The Wordsworth poem for a 4 September 2011 television broadcast of the "Inspector Lewis" series titled - Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things
Memorials of a Tour in Scotland, 1803
VIII. The Solitary Reaper
William Wordsworth
Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?--
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?
Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;--
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.
Initial Post: 2011-07-15 1757
Status To Date: 2011-08-09 1436
Books read:
1. Brenner Assignment, The - Patrick K. O'Donnell
2. Gold Age Trilogy, The - John C. Wright
3. Dreadnought - Cherie Priest
4. Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy, The - Mary Simonsen
5. Guns of Navarone, The - Alistair MacLean
6. Black Wolf - Dale Brown
7. Queen's Play (Book 2 of the Lymond Chronicles) - Dorothy Dunnett
8. Key to Rebecca, The - Ken Follett
Two of these read books with written reviewes posted at Amazon.com
1. Brenner Assignment, The - Patrick K. O'Donnell
2. Golden Age, Book 1 - John C. Wright
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