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If from the public way you turn your steps

Up the tumultuous brook of Green-head Ghyll,

You will suppose that with an upright path

Your feet must struggle; in such bold ascent

The pastoral mountains front you, face to face.

But, courage! for around that boisterous brook

The mountains have all opened out themselves,

And made a hidden valley of their own.

No habitation can be seen; but they

Who journey thither find themselves alone 10

With a few sheep, with rocks and stones, and kites

That overhead are sailing in the sky.

It is in truth an utter solitude;

Nor should I have made mention of this Dell

But for one object which you might pass by, 15

Might see and notice not. Beside the brook

Appears a straggling heap of unhewn stones,

And to that simple object appertains

A story—unenriched with strange events,

Yet not unfit, I deem, for the fireside, 20

Or for the summer shade. It was the first

Of those domestic tales that spake to me

Of Shepherds, dwellers in the valleys, men

Whom I already loved:—not verily

For their own sakes, but for the fields and hills 25

Where was their occupation and abode.

And hence this Tale, while I was yet a Boy

Careless of books, yet having felt the power

Of Nature, by the gentle agency

Of natural objects, led me on to feel 30

For passions that were not my own, and think

(At random and imperfectly indeed)

On man, the heart of man, and human life.

Therefore, although it be a history

Homely and rude, I will relate the same 35

For the delight of a few natural hearts;

And, with yet fonder feeling, for the sake

Of youthful Poets, who among these hills

Will be my second self when I am gone.

Upon the forest-side in Grasmere Vale 40

There dwelt a Shepherd, Michael was his name;

An old man, stout of heart, and strong of limb.

His bodily frame had been from youth to age

Of an unusual strength: his mind was keen,

Intense, and frugal, apt for all affairs, 45

And in his shepherd's calling he was prompt

And watchful more than ordinary men.

Hence had he learned the meaning of all winds,

Of blasts of every tone; and oftentimes,

When others heeded not, he heard the South 50

Make subterraneous music, like the noise

Of bagpipers on distant Highland hills.

The Shepherd, at such warning, of his flock

Bethought him, and he to himself would say,

"The winds are now devising work for me!" 55

And, truly, at all times, the storm, that drives

The traveller to a shelter, summoned him

Up to the mountains: he had been alone

Amid the heart of many thousand mists,

That came to him, and left him, on the heights. 60

So lived he till his eightieth year was past.

And grossly that man errs, who should suppose

That the green valleys, and the streams and rocks,

Were things indifferent to the Shepherd's thoughts.

Fields, where with cheerful spirits he had breathed 65

The common air; hills, which with vigorous step

He had so often climbed; which had impressed

So many incidents upon his mind

Of hardship, skill or courage, joy or fear;

Which, like a book, preserved the memory 70

Of the dumb animals whom he had saved,

Had fed or sheltered, linking to such acts

The certainty of honorable gain;

Those fields, those hills—what could they less?—had laid

Strong hold on his affections, were to him 75

A pleasurable feeling of blind love,

The pleasure which there is in life itself.

His days had not been passed in singleness.

His Helpmate was a comely matron, old—

Though younger than himself full twenty years. 80

She was a woman of a stirring life,

Whose heart was in her house: two wheels she had

Of antique form; this large, for spinning wool;

That small, for flax; and if one wheel had rest,

It was because the other was at work. 85

The Pair had but one inmate in their house,

An only Child, who had been born to them

When Michael, telling o'er his years, began

To deem that he was old—in shepherd's phrase,

With one foot in the grave. This only Son, 90

With two brave sheep-dogs tried in many a storm,

The one of an inestimable worth,

Made all their household. I may truly say

That they were as a proverb in the vale

For endless industry. When day was gone, 95

And from their occupations out of doors

The Son and Father were come home, even then

Their labor did not cease; unless when all

Turned to the cleanly supper board, and there,

Each with a mess of pottage and skimmed milk, 100

Sat round the basket piled with oaten cakes,

And their plain home-made cheese. Yet when the meal

Was ended, Luke (for so the Son was named)

And his old Father both betook themselves

To such convenient work as might employ 105

Their hands by the fireside; perhaps to card

Wool for the Housewife's spindle, or repair

Some injury done to sickle, flail, or scythe,

Or other implement of house or field.

Down from the ceiling, by the chimney's edge, 110

That in our ancient uncouth country style

With huge and black projection overbrowed

Large space beneath, as duly as the light

Of day grew dim the Housewife hung a lamp;

An agèd utensil, which had performed 115

Service beyond all others of its kind.

Early at evening did it burn—and late,

Surviving comrade of uncounted hours,

Which, going by from year to year, had found,

And left the couple neither gay perhaps 120

Nor cheerful, yet with objects and with hopes,

Living a life of eager industry.

And now, when Luke had reached his eighteenth year,

There by the light of this old lamp they sate,

Father and Son, while far into the night 125

The Housewife plied her own peculiar work,

Making the cottage through the silent hours

Murmur as with the sound of summer flies.

This light was famous in its neighborhood,

And was a public symbol of the life 130

That thrifty Pair had lived. For, as it chanced;

Their cottage on a plot of rising ground

Stood single, with large prospect, north and south,

High into Easedale, up to Dunmail-Raise,

And westward to the village near the lake; 135

And from this constant light, so regular,

And so far seen, the House itself, by all

Who dwelt within the limits of the vale,

Both old and young, was named the EVENING STAR.

Thus living on through such a length of years, 140

The Shepherd, if he loved himself, must needs

Have loved his Helpmate; but to Michael's heart

This son of his old age was yet more dear—

Less from instinctive tenderness, the same

Fond spirit that blindly works in the blood of all—145

Than that a child, more than all other gifts

That earth can offer to declining man,

Brings hope with it, and forward-looking thoughts,

And stirrings of inquietude, when they

By tendency of nature needs must fail. 150

Exceeding was the love he bare to him,

His heart and his heart's joy! For oftentimes

Old Michael, while he was a babe in arms,

Had done him female service, not alone

For pastime and delight, as is the use 155

Of fathers, but with patient mind enforced

To acts of tenderness; and he had rocked

His cradle, as with a woman's gentle hand.

And in a later time, ere yet the Boy

Had put on boy's attire, did Michael love, 160

Albeit of a stern, unbending mind,

To have the Young-one in his sight, when he

Wrought in the field, or on his shepherd's stool

Sat with a fettered sheep before him stretched

Under the large old oak, that near his door 165

Stood single, and, from matchless depth of shade,

Chosen for the shearer's covert from the sun,

Thence in our rustic dialect was called

The CLIPPING TREE, a name which yet it bears.

There, while they two were sitting in the shade, 170

With others round them, earnest all and blithe,

Would Michael exercise his heart with looks

Of fond correction and reproof bestowed

Upon the Child, if he disturbed the sheep

By catching at their legs, or with his shouts 175

Scared them while they lay still beneath the shears.

And when by Heaven's good grace the Boy grew up

A healthy Lad, and carried in his cheek

Two steady roses that were five years old;

Then Michael from a winter coppice cut 180

With his own hand a sapling, which he hooped

With iron, making it throughout in all

Due requisites a perfect shepherd's staff,

And gave it to the Boy; wherewith equipped

He as a watchman oftentimes was placed 185

At gate or gap, to stem or turn the flock;

And, to his office prematurely called,

There stood the urchin, as you will divine,

Something between a hindrance and a help;

And for this cause not always, I believe, 190

Receiving from his Father hire of praise;

Though naught was left undone which staff, or voice,

Or looks, or threatening gestures, could perform,

But soon as Luke, full ten years old, could stand

Against the mountain blasts; and to the heights, 195

Not fearing toil, nor length of weary ways,

He with his Father daily went, and they

Were as companions, why should I relate

That objects which the Shepherd loved before

Were dearer now? that from the Boy there came 200

Feelings and emanations—things which were

Light to the sun and music to the wind;

And that the old Man's heart seemed born again?

Thus in his Father's sight the boy grew up:

And now, when he had reached his eighteenth year, 205

He was his comfort and his daily hope.

While in this sort the simple household lived

From day to day, to Michael's ear there came

Distressful tidings. Long before the time

Of which I speak, the Shepherd had been bound 210

In surety for his brother's son, a man

Of an industrious life, and ample means;

But unforeseen misfortunes suddenly

Had pressed upon him; and old Michael now

Was summoned to discharge the forfeiture, 215

A grievous penalty, but little less

Than half his substance. This unlooked-for claim,

At the first hearing, for a moment took

More hope out of his life than he supposed

That any old man ever could have lost. 220

As soon as he had armed himself with strength

To look his trouble in the face, it seemed

The Shepherd's sole resource to sell at once

A portion of his patrimonial fields.

Such was his first resolve; he thought again, 225

And his heart failed him. "Isabel," said he,

Two evenings after he had heard the news,

"I have been toiling more than seventy years,

And in the open sunshine of God's love

Have we all lived; yet if these fields of ours 230

Should pass into a stranger's hand, I think

That I could not lie quiet in my grave.

Our lot is a hard lot; the sun himself

Has scarcely been more diligent than I;

And I have lived to be a fool at last 235

To my own family. An evil man

That was, and made an evil choice, if he

Were false to us; and if he were not false,

There are ten thousand to whom loss like this

Had been no sorrow. I forgive him;—but 240

'Twere better to be dumb than to talk thus.

"When I began, my purpose was to speak

Of remedies and of a cheerful hope.

Our Luke shall leave us, Isabel; the land

Shall not go from us, and it shall be free; 245

He shall possess it, free as is the wind

That passes over it. We have, thou know'st,

Another kinsman; he will be our friend

In this distress. He is a prosperous man,

Thriving in trade; and Luke to him shall go, 250

And with his kinsman's help and his own thrift

He quickly will repair this loss, and then

He may return to us. If here he stay,

What can be done? Where every one is poor,

What can be gained?"

At this the old Man paused, 255

And Isabel sat silent, for her mind

Was busy, looking back into past times.

There's Richard Bateman, thought she to herself,

He was a parish-boy—at the church-door

They made a gathering for him, shillings, pence, 260

And half-pennies, wherewith the neighbors bought

A basket, which they filled with pedlar's wares;

And, with his basket on his arm, the lad

Went up to London, found a master there,

Who, out of many, chose the trusty boy 265

To go and overlook his merchandise

Beyond the seas; where he grew wondrous rich,

And left estates and moneys to the poor,

And at his birthplace built a chapel, floored

With marble, which he sent from foreign lands. 270

These thoughts, and many others of like sort,

Passed quickly through the mind of Isabel

And her face brightened. The old Man was glad,

And thus resumed: "Well, Isabel, this scheme,

These two days, has been meat and drink to me. 275

Far more than we have lost is left us yet.

—We have enough—I wish indeed that I

Were younger;—but this hope is a good hope.

Make ready Luke's best garments, of the best

Buy for him more, and let us send him forth 280

To-morrow, or the next day, or to-night:

—If he could go, the Boy should go to-night."

Here Michael ceased, and to the fields went forth

With a light heart. The Housewife for five days

Was restless morn and night, and all day long 285

Wrought on with her best fingers to prepare

Things needful for the journey of her son.

But Isabel was glad when Sunday came

To stop her in her work; for, when she lay

By Michael's side, she through the last two nights 290

Heard him, how he was troubled in his sleep:

And when they rose at morning she could see

That all his hopes were gone. That day at noon

She said to Luke, while they two by themselves

Were sitting at the door, "Thou must not go: 295

We have no other Child but thee to lose,

None to remember—do not go away,

For if thou leave thy Father he will die."

The Youth made answer with a jocund voice;

And Isabel, when she had told her fears, 300

Recovered heart. That evening her best fare

Did she bring forth, and all together sat

Like happy people round a Christmas fire.

With daylight Isabel resumed her work;

And all the ensuing week the house appeared 305

As cheerful as a grove in Spring: at length

The expected letter from their kinsman came,

With kind assurances that he would do

His utmost for the welfare of the Boy;

To which requests were added, that forthwith 310

He might be sent to him. Ten times or more

The letter was read over; Isabel

Went forth to show it to the neighbors round;

Nor was there at that time on English land

A prouder heart than Luke's. When Isabel 315

Had to her house returned, the old Man said,

"He shall depart to-morrow." To this word

The Housewife answered, talking much of things

Which, if at such short notice he should go,

Would surely be forgotten. But at length 320

She gave consent, and Michael was at ease.

Near the tumultuous brook of Green-head Ghyll,

In that deep valley, Michael had designed

To build a Sheep-fold; and, before he heard

The tidings of his melancholy loss, 325

For this same purpose he had gathered up

A heap of stones, which by the streamlet's edge

Lay thrown together, ready for the work.

With Luke that evening thitherward he walked;

And soon as they had reached the place he stopped, 330

And thus the old man spake to him:—"My Son,

To-morrow thou wilt leave me; with full heart

I look upon thee, for thou art the same

That wert a promise to me ere thy birth

And all thy life hast been my daily joy. 335

I will relate to thee some little part

Of our two histories; 'twill do thee good

When thou art from me, even if I should touch

On things thou canst not know of.———After thou

First cam'st into the world—as oft befalls 340

To newborn infants—thou didst sleep away

Two days, and blessings from thy Father's tongue

Then fell upon thee. Day by day passed on,

And still I loved thee with increasing love.

Never to living ear came sweeter sounds 345

Than when I heard thee by our own fireside

First uttering, without words, a natural tune;

While thou, a feeding babe, didst in thy joy

Sing at thy Mother's breast. Month followed month,

And in the open fields my life was passed, 350

And on the mountains; else I think that thou

Hadst been brought up upon thy Father's knees.

But we were playmates, Luke; among these hills,

As well thou knowest, in us the old and young

Have played together, nor with me didst thou 355

Lack any pleasure which a boy can know."

Luke had a manly heart; but at these words

He sobbed aloud. The old Man grasped his hand,

And said, "Nay, do not take it so—I see

That these are things of which I need not speak. 360

—Even to the utmost I have been to thee

A kind and a good Father; and herein

I but repay a gift which I myself

Received at others' hands; for, though now old

Beyond the common life of man, I still 365

Remember them who loved me in my youth.

Both of them sleep together; here they lived,

As all their Forefathers had done; and, when

At length their time was come, they were not loath

To give their bodies to the family mould. 370

I wished that thou should'st live the life they lived;

But 'tis a long time to look back, my Son,

And see so little gain from threescore years.

These fields were burthened when they came to me;

Till I was forty years of age, not more 375

Than half of my inheritance was mine.

I toiled and toiled; God blessed me in my work,

And till the three weeks past the land was free.

—It looks as if it never could endure

Another Master. Heaven forgive me, Luke, 380

If I judge ill for thee, but it seems good

That thou shouldst go."

At this the old Man paused;

Then, pointing to the stones near which they stood,

Thus, after a short silence, he resumed:

"This was a work for us; and now, my Son, 385

It is a work for me. But, lay one stone—

Here, lay it for me, Luke, with thine own hands.

Nay, Boy, be of good hope; we both may live

To see a better day. At eighty-four

I still am strong and hale;—do thou thy part; 390

I will do mine.—I will begin again

With many tasks that were resigned to thee;

Up to the heights, and in among the storms,

Will I without thee go again, and do

All works which I was wont to do alone, 395

Before I knew thy face. Heaven bless thee, Boy!

Thy heart these two weeks has been beating fast

With many hopes; it should be so—yes, yes—

I knew that thou couldst never have a wish

To leave me, Luke; thou hast been bound to me 400

Only by links of love: when thou art gone

What will be left to us!—But I forget

My purposes. Lay now the corner-stone,

As I requested; and hereafter, Luke,

When thou art gone away, should evil men 405

Be thy companions, think of me, my Son,

And of this moment; hither turn thy thoughts,

And God will strengthen thee: amid all fear

And all temptation, Luke, I pray that thou

May'st bear in mind the life thy Fathers lived, 410

Who, being innocent, did for that cause

Bestir them in good deeds. Now, fare thee well—

When thou return'st, thou in this place wilt see

A work which is not here: a covenant

'Twill be between us; but, whatever fate 415

Befall thee, I shall love thee to the last,

And bear thy memory with me to the grave."

The Shepherd ended here; and Luke stooped down,

And, as his Father had requested, laid

The first stone of the Sheep-fold. At the sight 420

The old Man's grief broke from him; to his heart

He pressed his Son, he kissed him and wept;

And to the house together they returned.

—Hushed was that House in peace, or seeming peace,

Ere the night fell:—with morrow's dawn the Boy 425

Began his journey, and when he had reached

The public way, he put on a bold face;

And all the neighbors, as he passed their doors,

Came forth with wishes and with farewell prayers,

That followed him till he was out of sight. 430

A good report did from their Kinsman come,

Of Luke and his well doing: and the Boy

Wrote loving letters, full of wondrous news,

Which, as the Housewife phrased it, were throughout

"The prettiest letters that were ever seen." 435

Both parents read them with rejoicing hearts.

So, many months passed on; and once again

The Shepherd went about his daily work

With confident and cheerful thoughts; and now

Sometimes when he could find a leisure hour 440

He to that valley took his way, and there

Wrought at the Sheep-fold. Meantime Luke began

To slacken in his duty; and, at length,

He in the dissolute city gave himself

To evil courses: ignominy and shame 445

Fell on him, so that he was driven at last

To seek a hiding place beyond the seas.

There is a comfort in the strength of love;

'Twill make a thing endurable, which else

Would overset the brain, or break the heart: 450

I have conversed with more than one who well

Remember the old Man, and what he was

Years after he had heard this heavy news.

His bodily frame had been from youth to age

Of an unusual strength. Among the rocks 455

He went, and still looked up to sun and cloud,

And listened to the wind; and, as before,

Performed all kinds of labor for his sheep,

And for the land, his small inheritance.

And to that hollow dell from time to time 460

Did he repair, to build the Fold of which

His flock had need. 'Tis not forgotten yet

The pity which was then in every heart

For the old Man—and 'tis believed by all

That many and many a day he thither went, 465

And never lifted up a single stone.

There by the Sheep-fold, sometimes was he seen

Sitting alone, or with his faithful Dog,

Then old, beside him, lying at his feet.

The length of full seven years, from time to time 570

He at the building of this Sheep-fold wrought,

And left the work unfinished when he died.

Three years, or little more, did Isabel

Survive her Husband; at her death the estate

Was sold, and went into a stranger's hand. 475

The Cottage which was named the EVENING STAR

Is gone—the ploughshare has been through the ground

On which it stood; great changes have been wrought

In all the neighborhood:—yet the oak is left,

That grew beside their door; and the remains 480

Of the unfinished Sheep-fold may be seen

Beside the boisterous brook of Green-head Ghyll.

2. GREEN-HEAD GHYLL. Near Dove Cottage, Wordsworth's home at Grasmere.

GHYLL. A short, steep, and narrow valley with a stream running through it.

5. THE PASTORAL MOUNTAINS. In Professor Knight's Life of Wordsworth are found fragments which the poet intended for Michael and which were recovered from Dorothy Wordsworth's manuscript book. Among these are the following lines, which as Professor Dowden suggests, are given as Wordsworth's answer to the question, "What feeling for external nature had such a man as Michael?" The lines, which correspond to lines 62–77 of the poem, are as follows;

"No doubt if you in terms direct had asked

Whether beloved the mountains, true it is

That with blunt repetition of your words

He might have stared at you, and said that they

Were frightful to behold, but had you then

Discoursed with him … . … .

Of his own business and the goings on

Of earth and sky, then truly had you seen

That in his thoughts there were obscurities,

Wonder and admiration, things that wrought

Not less than a religion of his heart."

17. In Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal for October 11, 1800, we read: "After dinner, we walked up Greenhead Gill in search of a sheepfold … The sheepfold is falling away. It is built in the form of a heart unequally divided."

48. THE MEANING OF ALL WINDS. This is not a figurative Statement. Michael knows by experience whether the sound and direction of the wind forebode storm or fair weather—precisely the practical kind of knowledge which a herdsman should possess.

51. SUBTERRANEOUS. The meaning of this word has given rise to discussion. "Subterraneous" cannot here be literally employed, unless it refer to the sound of the wind in hollow places, and beneath overhanging crags.

51–52. LIKE THE NOISE, etc. Is there a special appropriateness in the use of a Scottish simile? What is the general character of the similes throughout the poem?

56–77. Wordsworth never attributes to Michael the subtler and more philosophical sensations which he himself derived from nature. Such poems as The Prelude or The Excursion contain many elevated passages on the influence of nature, which would have been exceedingly inappropriate here.

115. Scan this line.

121. NOR CHEERFUL. The epithet seems not well chosen in view of the fact that all the circumstances of their life breathe a spirit of quiet cheerfulness. Surely the light (129–131) was a symbol of cheer.

126. PECULIAR WORK. Bring out the force of the epithet.

134. EASEDALE. Near Grasmere. DUNMAIL-RAISE. The pass leading from Grasmere to Keswick. RAISE. A provincial word meaning "an ascent."

139. THE EVENING STAR. This name was actually given to a neighboring house.

143–152. The love of Michael for Luke is inwrought with his love for his home and for the land which surrounds it. These he desires at his death to hand down unencumbered to his son. "I have attempted," Wordsworth wrote to Poole, "to give a picture of a man of strong mind and lively sensibility, agitated by two of the most powerful affections of the human heart—the parental affection and the love of property, landed property, including the feelings of inheritance, home and personal and family independence."

145. Scan this line.

169. THE CLIPPING TREE. Clipping is the word used in the North of England for shearing. (Wordsworth's note, 1800).

182. Notice the entire absence of pause at the end of the line. Point out other instances of run-on lines (enjambement).

259. PARISH-BOY. Depending on charity.

268–270. Wordsworth added the following note on these lines: "The story alluded to here is well known in the country. The chapel is called Ing's Chapel; and is on the right hand side of the road leading from Kendal to Ambleside."

283. AND TO THE FIELDS WENT FORTH Observe the inconsistency. The conversation took place in the evening. See l. 327.

284f. WITH A LIGHT HEART. Michael's growing misgivings are subtly represented in the following lines, and the renewal of his hopes.

367–368. These lines forcibly show how tenaciously Michael's feelings were rooted in the soil of his home. Hence the extreme pathos of the situation.

388. Observe the dramatic force of this line.

393–396. What unconscious poetry there is in the old man's words!

420. Scan this line.

445. Scan this line.

466. Matthew Arnold commenting on this line says; "The right sort of verse to choose from Wordsworth, if we are to seize his true and most characteristic form of expression, is a line like this from Michael: 'And never lifted up a single stone.' There is nothing subtle in it, no heightening, no study of poetic style strictly so called, at all; yet it is an expression of the highest and most truly expressive kind."

467f. Note the noble simplicity and pathos of these closing lines. There is a reserved force of pent-up pathos here, which without effort reaches the height of dramatic effectiveness.