To the River Yvette
Birds Of Passage. Flight The Fifth
To the River Yvette - meaning Summary
A River as Bride
Longfellow addresses the River Yvette as a beloved bride, personifying its steady, eager flow toward the Orge. The poem registers local places—Maincourt, Dampierre, St. Forget—and treats the valley of Chevreuse as a fond but unretaining embrace. Its tone is affectionate and admiring, celebrating movement, urgency, and destiny. Birds echo the river’s song while the wandering poet adopts that refrain, joining natural and human landscapes in a single, lyrical moment.
Read Complete AnalysesO lovely river of Yvette! O darling river! like a bride, Some dimpled, bashful, fair Lisette, Thou goest to wed the Orge's tide. Maincourt, and lordly Dampierre, See and salute thee on thy way, And, with a blessing and a prayer, Ring the sweet bells of St. Forget. The valley of Chevreuse in vain Would hold thee in its fond embrace; Thou glidest from its arms again And hurriest on with swifter pace. Thou wilt not stay; with restless feet, Pursuing still thine onward flight, Thou goest as one in haste to meet Her sole desire, her heart's delight. O lovely river of Yvette! O darling stream! on balanced wings The wood-birds sang the chansonnette That here a wandering poet sings.
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