Skip to content
Linespedia

Croluis - To G. W.

By William Ernest Henley

Topics: classic

The beach was crowded.    Pausing now and then,     He groped and fiddled doggedly along,     His worn face glaring on the thoughtless throng     The stony peevishness of sightless men.     He seemed scarce older than his clothes.    Again,     Grotesquing thinly many an old sweet song,     So cracked his fiddle, his hand so frail and wrong,     You hardly could distinguish one in ten.     He stopped at last, and sat him on the sand,     And, grasping wearily his bread-winner,     Stared dim towards the blue immensity,     Then leaned his head upon his poor old hand.     He may have slept:    he did not speak nor stir:     His gesture spoke a vast despondency.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"The beach was crowded.    Pausing now and then,..."

This evocative piece by William Ernest Henley, titled "Croluis - To G. W.", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:William Ernest Henley

"The beach was crowded.    Pausing now and then,..." by William Ernest Henley

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"What have I done for you,     England, my England?     What is there I would not do,     England, my own?     With your glorious eyes austere,"

"(Ob. October 30, 1897)     He looked half-parson and half-skipper: a quaint,     Beautiful blend, with blue eyes good to see,     And old-world wh"

"Out of the night that covers me,     Black as the Pit from pole to pole,     I thank whatever gods may be     For my unconquerable soul."

"Blue-eyed and bright of face but waning fast     Into the sere of virginal decay,     I view her as she enters, day by day,     As a sweet suns"

"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,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Ernest Henley

About William Ernest Henley

William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) was an English poet, critic, and editor best known for his poem "Invictus" ("I am the master of my fate / I am the captain of my soul"). Written while recovering from tuberculosis of the bone, it has become one of the most quoted poems of courage and resilience.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"What have I done for you,     England, my England?..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.