Skip to content
Linespedia

Phoebe Of The Scottish Glen

By John Clare

Topics: classic

Agen I'll take my idle pen      And sing my bonny mountain maid--      Sweet Phoebe of the Scottish glen,      Nor of her censure feel afraid.      I'll charm her ear with beauty's praise,      And please her eye with songs agen--      The ballads of our early days--      To Phoebe of the Scottish glen.      There never was a fairer thing      All Scotland's glens and mountains through.      The siller gowans of the Spring,      Besprent with pearls of mountain dew,      The maiden blush upon the brere,      Far distant from the haunts of men,      Are nothing half so sweet or dear      As Phoebe of the Scottish glen.      How handsome is her naked foot,      Moist with the pearls of Summer dew:      The siller daisy's nothing to 't,      Nor hawthorn flowers so white to view,      She's sweeter than the blooming brere,      That blossoms far away from men:      No flower in Scotland's half so dear      As Phoebe of the Scottish glen.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Agen I'll take my idle pen..."

John Clare's contribution to classic is further solidified by the brilliance found in "Phoebe Of The Scottish Glen"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:John Clare

"Agen I'll take my idle pen..." by John Clare

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

Classified Tags

Related lines

"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"

"How oft on Sundays, when I'd time to tramp,     My rambles led me to a gipsy's camp,     Where the real effigy of midnight hags,     With tawny"

"The setting Sun withdraws his yellow light,     A gloomy staining shadows over all,     While the brown beetle, trumpeter of Night,     Proclai"

"Where the broad sheepwalk bare and brown     [Yields] scant grass pining after showers,     And winds go fanning up and down     The little str"

"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"

John Clare

About John Clare

John Clare (1793–1864) was an English poet known as the "peasant poet" for his humble origins. His nature poetry—including "I Am" and "Badger"—captures the English countryside with extraordinary precision and emotional honesty, and he is now recognized as one of the finest nature poets in the language.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     E..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

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