Analysis of The Wishing Gate
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
[In the vale of Grasmere, by the side of an old highway
leading to Ambleside, is a gate, which, from time out of
mind, has been called the Wishing-gate, from a belief that
wishes formed or indulged there have a favorable issue.]
HOPE rules a land forever green:
All powers that serve the bright-eyed Queen
Are confident and gay;
Clouds at her bidding disappear;
Points she to aught?---the bliss draws near,
And Fancy smooths the way.
Not such the land of Wishes---there
Dwell fruitless day-dreams, lawless prayer,
And thoughts with things at strife;
Yet how forlorn, should ye depart
Ye superstitions of the heart,
How poor, were human life!
When magic lore abjured its might,
Ye did not forfeit one dear right,
One tender claim abate;
Witness this symbol of your sway,
Surnving near the public way,
The rustic Wishing-gate!
Inquire not if the faery race
Shed kindly influence on the place,
Ere northward they retired;
If here a warrior left a spell,
Panting for glory as he fell;
Or here a saint expired.
Enough that all arouud is fair,
Composed with Nature's finest care,
And in her fondest love---
Peace to embosom and content---
To overawe the turbulent,
The selfish to reprove.
Yea! even the Stranger from afar,
Reclining on this moss-grown bar,
Unknowing, and unknown,
The infection of the ground partakes,
Longing for his Beloved---who maker
All happiness her own.
Then why should conscious Spirits fear
The mystic stirrings that are here,
The ancient faith disclaim?
The local Genius ne'er befriends
Desires whose course in folly ends,
Whose just reward is shame.
Smile if thou wilt, but not in scorn,
If some, by ceaseless pains outworn,
Here crave an easier lot;
If some have thirsted to renew
A broken vow, or bind a true,
With firmer, holier knot.
And not in vain, when thoughts are cast
Upon the irrevocable past,
Some Penitent sincere
May for a worthier future sigh,
While trickles from his downcast eye
No unavailing tear.
The Worldling, pining to be freed
From turmoil, who would turn or speed
The current of his fate,
Might stop before this favored scene,
At Nature's call, nor blush to lean
Upon the Wishing-gate.
The Sage, who feels how blind, how weak
Is man, though loth such help to seek,
Yet, passing, here might pause,
And thirst for insight to allay
Misgiving, while the crimson day
In quietness withdraws;
Or when the church-clock's knell profound
To Time's first step across the bound
Of midnight makes reply;
Time pressing on with starry crest,
To filial sleep upon the breast
Of dread eternity.
Scheme | ABXC DDAEEA FFGHHG IIJAAJ KKLMML FFBXXB NNOCXO EXPQQP XDRCCR SSETTF UUJDDJ VVWAAW XXTYYX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 001111011111 101110111111 1111010110011 101101110100010 11010101 110110111 110001 1101001 11110111 010101 11011101 11011101 011111 11011101 1010101 110101 1101111 11110111 110101 10110111 110101 010101 0111011 110100101 110101 110100101 10110111 110101 0111111 01110101 000101 111010 110100 01011 110010101 01011111 010001 00101011 101101110 110001 11110101 01010111 010101 01010101 010110101 110111 11111101 1111011 1111001 1111101 01011101 1101001 01011111 010010001 110001 110100101 1101111 10101 0110111 1111111 010111 11011101 11011111 010101 01111111 11111111 110111 0111101 01010101 010001 11011101 11110101 11101 11011101 110010101 110100 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,587 |
Words | 435 |
Sentences | 16 |
Stanzas | 13 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 76 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 153 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 20, 2023
- 2:12 min read
- 169 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Wishing Gate" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42411/the-wishing-gate>.
Discuss this William Wordsworth poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In