Sonnet to the River Otter
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Dear native brook! wild streamlet of the West!
How many various-fated years have passed,
What happy and what mournful hours, since last
I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast,
Numbering its light leaps! Yet so deep impressed
Sink the sweet scenes of childhood, that mine eyes
I never shut amid the sunny ray,
But straight with all their tints thy waters rise,
Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey,
And bedded sand that, veined with various dyes,
Gleamed through thy bright transparence! On my way,
Visions of childhood! oft have ye beguiled
Lone manhood's cares, yet waking fondest sighs:
Ah! that once more I were a careless child!
Analysis of the Poem
What is the Theme?
The theme can be described as the longing for childhood days, as evident by these quotes:
"Ah! that once more I were a careless child!"
"Yet so deep impressed, Sink the sweet scenes of childhood,"
Poetic Techniques Used...
Imagery:
"I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast, Numbering its light leaps!"
"Thy crossing plank, thy marge with willows grey, And bedded sand that, veined with various dyes, Gleamed through thy bright transparence!"
Rhyme Scheme:
"Dear native brook! wild streamlet of the West! (A)
How many various-fated years have passed, (B)
What happy and what mournful hours, since last (B)
I skimmed the smooth thin stone along thy breast, (A)"
etc...