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Near Avalon

By William Morris

Topics: classic

A ship with shields before the sun,     Six maidens round the mast,     A red-gold crown on every one,     A green gown on the last.     The fluttering green banners there     Are wrought with ladies' heads most fair,     And a portraiture of Guenevere     The middle of each sail doth bear.     A ship which sails before the wind,     And round the helm six knights,     Their heaumes are on, whereby, half blind,     They pass by many sights.     The tatter'd scarlet banners there,     Right soon will leave the spear-heads bare.     Those six knights sorrowfully bear,     In all their heaumes some yellow hair.

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"A ship with shields before the sun,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, William Morris delivers a powerful performance in "Near Avalon"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Morris

"A ship with shields before the sun,..." by William Morris

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"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 Morris

About William Morris

William Morris (1834–1896) was an English poet, artist, and socialist reformer associated with the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement. His epic poems "The Earthly Paradise" and "Sigurd the Volsung" draw on medieval legend and Norse mythology.

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"King's daughter sitting in tower so high,     Fair..."

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