Calvert at
Keswick, thus:
'The God of Love--ah, benedicite!
Keswick, thus:
'The God of Love--ah, benedicite!
William Wordsworth
275
LVI And thereat shall the Eagle be our Lord,
And other Peers whose names are on record;
A summons to the Cuckoo shall be sent,
And judgment there be given; or that intent
Failing, we finally shall make accord. 280
LVII And all this shall be done, without a nay,
The morrow after Saint Valentine's day,
Under a maple that is well beseen,
Before the chamber-window of the Queen,
At Woodstock, on the meadow green and gay. 285
LVIII She thanked them; and then her leave she took,
And flew into a hawthorn by that brook;
And there she sate and sung--upon that tree--
"For term of life Love shall have hold of me"--
So loudly, that I with that song awoke. 290
Unlearned Book and rude, as well I know,
For beauty thou hast none, nor eloquence,
Who did on thee the hardiness bestow
To appear before my Lady? but a sense
Thou surely hast of her benevolence, 295
Whereof her hourly bearing proof doth give;
For of all good she is the best alive.
Alas, poor Book! for thy unworthiness,
To show to her some pleasant meanings writ
In winning words, since through her gentiless, [5] 300
Thee she accepts as for her service fit!
Oh! it repents me I have neither wit
Nor leisure unto thee more worth to give;
For of all good she is the best alive.
Beseech her meekly with all lowliness, 305
Though I be far from her I reverence,
To think upon my truth and stedfastness,
And to abridge my sorrow's violence,
Caused by the wish, as knows your sapience,
She of her liking proof to me would give; 310
For of all good she is the best alive.
L'ENVOY Pleasure's Aurora, Day of gladsomeness!
Luna by night, with heavenly influence
Illumined! root of beauty and goodnesse,
Write, and allay, by your beneficence, 315
My sighs breathed forth in silence,--comfort give!
Since of all good, you are the best alive.
EXPLICIT
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: In 1819 Wordsworth wrote the opening stanza of his version
of 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale', in the album of Mrs.
Calvert at
Keswick, thus:
'The God of Love--ah, benedicite! '
How mighty and how great a Lord is He!
High can he make the heart that's low and poor,
And high hearts low--through pains that they endure,
And hard hearts, He can make them kind and free.
W. W. , Nov. 27, 1819. ]
[Variant 2:
1842.
. . . have heard . . . 1841. ]
[Variant 3:
1842
.
LVI And thereat shall the Eagle be our Lord,
And other Peers whose names are on record;
A summons to the Cuckoo shall be sent,
And judgment there be given; or that intent
Failing, we finally shall make accord. 280
LVII And all this shall be done, without a nay,
The morrow after Saint Valentine's day,
Under a maple that is well beseen,
Before the chamber-window of the Queen,
At Woodstock, on the meadow green and gay. 285
LVIII She thanked them; and then her leave she took,
And flew into a hawthorn by that brook;
And there she sate and sung--upon that tree--
"For term of life Love shall have hold of me"--
So loudly, that I with that song awoke. 290
Unlearned Book and rude, as well I know,
For beauty thou hast none, nor eloquence,
Who did on thee the hardiness bestow
To appear before my Lady? but a sense
Thou surely hast of her benevolence, 295
Whereof her hourly bearing proof doth give;
For of all good she is the best alive.
Alas, poor Book! for thy unworthiness,
To show to her some pleasant meanings writ
In winning words, since through her gentiless, [5] 300
Thee she accepts as for her service fit!
Oh! it repents me I have neither wit
Nor leisure unto thee more worth to give;
For of all good she is the best alive.
Beseech her meekly with all lowliness, 305
Though I be far from her I reverence,
To think upon my truth and stedfastness,
And to abridge my sorrow's violence,
Caused by the wish, as knows your sapience,
She of her liking proof to me would give; 310
For of all good she is the best alive.
L'ENVOY Pleasure's Aurora, Day of gladsomeness!
Luna by night, with heavenly influence
Illumined! root of beauty and goodnesse,
Write, and allay, by your beneficence, 315
My sighs breathed forth in silence,--comfort give!
Since of all good, you are the best alive.
EXPLICIT
* * * * *
VARIANTS ON THE TEXT
[Variant 1: In 1819 Wordsworth wrote the opening stanza of his version
of 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale', in the album of Mrs.
Calvert at
Keswick, thus:
'The God of Love--ah, benedicite! '
How mighty and how great a Lord is He!
High can he make the heart that's low and poor,
And high hearts low--through pains that they endure,
And hard hearts, He can make them kind and free.
W. W. , Nov. 27, 1819. ]
[Variant 2:
1842.
. . . have heard . . . 1841. ]
[Variant 3:
1842
.
