List of content: A Wish
A wish
Mine be a cot beside the hill,
A bee-hive’s hum shall sooth my ear;
A willowy brook, that turns a mill,
With many a fall shall linger near.
The swallow, oft, beneath my thatch,
Shall twitter from her clay-built nest;
Oft shall the pilgrim lift the latch,
And share my meal, a welcome guest.
Around my ivy’d porch shall spring
Each fragrant flower that drinks the dew;
And Lucy, at her wheel, shall sing
In russet gown and apron blue.
The village-church,
among the trees,
Where first our marriage-vows were giv’n,
With merry peals shall swell the breeze,
And point with taper spire to heav’n.
Summary and Analysis – A Wish by Samuel Rogers
“A Wish” by Samuel Rogers is a sixteen-line picturesque poem that eloquently portrays the romantic essence of rural life. The poet desires to have a beautiful home surrounded by nature. He masterfully uses various sound imagery throughout the poem, for example, the beehive’s hum, the willowy brook, the swallow’s twitter, Lucy’s singing, and merry peals. These imageries serve to create this auditory landscape where he hopes to share his meal with welcome guests like the pilgrim. He wants this idealistic domestic life to come to life and become a reality. The poem concludes with the image of the village church where he takes his marriage vow. Nature, along with domestic life, ultimately becomes an instrument of heavenly design.
He imagines living in a beautiful cottage beside a hill surrounded by nature. The gentle murmur of the shallow brooks and the beehives’ hum filled his ears. He imagines his porch enclosed by fragrant spring blossoms and his wife, Lucy, singing while working at her spinning wheel: “In a russet gown and apron blue.” Roger’s poetry, “A Wish”, embodies the poet’s longing for simplicity, domestic love, companionship, and, most of all, contentment.
Rhyme Scheme:
Each stanza follows the same rhyme scheme – ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GHGH
Stanza Rhymes Pattern
1. hiil/ear/mill/near – ABAB
2. thatch/nest/latch/guest – CDCD
3. blue/spring/dew/sing – EFEF
4. trees/given/breeze/heaven – GHGH
A. Comprehension:
1. What does the poet wish for in the first stanza?
The poet desires to have a home beside a hill surrounded by all the wonderful and beautiful sights and sounds of nature.
2. What does he expect the shallow to do?
The poet expects to hear the swallow twitter from its clay nest, which it had built under the thatch of his home.
3. How does the poet describe the porch?
The poet gives a picturesque description of the porch. The beautiful porch is overgrown with ivy and many fragrant flowers bloom there during springtime.
4. Who is the “pilgrim” referred to here?.
The pilgrim refers to the wanderer who is going to a pilgrimage, maybe to the church in the village where the poet lives.
Glossary
