The Well of St. Keyne
Robert Southey
1774 to 1843
Track 1
Reconstruct the poem by dragging each line into its correct position. Your goal is to reassemble the original poem as accurately as possible. As you move the lines, you'll see whether your arrangement is correct, helping you explore the poem's flow and meaning. You can also print out the jumbled poem to cut up and reassemble in the classroom. Either way, take your time, enjoy the process, and discover how the poet's words come together to create something truly beautiful.
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"Now art thou a bachelor, Stranger?" quoth he,
He to the Cornish-man said:
And left my Wife in the porch;
Droops to the water below.
"I hasten'd as soon as the wedding was done,
And a clearer one never was seen;
"St. Keyne," quoth the Cornish-man, "many a time
"You drank of the Well I warrant betimes?"
She has drank of the Well of St. Keyne."
Joyfully he drew nigh,
A traveller came to the Well of St. Keyne;
There is not a wife in the west country
"For an if thou hast a wife,
And drank of the water again.
Shall drink before his Wife,
"But if the Wife should drink of it first,—
But the Cornish-man smiled as the Stranger spake,
That ever thou didst in thy life.
For he shall be Master for life.
A Well there is in the west country,
And he bade the Stranger hail.
And a willow from the bank above
For an if she have, I'll venture my life
"I have left a good woman who never was here."
And behind doth an ash-tree grow,
"If the Husband of this gifted Well
The Stranger he made reply,
"Or has thy good woman, if one thou hast,
For she took a bottle to Church."
"But that my draught should be the better for that,
Drank of this crystal Well,
An oak and an elm-tree stand beside,
But i' faith she had been wiser than me,
God help the Husband then!"
For from the cock-crow he had been travelling,
And there was not a cloud in the sky.
There came a man from the house hard by
I pray you answer me why?"
And before the Angel summon'd her,
On the Well-side he rested it,
And he sat down upon the bank
But has heard of the Well of St. Keyne.
For thirsty and hot was he,
He drank of the water so cool and clear,
She laid on the water a spell.
And sheepishly shook his head.
A happy man thenceforth is he,
The happiest draught thou hast drank this day
Ever here in Cornwall been?
The Stranger stoopt to the Well of St. Keyne,
Under the willow-tree.
At the Well to fill his pail;