Lucy Gray
by
William Wordsworth
(Poem & Summary)
Lucy Gray is a literary ballad written by
William Wordsworth in blank verses. In this poem, Wordsworth has emphasized Lucy’s
fusion with nature. Wordsworth, as a poet of nature, has associated the action of
death with nature. After the death of Lucy, it is believed that she is alive
and her song whistles in the air in the valley as if she has become part of
nature.
Lucy Gray
Oft
I had heard of Lucy Gray:
And,
when I crossed the wild,
I
chanced to see at break of day
The
solitary child.
No
mate, no comrade Lucy knew;
She
dwelt on a wide moor,
--The
sweetest thing that ever grew
Beside
a human door!
You
yet may spy the fawn at play,
The
hare upon the green;
But
the sweet face of Lucy Gray
Will
never more be seen.
"To-night
will be a stormy night--
You
to the town must go;
And
take a lantern, Child, to light
Your
mother through the snow."
"That,
Father! will I gladly do:
'Tis
scarcely afternoon--
The
minster-clock has just struck two,
And
yonder is the moon!"
At
this the Father raised his hook,
And
snapped a faggot-band;
He
plied his work;--and Lucy took
The
lantern in her hand.
Not
blither is the mountain roe:
With
many a wanton stroke
Her
feet disperse the powdery snow,
That
rises up like smoke.
The
storm came on before its time:
She
wandered up and down;
And
many a hill did Lucy climb:
But
never reached the town.
The
wretched parents all that night
Went
shouting far and wide;
But
there was neither sound nor sight
To
serve them for a guide.
At
day-break on a hill they stood
That
overlooked the moor;
And
thence they saw the bridge of wood,
A
furlong from their door.
They
wept--and, turning homeward, cried,
"In
heaven we all shall meet;"
--When
in the snow the mother spied
The
print of Lucy's feet.
Then
downwards from the steep hill's edge
They
tracked the footmarks small;
And
through the broken hawthorn hedge,
And
by the long stone-wall;
And
then an open field they crossed:
The
marks were still the same;
They
tracked them on, nor ever lost;
And
to the bridge they came.
They
followed from the snowy bank
Those
footmarks, one by one,
Into
the middle of the plank;
And
further there were none!
--Yet
some maintain that to this day
She
is a living child;
That
you may see sweet Lucy Gray
Upon
the lonesome wild.
O'er
rough and smooth she trips along,
And
never looks behind;
And
sings a solitary song
That
whistles in the wind.
Summary
The
poem Lucy Gray was written by William Wordsworth based upon a real account of
the death of a little girl. The tale was narrated to him by his sister Dorothy.
In the poem, the poet tells us about a little girl, who lived in a house in the
valley with her father and mother. Since the girl did not have any friends, her
most of time was spent in playing alone or helping her parents. One can get a
chance to see a fawn or a rabbit but not the innocent face of Lucy Gray.
One afternoon,
Lucy was at home with her father. Her mother had gone to the town. Her father
took his hook and started to pile bundles and instructed Lucy to take the
lantern and bring her mother safe before evening because they were anticipating
storm. She left for the town but the storm arose earlier and Lucy lost the way.
She searched for the way back home but could never find it. Her mother came
back home. Her parents explored the entire valley the whole night to catch a
sight of Lucy but she was nowhere found.
At
the break of the day, her parents found marks of Lucy’s small feet in the snow.
They followed the footprints which led them to the bridge of the wood which was
only a furlong far from their house and after that prints disappeared. It was
an indication that Lucy had died. Her parents lament for her. The dearest child
of nature was gone. But it is still in belief that Lucy is alive and sings her
solitary song in the valley.
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