Composed on the Eve of the Marriage of a Friend
In The Vale Of Grasmere
Composed on the Eve of the Marriage of a Friend - meaning Summary
Humble Blessing, Deepening Love
Wordsworth presents a quiet, modest marriage scene in the Vale of Grasmere, rejecting ostentation in favor of a plain, sanctified blessing. The bride's reserved, gentle character—apparently faultless—suits the simple occasion. The poem acknowledges that marriage will reveal human frailty, yet frames that disclosure not as ruinous but as a means for the wife to be loved more deeply by an indulgent husband.
Read Complete AnalysesWHAT need of clamorous bells, or ribands gay, These humble nuptials to proclaim or grace? Angels of love, look down upon the place; Shed on the chosen vale a sun-bright day! Yet no proud gladness would the Bride display Even for such promise:--serious is her face, Modest her mien; and she, whose thoughts keep pace With gentleness, in that becoming way Will thank you. Faultless does the Maid appear; No disproportion in her soul, no strife: But, when the closer view of wedded life Hath shown that nothing human can be clear From frailty, for that insight may the Wife To her indulgent Lord become more dear.
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