Ultima Thule: Dedication to G. W. G.
Ultima Thule: Dedication to G. W. G.
Original Text
The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, with Bibliographical and Critical Notes, Riverside Edition (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1890), III, 235-36. PS 2250 E90 Robarts Library.
3The land where golden apples grow;
4But that, ah! that was long ago.
5How far, since then, the ocean streams
6Have swept us from that land of dreams,
7That land of fiction and of truth,
9Whither, ah, whither? Are not these
11Where sea-gulls scream, and breakers roar,
12And wreck and sea-weed line the shore?
14Here in thy harbors for a while
15We lower our sails; a while we rest
16From the unending, endless quest.
Notes
1] "The collection of poems under this title was published in 1880. The volume bore on the title-page these lines from Horcae (lib. I., Carmen XXX., Ad Apollinem):--
Precor, integrâThe dedication is to his life-long friend, George Washington Greene, who himself dedicated his Life of Nathanael Greene to Mr. Longfellow in words which give a glowing picture of the aspirations of the two in the days of their young manhood." (Editor, p. 234.) Back to Line
Cum mente, nec turpem senectam
Degere, nec citharâ carentem.
2] Hesperides: mythical garden of trees of golden apples, located in the utmost west of the world. Back to Line
8] Atlantis: mythical island-civilization lost under the ocean waters and thought to be west of Gibraltar. Back to Line
10] Orcades: Orkney islands, north of Scotland. Back to Line
13] Ultima Thule: "farthest Thule," a place in northwest Greenland. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1880
Publication Notes
In Ultima Thule
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1998.
Rhyme