Analysis of Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle upon the Restoration o
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
, High in the breathless Hall the Minstrel sate,
And Emont's murmur mingled with the Song.--
The words of ancient time I thus translate,
A festal strain that hath been silent long:--
"From town to town, from tower to tower,
The red rose is a gladsome flower.
Her thirty years of winter past,
The red rose is revived at last;
She lifts her head for endless spring,
For everlasting blossoming:
Both roses flourish, red and white:
In love and sisterly delight
The two that were at strife are blended,
And all old troubles now are ended.--
Joy! joy to both! but most to her
Who is the flower of Lancaster!
Behold her how She smiles to-day
On this great throng, this bright array!
Fair greeting doth she send to all
From every corner of the hall;
But chiefly from above the board
Where sits in state our rightful Lord,
A Clifford to his own restored!
"They came with banner, spear, and shield;
And it was proved in Bosworth-field.
Not long the Avenger was withstood--
Earth helped him with the cry of blood:
St. George was for us, and the might
Of blessed Angels crowned the right.
Loud voice the Land has uttered forth,
We loudest in the faithful north:
Our fields rejoice, our mountains ring,
Our streams proclaim a welcoming;
Our strong-abodes and castles see
The glory of their loyalty.
"How glad is Skipton at this hour--
Though lonely, a deserted Tower;
Knight, squire, and yeoman, page and groom,
We have them at the feast of Brough'm.
How glad Pendragon--though the sleep
Of years be on her!--She shall reap
A taste of this great pleasure, viewing
As in a dream her own renewing.
Rejoiced is Brough, right glad, I deem,
Beside her little humble stream;
And she that keepeth watch and ward
Her statelier Eden's course to guard;
They both are happy at this hour,
Though each is but a lonely Tower:--
But here is perfect joy and pride
For one fair House by Emont's side,
This day, distinguished without peer,
To see her Master and to cheer--
Him, and his Lady-mother dear!
"Oh! it was a time forlorn
When the fatherless was born--
Give her wings that she may fly,
Or she sees her infant die!
Swords that are with slaughter wild
Hunt the Mother and the Child.
Who will take them from the light?
--Yonder is a man in sight--
Yonder is a house--but where?
No, they must not enter there.
To the caves, and to the brooks,
To the clouds of heaven she looks;
She is speechless, but her eyes
Pray in ghostly agonies.
Blissful Mary, Mother mild,
Maid and Mother undefiled,
Save a Mother and her Child!
"Now who is he that bounds with joy
On Carrock's side, a Shepherd-boy?
No thoughts hath he but thoughts that pass
Light as the wind along the grass.
Can this be He who hither came
In secret, like a smothered flame?
O'er whom such thankful tears were shed
For shelter, and a poor man's bread!
God loves the Child; and God hath willed
That those dear words should be fulfilled,
The Lady's words, when forced away
The last she to her Babe did say:
"My own, my own, thy fellow-guest
I may not be; but rest thee, rest,
For lowly shepherd's life is best!"
"Alas! when evil men are strong
No life is good, no pleasure long.
The Boy must part from Mosedale's groves,
And leave Blencathara's rugged coves,
And quit the flowers that summer brings
To Glenderamakin's lofty springs;
Must vanish, and his careless cheer
Be turned to heaviness and fear.
--Give Sir Lancelot Threlkeld praise!
Hear it, good man, old in days!
Thou tree of covert and of rest
For this young Bird that is distrest;
Among thy branches safe he lay,
And he was free to sport and play,
When falcons were abroad for prey.
"A recreant harp, that sings of fear
And heaviness in Clifford's ear!
I said, when evil men are strong,
No life is good, no pleasure long,
A weak and cowardly untruth!
Scheme | ababccddeeffggcchhiijjj kkxgfflleemm ccxxnneeoojxccppqqq rrssttffuuvvxxtat wwxxyyzz1 1 hh2 2 2 bb3 3 4 4 qq5 5 2 ahhh qxbbx |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001010101 011010101 0111011101 011111101 1111110110 01110110 01011101 01110111 11011101 1010100 11010101 010101 011011110 011101110 11111110 11010110 01011111 11111101 11011111 110010101 11010101 110110101 01011101 11110101 01110101 110010101 11110111 11111001 1110101 11011101 11000101 1010110101 101010100 10110101 01011100 111101110 110001010 11010101 111101111 111101 11110111 011111010 100101010 01111111 01010101 0111101 011111 111101110 111101010 11101101 1111111 11010011 11010011 10110101 1110101 1010011 1011111 1110101 1111101 1010001 1111101 1010101 1010111 1111101 1010101 10111011 1110101 1010100 1010101 10101 1010001 11111111 1110101 11111111 11010101 11111101 01010101 101110101 11000111 11010111 11111101 01011101 01110111 11111101 11111111 11010111 01110111 11111101 0111111 011101 010101101 11101 11001101 111101 111011 1111101 11110011 1111111 01110111 01111101 11000111 0111111 010101 11110111 11111101 01010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 4,277 |
Words | 685 |
Sentences | 38 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 23, 12, 19, 17, 15, 15, 5 |
Lines Amount | 106 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 413 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:29 min read
- 98 Views
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"Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle upon the Restoration o" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42323/song-at-the-feast-of-brougham-castle-upon-the-restoration-o>.
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