A Shropshire Lad
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Key: V: Textual Variation. C: Commentary. Q: Question. Glossary
ASL XVIII “Oh, when I was in love with you”
Top ▲ Glossary
| Line | Word | Glossary |
| 5 | Fancy | As a noun: 1. An impulsive desire for something 2. An unfounded belief about something 3. The faculty of using the imagination playfully or inventively 4. Something created by the imagination, especially something of a playful or superficial nature |
Top ▲ Commentary
| Line | Commentary |
| Date: May 1895 (First Draft) and May-June 1895 (Second Draft) | |
| Metre | Four line stanzas, alternately rhymed, with odd numbered lines having eight syllables (iambic quatrameter) and even six syllables (iambic trimeter) |
Top ▲ Variations
| Line | Text | Textual variation |
| 3 | d1 | And miles around] In town \ farm / and field |
| 3 | d2 | \ <In town and field>/ |
| 5 | d1 / d2 |
And] \ But / |
| 5 | d1 | fancy passes by] <shallow fount is dry> \[?flaring] flash is by/, |
| 5 | d2 | fancy \<wonder>/ passes by |
| 7 | d1 | And town \ farm / and field will <see> \ see / that I \ the wonder, it will end, and I / |
| 7 | d2 | <The wonder, it will end, and I> And miles around they say that I |
| 8 | d1 | Am quite myself again \ Shall be myself again / |
| 8 | d2 | <Shall be myself again> → Am quite myself again |
Top ▲ Questions
| Line | Question |
| 7 | Consider the repetition of “And” at the beginning of lines 5, 6 and 7: what effect does it have? |
| Whole poem | What sort of attitude to romantic love does the poem put forward? |
| Whole poem | What is the effect of the regular lines with even numbers of syllables? |
| Whole poem | How would you describe the overall mood of the poem? What has the poet done to create this mood? |