Introduction

Lyrical Ballads is a collection of poems which is written by two great poets of their time William Wordsworth ; Samuel Taylor Coleridge, its first edition was first published in the 1798. The most of the poems in Lyrical ballads were written by Wordsworth, four poems were contibuted by Coleridge including his most famous poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The lyrical ballad is said to have begun the movement of romanticism in english poetry, the basic idea was to take the art of poetry into the reach of common people, in aspect of language and feelings. Its Second Edition was published in 1800, contains some more poems by wordsworth, in this edition Wordsworth also added a preface in which he discribed his thoughts and understanding on poetry. The Lyrical Ballads holds a very important place in english literature, as it significantly tried to change the course of English Poetry and made it to be easily understood by common people. Here I am posting both the 1st and the 2nd edition of Lyrical Ballads, which are freely available on many places on internet. This blog is my tribute to the William Wordsworth and his Lyrical Ballads.

'Tis said that some have died for love, &c.

'Tis said, that some have died for love:
And here and there a church-yard grave is found
In the cold North's unhallow'd ground,
Because the wretched man himself had slain,
His love was such a grievous pain.
And there is one whom I five years have known;
He dwells alone
Upon Helvellyn's side.
He loved--The pretty Barbara died,
And thus he makes his moan:
Three years had Barbara in her grave been laid
When thus his moan he made.

Oh! move thou Cottage from behind that oak
Or let the aged tree uprooted lie,
That in some other way yon smoke
May mount into the sky!
The clouds pass on; they from the Heavens depart:
I look--the sky is empty space;
I know not what I trace;
But when I cease to look, my hand is on my heart.

O! what a weight is in these shades! Ye leaves,
When will that dying murmur be suppress'd?
Your sound my heart of peace bereaves,
It robs my heart of rest.
Thou Thrush, that singest loud and loud and free,
Into yon row of willows flit,
Upon that alder sit;
Or sing another song, or chuse another tree

Roll back, sweet rill! back to thy mountain bounds,
And there for ever be thy waters chain'd!
For thou dost haunt the air with sounds
That cannot be sustain'd;
If still beneath that pine-tree's ragged bough
Headlong yon waterfall must come,
Oh let it then be dumb!--
Be any thing, sweet rill, but that which thou art now.

Thou Eglantine whose arch so proudly towers
(Even like a rainbow spanning half the vale)
Thou one fair shrub, oh! shed thy flowers,
And stir not in the gale.
For thus to see thee nodding in the air,
To see thy arch thus stretch and bend,
Thus rise and thus descend,
Disturbs me, till the sight is more than I can bear.

The man who makes this feverish complaint
Is one of giant stature, who could dance
Equipp'd from head to foot in iron mail.
Ah gentle Love! if ever thought was thine
To store up kindred hours for me, thy face
Turn from me, gentle Love, nor let me walk
Within the sound of Emma's voice, or know
Such happiness as I have known to-day.

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