[Golias]

Yesterday Philip Brown used the word "springtide" or spring-tide" in a sonnet posted on the Metrical Poetry board. Though I think it a lovely word, I can recall seeing it only once in a poem -- in James Joyce's Who Goes Amid the Green Wood?


Who goes amid the green wood
With springtide all adorning her?
Who goes amid the merry green wood
To make it merrier?

Who passes in the sunlight
By ways that know the light footfall?
Who passes in the sweet sunlight
With mien so virginal?

The ways of all the woodland
Gleam with a soft and golden fire?
For whom does all the sunny woodland
Carry so brave attire?

O, it is for my true love
The woods their rich apparel wear
O, it is for my own true love,
That is so young and fair.

I remember reading that Ezra Pound persuaded Harriet Monroe to publish this and another small piece by Joyce in Poetry Magazine at a time when Joyce was quite an unknown. It may have been the first thing of his published in America.

What is the general informed opinion of Joyce as a poet or lyricist? And has anyone seen "springtide" anywhere else in literature?


Golias


[This message has been edited by Golias (edited March 08, 2001).]

[Jim Hayes]

Hi Golias, Joyce is not unknown as a poet as you note, but I'll come back to that later;

"Spring-tide" the word is usually hyphenated, is common parlance here, 'tide' in the sense of 'time'

Whitsun-tide, Easter-tide being other examples.

Jim

[Christopher Mulrooney]

This is a pretty fine and careless poem, which brings to mind certain tunes of Pound and Cummings. I wonder if this is one of those Joyce sang to a guitar.

[Jim Hayes]

Spring-tide, (when hyphenated) Websters; Springtime noun circa 1530

Jim

[robert mezey]

Spring-tide must be fairly common in English
poetry over the centuries. I know Keats uses
it more than once. But it would have fallen
out of use early in the 20th century, I'd
guess. Housmann uses Eastertide, Lammastide,
eventide and I think morningtide, but as far
as I can recall, no spring-tides.

[Alan Sullivan]

Golias, the Joyce poem is indeed songlike and apposite to the posting you mention. I find the phrase "mein so virginal" to be a bit jarring amid such simple language. An odd choice.

I feel sure I've seen the word "spring-tide" used somewhere before, but I just can't place it at the moment.

A.S.

[RCL]

I too have seen it elsewhere (I'll bet at least once in Hopkins) and my American Heritage (3rd) lists it, definition springtime, no hyphens.

------------------
Ralph

[Golias]

Housman uses Eastertide in Lovliest of trees, the cherry now...

But I don't think he uses springtide. Bob says Keates uses it, but so far I have not found it there. Eventide appears in the lyric to The Bells of St. Mary's. Poe uses night-tide in Annabelle Lee. But I'm still looking for springtide anywhere but the Joyce poem.

G.

[This message has been edited by Golias (edited March 09, 2001).]

[Jim Hayes]

Hi G. The Oxford University Press lists "spring-tide" as the title of a poem in old English circa 1300 by "Anonymous" It doesn't include the word in the body of the poem though.

Jim

[Philip Brown]

I have only just seen this discussion. I was directed to it by Golias.
I use spring-tide in the nautical sense as the opposite of neap-tides. Thus a time when the tides are at their limit . You could regard the pauses as neap-tides.

Thanks for your interest

Philip