Adown Winding Nith I Did Wander
written in 1793
Adown Winding Nith I Did Wander - fact Summary
Dedicated to Phillis
Written in 1793, this is a short romantic piece addressed to a woman named Phillis. The speaker wanders beside the River Nith and uses pastoral floral imagery—the daisy, rose, lily, and woodbine—to praise her. The poem sets up a contrast between outward, fleeting beauty and the lasting moral worth the speaker attributes to Phillis. Its central claim is that she surpasses other “belles” not only in appearance but in virtue, so that meeting her is meeting the "Queen of the Fair."
Read Complete AnalysesAdown winding Nith I did wander, To mark the sweet flowers as they spring; Adown winding Nith I did wander, Of Phillis to muse and to sing. Awa wi' your Belles and your Beauties, They never wi' her can compare: Wha-ever has met wi' my Phillis, Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair. The Daisy amus'd my fond fancy, So artless, so simple, so wild: Thou emblem, said I, o' my Phillis, For she is simplicity's child. The rose-bud's the blush o' my Charmer, Her sweet balmy lip when 'tis prest: How fair and how pure is the lily, But fairer and purer her breast. Yon knot of gay flowers in the arbour, They ne'er wi' my Phillis can vie: Her breath is the breath o' the woodbine, Its dew-drop o' diamond, her eye. Her voice is the songs of the morning, That wake thro' the green-spreading grove; When Phebus peeps over the mountains On music, and pleasure, and love. But Beauty, how frail and how fleeting, The bloom of a fine summer's day; While Worth in the mind of my Phillis Will flourish without a decay. Awa wi' your Belles and your Beauties, They never wi' her can compare: Wha-ever has met wi' my Phillis, Has met wi' the Queen o' the Fair.
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