Under Green Leaves: William Shakespeare, William Blake, John Keats, Mary Howitt, Robert Herrick & others

by Richard Henry Stoddard (Editor)

Overview

This treasury of verse rejoices in the pleasures of the countryside and the beauty of the outdoors. Originally published in the mid-19th century, Under Green Leaves offers a wealth of poetry inspired by nature, from lyrics by English dramatists such as William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Beaumont and Fletcher, to works by Metaphysical, Romantic, and Victorian poets.
Dozens of enchanting verses include William Blake's "Piping Down the Valleys Wild," "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats, Andrew Marvell's "The Garden," and Thomas Campbell's "To the Evening Star." No compilation of nature poetry would be complete without contributions from William Wordsworth, whose "Lines Written in Early Spring" and "To a Skylark" appear here. Other featured poets include John Milton, Alfred Tennyson, Robert Herrick, George Herbert, Mary Howitt, and many other writers whose meditations on flowers, birds, woodlands, and summer evenings remain ever green.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486828251
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	01/10/2018
Series:	Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	873 KB

About the Author

Poet and literary critic Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903) reviewed literature for the New York World and was an editor for Vanity Fair, The Aldine, and other periodicals. He worked as an inspector of customs at the Port of New York as well as George B. McClellan's confidential clerk and as city librarian of New York. His poem "Roses and Thorns" was set to music by Tchaikovsky.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Song

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me,
Who doth ambition shun,
The Greenwood

W. L. BOWLES
Oh! when 'tis summer weather,
But when 'tis winter weather,
Summer Woods

MARY HOWITT
Come ye into the summer woods;
I cannot tell you half the sights Of beauty you may see,
There, lightly swung, in bowery glades,
There grows the four-leaved plant, "true love,"
And many a merry bird is there,
Come down, and ye shall see them all,
And far within that summer wood,
There come the little gentle birds,
And dash about and splash about,
I've seen the freakish squirrels drop Down from their leafy tree,
And down unto the running brook,
The nodding plants they bowed their heads,
Oh, how my heart ran o'er with joy!
And many a wood-mouse dwelleth there,
The green shoots grow above their heads,
There is enough for every one,
In the Wood

ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER
In the wood, where shadows are deepest From the branches overhead,
Some magical words she uttered I alone could understand,
And I stood in a strange enchantment;
That never, ah, never, never,
When in the Woods I Wander

LORD (EDWARD) THURLOW
When in the woods I wander all alone,
Under the Trees

ANONYMOUS

When the summer days are bright and long,
When winter comes, and the days are dim,
Summer or winter, day or night,
Song in Praise of Spring

BARRY CORNWALL
When the wind blows In the sweet rose-tree,
Where come the sheep?
Song BEAUMONT AND FLETCHER

(1584–1616) (1579–1625)

Now the lusty Spring is seen Golden yellow, gaudy blue.
Everywhere, on every green,
Yet the lusty Spring hath stayed;
Cherries kissing as they grow,
Lines Written in Early Spring

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I heard a thousand blended notes,
To her fair works did Nature link The human soul that through me ran;
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The birds around me hopped and played,
The budding twigs spread out their fan To catch the breezy air;
If this belief from heaven be sent,
Song of Spring

EDWARD YOUL
Laud the first spring daisies;
Take them to the little girls who are at work in mills:
Freely shouted to the woods, till all the echoes ring.
See the birds together,
Sparrow, robin, redpole, finch, the linnet, and the wren;
Clothe, and seek your pleasure in their green apparel.
Pluck the primroses; pluck the violets;
Friendship with the flowers some noble thought begets.
Learn of these gentle flowers, whose worth is more, than gold.
Are ready to be woven into garlands for the good.
Worship the God of Nature in your childhood;
Song

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
When daisies pied, and violets blue,
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
To Daffodils

ROBERT HERRICK
Fair daffodils! we weep to see You haste away so soon;
To Blossoms

ROBERT HERRICK
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree,
What! were ye born to be An hour or half's delight,
But you are lovely leaves, where we May read how soon things have Their end, though ne'er so brave;
To Primroses

FILLED WITH MORNING DEW.

ROBERT HERRICK
Why do ye weep, sweet babes? Can tears Speak grief in you,
Speak, whimpering younglings, and make known The reason why Ye droop and weep.
(Continues…)

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Table of Contents

Song by William Shakespeare,
The Greenwood by W. L. Bowles,
Summer Woods by Mary Howitt,
In the Wood by Adelaide Anne Procter,
When in the Woods I Wander by Lord Thurlow,
Under the Trees by Anonymous,
Song in Praise of Spring by Barry Cornwall,
Song by Beaumont and Fletcher,
Lines Written in Early Spring by William Wordsworth,
Song of Spring by Edward Youl,
Song by William Shakespeare,
To Daffodils by Robert Herrick,
To Blossoms by Robert Herrick,
To Primroses by Robert Herrick,
The Primrose by John Clare,
Song: On May Morning by John Milton,
Song to May by Lord Thurlow,
The Queen of the May by George Darley,
Song by Thomas Heywood,
To a Skylark by William Wordsworth,
To the Cuckoo by John Logan,
To the Cuckoo by William Wordsworth,
The Green Linnet by William Wordsworth,
Piping down the Valleys Wild by William Blake,
The Lamb by William Blake,
Virtue by George Herbert,
Summer Morning by Thomas Miller,
Birds by Mary Howitt,
The Thrush's Nest by John Clare,
To the Red-breast by John Bampfylde,
The Grasshopper by Abraham Cowley,
The Grasshopper and Cricket by Leigh Hunt,
On the Grasshopper and Cricket by John Keats,
To a Bee by Robert Southey,
To a Butterfly by William Wordsworth,
To the Cicada by William Allingham,
The Waterfall by Alfred B. Street,
Song of the Summer Winds by George Darley,
They Come! The Merry Summer Months by William Motherwell,
Unwatched the Garden by Alfred Lord Tennyson,
The Praise of a Countryman's Life by John Chalkhill,
The Wild Cherry-Tree by Barry Cornwall,
The Garden by Andrew Marvell,
Song by John Ford,
Noon by John Clare,
To a Red Clover Blossom by John Clare,
The Bramble Flower by Ebenezer Elliott,
A Pastoral Song by George Darley,
A Serenade by George Darley,
A Scene by John Clare,
A Lair at Noon by John Clare,
The Summer by Lord Thurlow,
A Summer Ramble by William Cullen Bryant,
A Wish by Samuel Rogers,
Grongar Hill by John Dyer,
The Hamlet by Joseph Warton,
The Evening Wind by William Cullen Bryant,
The Echoing Green by William Blake,
Ode to Evening by William Collins,
Description of a Summer's Eve by Henry Kirke White,
The Wood-cutter's Night Song by John Clare,
To the Nightingale by John Milton,
To the Evening Star by Thomas Campbell,
Move Eastward, Happy Earth by Alfred Tennyson,
Song by Joanna Baillie,
To the Glow-Worm by John Clare,
Song: The Owl by Alfred Lord Tennyson,
To Cynthia by Ben Jonson,
Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats,
Alphabetical List of First Lines,