Fair Ines
Thomas Hood
1799 to 1845
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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Alas! alas! fair Ines! she went away with song,
I saw thee, lovely Ines, descend along the shore,
And gentle youth and maidens gay, and snowy plumes they wore;—
Farewell, farewell, fair Ines! that vessel never bore
And breathes the love against thy cheek I dare not even write!
With morning blushes on her cheek, and pearls upon her breast.
To dazzle when the sun is down, and rob the world of rest;
But some were sad, and felt no mirth, but only Music's wrong,
Alas for pleasure on the sea, and sorrow on the shore!
With bands of noble gentlemen, and banners waved before;
In sounds that sang Farewell, Farewell to her you've loved so long.
Would I had been, fair Ines, that gallant cavalier
O saw ye not fair Ines? she's gone into the west,
She took our daylight with her, the smiles that we love best,
That he should cross the seas to win the dearest of the dear?
It would have been a beauteous dream—if it had been no more!
The smile that blest one lover's heart has broken many more!
And blessèd will the lover be that walks beneath their light,
With music waiting on her steps, and shoutings of the throng;
Who rode so gayly by thy side and whispered thee so near!
So fair a lady on its deck, nor danced so light before—
For fear the moon should shine alone, and stars unrivalled bright;
O turn again, fair Ines, before the fall of night,
Were there no bonny dames at home, or no true lovers here,