I love thee

[Prince Smiles]

For a cook, Eliza Acton was a not too shabby poet:

I LOVE thee, as I love the calm
Of sweet, star-lighted hours!
I love thee, as I love the balm
Of early jes'mine flow'rs.

I love thee, as I love the last
Rich smile of fading day,
Which lingereth, like the look we cast,
On rapture pass'd away.

I love thee as I love the tone
Of some soft-breathing flute
Whose soul is wak'd for me alone,
When all beside is mute.

I love thee as I love the first
Young violet of the spring;
Or the pale lily, April-nurs'd,
To scented blossoming.

I love thee, as I love the full,
Clear gushings of the song,
Which lonely--sad--and beautiful--
At night-fall floats along,

Pour'd by the bul-bul forth to greet
The hours of rest and dew;
When melody and moonlight meet
To blend their charm, and hue.

I love thee, as the glad bird loves
The freedom of its wing,
On which delightedly it moves
In wildest wandering.

I love thee as I love the swell,
And hush, of some low strain,
Which bringeth, by its gentle spell,
The past to life again.

Such is the feeling which from thee
Nought earthly can allure:
'Tis ever link'd to all I see
Of gifted--high--and pure!

Eliza Acton's 'Modern Cookery For Private Families' is famed as being the best written cookbook in existence. Here's a link for the book, judge for thyself:

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/acton-preface.php

[Bad Grass]

I love it. Very deep.
Archaic makes it better.
'Nought' is not not, but nothing.

[Bad Grass]

I write poems like that myself.
Thank you for the post. Beautiful.

[Prince Smiles]

'Nought' is not not, but nothing.

I did not know that. Thanks for the heads up Bad Grass.

[Bad Grass]

Actually Smiles, Thank you.

I never heard of her before. But she will now be on top of my list for reading.

Per her poem, Eliza has an affinity for evening and the things only it can bring about.

Only at a certain hour does the earth release her scents and she savors them.

Her explicit use of ‘thee’ implies not only does she love these hours, but has relationship with it.

She never once used the word ‘you’, being formal but ‘thee’ being informal, reserved for
Intimacy. But I’m not back-tracking to when thee and thou was used in hierarchy.

I love this style of writing.

She intentionally fell back on Early Modern English for its beauty. Only during this time did English have an equivalent of Tu and Vous. No more do we use the variants thee, thou, thy and thine.
It’s a shame.

What better way to say ‘I love you’ (which applies to anyone who reads it) than to say ‘To thee whom I love’ (which is aimed at a particular subject).

[Prince Smiles]

Bad Grass, some brilliant observations sir.

It is of most interest that you examine the use of archaic pronouns.

I am currently reading Fielding's 'Tom Jones' and came across the word, 'prithee' twice on page 622 of the novel.

Looking up the word led to many interesting digressions re, arachaic language.

Bad Grass, may I ask your opinion as to why Eliza chose the bulbul bird in the poem?

Pour'd by the bul-bul forth to greet
The hours of rest and dew;
When melody and moonlight meet
To blend their charm, and hue.


The poem has a very 'English' feel to it but the pulpul is found in Africa, The Middle East, Asia, but not Europe. (I might be mistaken here)


'Dew' strongely suggests England to my mind and the bul-bul the orient.

Best wishes.

[Hildegard52]

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[radiantsar]

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[Bad Grass]

Smiles,
I haven’t read Tom Jones. But ‘prithee’ simply means ‘I pray thee’. It’s a plea. I don’t like the word because there are no rules governing it. But it’s valid nonetheless.

I am not familiar with the bulbul. It sounds like you know more about it. But being that it is used in a poem, perhaps Eliza was reflecting on another place and not necessarily England. Maybe she was blessed with seeing the bulbul while traveling elsewhere. I really can’t say.

On a different note, I hope today I am able to download the poems by Eliza Acton.

[Prince Smiles]

But being that it is used in a poem, perhaps Eliza was reflecting on another place and not necessarily England. Maybe she was blessed with seeing the bulbul while traveling elsewhere.

Yes, that was my train of thought. The presence of the bubul gives the poem a more worldly feel.

I am not sure when Eliza penned the work but her book of poems was published in 1826.
Just a silly supposition on my part, but John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale was written in 1819. So there is a good chance that the nightingale was already otherwise engaged while Eliza was occupied with her work.

Apparently the bubul is often confused with the nightingale, so perhaps it was Eliza's way of expressing the element of confusion in love?

Bad Grass,
the best of luck on your quest for more of Eliza's work. I shall be joining you once I have dealt with that incorrigible rascal, Thomas Jones.

Best wishes to you,

P. Smiles

[Kingbob]

I love thee，different style，different emotion，conveying a feeling of power，love！