Skip to content
Linespedia

Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part III. - I - I Saw The Figure Of A Lovely Maid

By William Wordsworth

Topics: classic

Part III. From the Restoration to the Present Times. I saw the figure of a lovely Maid Seated alone beneath a darksome tree, Whose fondly-overhanging canopy Set off her brightness with a pleasing shade. No Spirit was she; 'that' my heart betrayed, For she was one I loved exceedingly; But while I gazed in tender reverie (Or was it sleep that with my Fancy played?) The bright corporeal presence, form and face Remaining still distinct grew thin and rare, Like sunny mist; at length the golden hair, Shape, limbs, and heavenly features, keeping pace Each with the other in a lingering race Of dissolution, melted into air.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Part III. From the Restoration to the Present Times...."

William Wordsworth's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Ecclesiastical Sonnets - Part III. - I - I Saw The Figure Of A Lovely Maid"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:William Wordsworth

Public Domain: This work is in the public domain and free to use.

"Part III. From the Restoration to the Present Time..." by William Wordsworth

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

Related lines

"Dear to the Loves, and to the Graces vowed, The Queen drew back the wimple that she wore; And to the throng, that on the Cumbrian shore Her lan"

"INTRODUCTION AND CHORUS For thirst of power that Heaven disowns, For temples, towers, and thrones, Too long insulted by the Spoiler's shock,"

"How beautiful the Queen of Night, on high Her way pursuing among scattered clouds, Where, ever and anon, her head she shrouds Hidden from view"

"A bright-haired company of youthful slaves, Beautiful strangers, stand within the pale Of a sad market, ranged for public sale, Where Tiber's s"

"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 Wordsworth

About William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) was an English Romantic poet who launched the movement with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in "Lyrical Ballads" (1798). His poems—including "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" and "Tintern Abbey"—championed nature, memory, and the language of common speech.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Dear to the Loves, and to the Graces vowed, The Q..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

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