riant 1: In 1819 Wordsworth wrote the opening stanza of his version
of 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale', in the album of Mrs. Calvert at
Keswick, thus:

'The God of Love--ah, benedicite!'
How mighty and how great a Lord is He!
High can he make the heart that's low and poor,
And high hearts low--through pains that they endure,
And hard hearts, He can make them kind and free.

W. W., Nov. 27, 1819.]

[Variant 2:

1842.

... have heard ... 1841.]

[Variant 3:

1842

... sorrow's ... 1841.]

[Variant 4:

1842.

... gentleness ... 1841.]

[Variant 5:

1842.

... gentleness, ... 1841.]

* * * * *

FOOTNOTES ON THE TEXT

[Footnote A: The following extracts from Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal
show the date of the composition of this poem.

"Sunday, 6th December 1801. A very fine beautiful sun-shiny morning.
William worked a while at Chaucer; then he set forward to walk into
Easdale.... In the afternoon I read Chaucer aloud."

"Monday, 7th.... William at work with Chaucer, 'The God of Love'...."

"8th November ... William worked at 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale'
till he was tired."

"Wednesday, December 9th. I read 'Palemon and Arcite', William writing
out his alterations of Chaucer's 'Cuckoo and Nightingale'."

The question as to whether 'The Cuckoo and the Nightingale' was written
by Chaucer or not, may be solved either way without affecting the
literary value of Wordsworth's "modernisation" of it.--Ed.]

[Footnote B: In 'The Poems of Geoffrey Chaucer Modernised'.--Ed.]

[Footnote C:

"In 'The Cuckoo and Nightingale', a poem of the third of May--a date
corresponding to the mid-May, the very heart of May according to our
modern reckoning--the poet after a wakeful night rises, and goes forth
at dawn, and comes to a 'laund' or plain 'of white and green.'

'So feire oon had I nevere in bene,
The grounde was grene, y poudred with dayse,
The floures and the gras ilike al hie,
Al grene and white, was nothing elles sene.'

Nothing seen but the short green grass and the white daisies,--grass
and daisies being of equal height. Unfortunately in Tyrwhitt's text
the description is nonsensical,

'The flowres and the greves like hie.'

The daisy flowers are as high as the _groves_! Wordsworth retained the
groves, but refused to make daisies of equal height with t