[Poem] LUCY GRAY - A Poignant Story of Innocence, Isolation, and Loss

Lucy Gray

Lucy Gray - William Wordsworth

/Lucy Gray - William Wordsworth/

A Haunting Story of a Solitary Child and Nature’s Mystery

Original Poem (English), line by line:




Oft I had heard of Lucy Gray:

And, when I crossed the wild,

I chanced to see at break of day

The solitary child.



No mate, no comrade Lucy knew;

She dwelt on a wide moor—

The sweetest thing that ever grew

Beside a human door!



You yet may spy the fawn at play,

The hare upon the green;

But the sweet face of Lucy Gray

Will never more be seen.



‘To-night will be a stormy night—

You to the town must go;

And take a lantern, Child, to light

Your mother through the snow.’



‘That, Father! will I gladly do:

’Tis scarcely afternoon—

The minster-clock has just struck two,

And yonder is the moon!’



At this the Father raised his hook,

And snapped a faggot-band;

He plied his work;—and Lucy took

The lantern in her hand.



Not blither is the mountain roe:

With many a wanton stroke

Her feet disperse the powdery snow,

That rises up like smoke.



The storm came on before its time:

She wandered up and down;

And many a hill did Lucy climb:

But never reached the town.



The wretched parents all that night

Went shouting far and wide;

But there was neither sound nor sight

To serve them for a guide.



At day-break on a hill they stood

That overlooked the moor;

And thence they saw the bridge of wood,

A furlong from their door.



They wept—and, turning homeward, cried,

‘In heaven we all shall meet;’

—When in the snow the mother spied

The print of Lucy’s feet.



Then downwards from the steep hill’s edge

They tracked the footmarks small;

And through the broken hawthorn hedge,

And by the long stone-wall;



And then an open field they crossed:

The marks were still the same;

They tracked them on, nor ever lost;

And to the bridge they came.



They followed from the snowy bank

Those footmarks, one by one,

Into the middle of the plank;

And further there were none!



—Yet some maintain that to this day

She is a living child;

That you may see sweet Lucy Gray

Upon the lonesome wild.



O’er rough and smooth she trips along,

And never looks behind;

And sings a solitary song

That whistles in the wind.

William Wordsworth’s “Lucy Gray” recounts the eerie and moving tale of a young girl who ventures out during a snowstorm and disappears, leaving only faint footprints. The poem begins by establishing Lucy’s solitary life on the moors, highlighting her unique purity and the absence of human companions. When her father sends her to guide her mother home through the coming storm, she departs confidently, unaware of the danger that awaits. As darkness and blizzard conditions descend, Lucy loses her way.

The poem then shifts to the frantic search by Lucy’s parents, who scour the moors through the night, unable to find any trace of her. The next morning, they spot footprints in the snow that end abruptly in the middle of a bridge. Though Lucy is never found, the concluding stanzas note that some still believe she roams the wild, eternally a child who merges with the landscape.

“Lucy Gray” resonates with several Romantic themes. First, there is an emphasis on the natural world’s power and mystery, embodied by the sudden snowstorm that envelops Lucy’s path. Second, the poem underscores the poignant vulnerability of innocence, as Lucy—alone and unprotected—embodies childlike faith in her ability to navigate nature. Third, there is a sense of merging human identity with nature. By poem’s end, Lucy seems to become part of the wild itself, forever wandering among the hills and the wind. Wordsworth elevates the tragic story to a sort of folklore or legend, suggesting that Lucy’s spirit endures in the moorland as a solitary presence.

This blend of narrative detail and emotive language illustrates Wordsworth’s broader fascination with solitude, childhood, and the interplay between human lives and the natural environment. Although “Lucy Gray” offers a stark reminder of life’s fragility and unpredictability, it also suggests that some essence of innocence may transcend ordinary human boundaries—an idea that speaks to the Romantic faith in nature’s enduring force and the transformative power of imagination. (Approx. 300 words)

Key points

1. Lucy embodies innocence, rendered vulnerable by nature’s vast unpredictability.
2. The sudden snowstorm symbolizes the untamed power of the natural world.
3. Parental love and desperation highlight the tragedy of her disappearance.
4. The poem merges folklore and reality, suggesting Lucy’s spirit endures in the wild.
5. Wordsworth explores how solitude and nature can simultaneously nurture and overwhelm humanity.

Time really flies when you're having fun!
Available in