The Grasshopper
The Grasshopper - context Summary
Published in 1863
This short pastoral poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson was published in 1863 in The Poetical Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. It fits Tennyson’s Victorian interest in nature and the passage of time, celebrating the grasshopper’s exuberant, brief youth while quietly acknowledging mortality. The poem’s publication within his collected works presents it as part of his wider meditations on life, joy, and the transience of summer pleasures.
Read Complete AnalysesI Voice of the summerwind, Joy of the summerplain, Life of the summerhours, Carol clearly, bound along. No Tithon thou as poets feign (Shame fall ’em they are deaf and blind) But an insect lithe and strong, Bowing the seeded summerflowers. Prove their falsehood and thy quarrel, Vaulting on thine airy feet. Clap thy shielded sides and carol, Carol clearly, chirrup sweet. Thou art a mailéd warrior in youth and strength complete; Armed cap-a-pie, Full fair to see; Unknowing fear, Undreading loss, A gallant cavalier Sans peur et sans reproche, In sunlight and in shadow, The Bayard of the meadow. II I would dwell with thee, Merry grasshopper, Thou art so glad and free, And as light as air; Thou hast no sorrow or tears, Thou hast no compt of years, No withered immortality, But a short youth sunny and free. Carol clearly, bound along, Soon thy joy is over, A summer of loud song, And slumbers in the clover. What hast thou to do with evil In thine hour of love and revel, In thy heat of summerpride, Pushing the thick roots aside Of the singing flowered grasses, That brush thee with their silken tresses? What hast thou to do with evil, Shooting, singing, ever springing In and out the emerald glooms, Ever leaping, ever singing, Lighting on the golden blooms?
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