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HART'S HORN TREE, NEAR PENRITH by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Poet Analysis

First Line: HERE STOOD AN OAK, THAT LONG HAD BORNE AFFIXED
Last Line: VERSE THAT WOULD GUARD THY MEMORY, HART'S-HORN TREE!
Subject(s): OAK TREES; SCOTLAND;

HERE stood an Oak, that long had borne affixed
To his huge trunk, or, with more subtle art,
Among its withering topmost branches mixed,
The palmy antlers of a hunted Hart,
Whom the Dog Hercules pursued -- his part
Each desperately sustaining, till at last
Both sank and died, the life-veins of the chased
And chaser bursting here with one dire smart.
Mutual the victory, mutual the defeat!
High was the trophy hung with pitiless pride;
Say, rather, with that generous sympathy
That wants not, even in rudest breasts, a seat;
And, for this feeling's sake, let no one chide
Verse that would guard thy memory, HART'S-HORN TREE!




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