
The text of 1840 returns to that of 1807. ]
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT
[Footnote A: The "Friend" was Coleridge. In the original MS. it stands
"Coleridge! I know not," etc. Wordsworth changed it in the proof
stage.
