XIII. OPEN PROSPECT
HAIL to the fields--with Dwellings
sprinkled o'er,
And one small hamlet, under a green
hill
Clustering, with barn and byre, and
spouting mill!
A glance suffices,--should we wish
for more,
Gay June would scorn us. But when
bleak winds roar
Through the stiff lance-like shoots
of pollard ash,
Dread swell of sound! loud as the
gusts that lash
The matted forests of Ontario's shore
By wasteful steel unsmitten--then
would I
Turn into port; and, reckless of the
gale, 10
Reckless of angry Duddon sweeping by,
While the warm hearth exalts the
mantling ale,
Laugh with the generous household
heartily
At all the merry pranks of
Donnerdale!
Ll. 9 and 10 – Reckless – old English,
meaning heedless.
The sonnet opens with a pastoral,
idyllic scene. The narrator merely glances at landscapes ‘Gay June’ bids him
onwards. He reflects that in a Winter storm he might take shelter in a
‘generous household’ who would offer hospitality and local gossip. In is
interesting to note that Wordsworth depicts the pastoral scene as a ‘taskscape’,
‘byre, barn and mill’ are all emblems of a productive, working landscape. The
area around Dunnerdale was a particular favourite of the a the side valley of
the Duddon which leads across Walna Scar to Coniston.
Particularly, he writes of its beauty
in autumn, writing: ‘Time, in most cases, and nature everywhere, have given a
sanctity to the humble works of man, that are scattered over this peaceful retirement’
(p45). Sonnets X111 to XV11 are situated in and around here. It is tempting to
regard these as a meditation on Wordsworth’s description in his Topographical
guide of the ‘Republic of Shepherds and Agriculturalists’ which he felt existed
before road improvements in the latter part of the eighteenth century opened
the remote valleys to commerce and early tourism.
The contrast between the pollarded
ash trees and the forests of Ontario is interesting from two points of view.
Firstly it continues the allusions to North America which are scattered across
the series, secondly it reflects Wordsworth view’s concerning ‘natural’
forestry practices which he writes about at some length in his guide (pp.
293–305).
No comments:
Post a Comment