The Excursion

The Excursion: Being a portion of The Recluse, a poem is a long poem by Romantic poet William Wordsworth and was first published in 1814. It was intended to be the second part of The Recluse, an unfinished larger work that was also meant to include The Prelude, Wordsworth's other long poem, which was eventually published posthumously. The exact dates of its composition are unknown, but the first manuscript is generally dated as either September 1806 or December 1809. Quotes Of blessed consolations in distress. Preface to the Excursion (Edition, 1814) The vision and the faculty divine;Yet wanting the accomplishment of verse. Book I - The Wanderer, l. 79 Strongest mindsAre often those of whom the noisy worldHears least. Book I - The Wanderer, l. 91 The imperfect offices of prayer and praise. Book I - The Wanderer, l. 216 He gazed upon that mighty orb of song,The divine Milton. Book I - The Wanderer, l. 249 The good die first,And they whose hearts are dry as summer dustBurn to the socket. Book I - The Wanderer, l. 500 This dull product of a scoffer's pen. Book II - The Solitary, l. 484 With battlements that on their restless frontsBore stars. Book II - The Solitary, l. 844 Wisdom is ofttimes nearer when we stoopThan when we soar. Book III - Despondency, l. 231 Wrongs unredressed, or insults unavenged. Book III - Despondency, l. 374 Monastic brotherhood, upon rockAerial. Book III - Despondency, l. 393 The intellectual power, through words and things,Went sounding on, a dim and perilous way! Book III - Despondency, l. 700 Compare: Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding on,Through words and things, a dim and perilous way. - Borderers, written 18 years before Excursion. Society became my glittering bride,And airy hopes my children. Book III - Despondency, l. 735 And the most difficult of tasks to keepHeights which the soul is competent to gain. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 139 For by superior energies; more strict Affiance in each other; faith more firm In their unhallowed principles; the bad Have fairly earned a victory o'er the weak, The vacillating, inconsistent good. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 305 There is a luxury in self-dispraise;And inward self-disparagement affordsTo meditative spleen a grateful feast. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 475 Recognizes ever and anonThe breeze of Nature stirring in his soul. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 600 Lost in a gloom of uninspired research. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 626 We live by Admiration, Hope and Love. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 763 Pan himself,The simple shepherd's awe-inspiring god! Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 886 I have seenA curious child, who dwelt upon a tractOf inland ground, applying to his earThe convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell;To which, in silence hushed, his very soulListened intensely; and his countenance soonBrightened with joy; for from within were heardMurmurings, whereby the monitor expressedMysterious union with its native sea. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 1132 So build we up the being that we are. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 1264 One in whom persuasion and beliefHad ripened into faith, and faith becomeA passionate intuition. Book IV - Despondency Corrected, l. 1293 Spires whose "silent finger points to heaven." Book VI - The Churchyard among the Mountains, l. 19 Ah, what a warning for a thoughtless man,Could field or grove, could any spot of earth,Show to his eye an image of the pangsWhich it hath witnessed,—render back an echoOf the sad steps by which it hath been trod! Book VI - The Churchyard among the Mountains, l. 806 Wild is the music of the autumnal windAmong the faded woods. Book VI - The Churchyard among the Mountains, l. 858; these lines appear only in the earliest editions of The Excursion; they were re-written for the 1837 edition And when the streamWhich overflowed the soul was passed away,A consciousness remained that it had leftDeposited upon the silent shoreOf memory images and precious thoughtsThat shall not die, and cannot be destroyed. Book VII - The Churchyard among the Mountains, cont., l. 25 Wisdom married to immortal verse. Book VII - The Churchyard among the Mountains, cont., l. 536 A man he seems of cheerful yesterdaysAnd confident tomorrows. Book VII - The Churchyard among the Mountains, cont., l. 557 The primal duties shine aloft, like stars;The charities that soothe and heal and blessAre scattered at the feet of man like flowers. Book IX - Discourse of the Wanderer, and an Evening Visit to the Lake, l. 238 In a deep pool, by happy chance we sawA twofold image: on a grassy bankA snow-white ram, and in the crystal floodAnother and the same! Book IX - Discourse of the Wanderer, and an Evening Visit to the Lake, l. 439 External links The Excursion at Bartleby.com. Category:Poetry