“ Sir Knight! they love honour and virtue more.On she went, and her maiden smile In safety lighted her round the green isle; And blest for ever is she who relied Upon Erin's honour and Erin's pride.THE MEETING OF THE WATERS THERE is not in the wide world a valley so sweet, As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart, Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.Yet it was not that Nature had shed o'er the scene Her purest of crystal and brightest of green; 'Twas not her soft magic of streamlet or hill, Oh! ”
Summary
"English Songs and Ballads," an anonymous collection of lyrical and narrative poems, presents a rich mosaic of chivalric stories, romantic sorrows, and folk traditions, reflecting 18th- to 19th-century British literary heritage. Featuring characters such as the gallant Lochinvar, the resolute Mariner, and the sorrowful bride of Afton, the work delves into themes of honor, unrequited affection, and the fleeting beauty of nature, often conveyed through striking imagery and rhythmic poetry.
Sample excerpts highlight courage ("He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone"), yearning for meaning ("Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart"), and the contrast between human vulnerability and idealized loyalty. Organized as a compilation of ballads and songs, the collection echoes the romanticized spirit of earlier times, merging mythic splendor with deeply personal emotions.
Quotes from English Songs and Ballads ()
“ O, young Lochinvar is come out of the west, Through all the wide Border his steed was the best, And save his good broad-sword he weapons had none; He rode all unarmed, and he rode all alone. So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war, There never was knight like the young Lochinvar. He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone, He swam the Eske river where ford there was none; But, ere he alighted at Netherby gate, The bride had consented, the gallant came late For a laggard in love, and a dastard in war, Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar. ”
“ She excels each mortal thing Upon the dull earth dwelling: To her let us garlands bring. SONG Come away, come away, death, And in sad cypress let me be laid; Fly away, fly away, breath; I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, O, prepare it; My part of death no one so true Did share it. Not a flower, not a flower sweet, On my black coffin let there be strown; Not a friend, not a friend greet My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown. A thousand thousand sighs to save, Lay me, O, where Sad true lover ne'er find my grave To weep there. ”
