“The Storm-Wind” Introduction

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“The Storm-Wind” Summary

“The Storm-Wind” Themes

• 

  The Awesome Power of Nature

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• 

  The Comfort and Safety of Home

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Storm-Wind”

• Lines 1-6

  When the swift-rolling brook, swollen deep,
  Rushes on by the alders, full speed,
  And the wild-blowing winds lowly sweep
  O'er the quivering leaf and the weed,
  And the willow tree writhes in each limb,
  Over sedge-beds that reel by the brim—

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-12

  The man that is staggering by
  Holds his hat to his head by the brim;
  And the girl, as her hair-locks outfly,
  Puts a foot out, to keep herself trim,
  And the quivering wavelings o'erspread
  The small pool where the bird dips his head.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-18

  But out at my house, in the lee
  Of the nook, where the winds die away,
  The light swimming airs, round the tree
  And the low-swinging ivy stem, play
  So soft that a mother that's nigh
  Her still cradle may hear her babe sigh.

  

  

  

  

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“The Storm-Wind” Symbols

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  The Storm-Wind

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“The Storm-Wind” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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“The Storm-Wind” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Swift-rolling brook
• Alders
• Lowly
• O'er
• Quivering
• Weed
• Writhes
• Sedge-beds
• Reel
• Brim
• Outfly
• Trim
• Wavelings
• O'erspread
• Lee
• Nook
• Nigh
• Babe

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Storm-Wind”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Storm-Wind” Speaker

“The Storm-Wind” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Storm-Wind”

More “The Storm-Wind” Resources

• External Resources

  • Remembering William Barnes — Watch a recent celebration of Barnes's life and work, which includes numerous readings of his poems.

  • Victorian Nature Poetry — Learn more about Victorian poets' attitudes towards the natural world.

  • Visit Dorset — Check out the tourism website for Barnes's hometime (which likely inspired the scene in "The Storm-Wind").

  • The William Barnes Society — Learn more about the poet's life and work from the society set up in his name.