Ploughman Singing

John Clare 1793 (Helpston) – 1864 (St Andrew's Hospital)



Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met
Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,
And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,
Shows not her sleeve of grey to know her bye.
Woke early, I arose and thought that first
In winter time of all the world was I.
The old owls might have hallooed if they durst,
But joy just then was up and whistled bye
A merry tune which I had known full long,
But could not to my memory wake it back,
Until the ploughman changed it to the song.
O happiness, how simple is thy track.
--Tinged like the willow shoots, the east's young brow
Glows red and finds thee singing at the plough.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
74

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCBCBDEDEFF
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 610
Words 124
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14

John Clare

John Clare was an English poet in his time he was commonly known as the Northamptonshire Peasant Poet more…

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