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Index of First Lines

After night’s thunder far away had rolled Edward Thomas
Ah in the thunder air D H Lawrence
A little learning is a dangerous thing Alexander Pope
All the world’s a stage William Shakespeare
All thoughts, all passions, all delights Samuel Taylor Coleridge
An acre of land between the shore and the hills Edward Thomas
And did those feet in ancient time William Blake
And thou art dead, as young and fair Lord Byron
Art thou poor, yet hast thou golden slumbers? Thomas Dekker
As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage Gerard Manley Hopkins
As a drenched, drowned bee D H Lawrence
As I drive to the junction of lane and highway Thomas Hardy
— A simple child William Wordsworth
As I walk the misty hill Robert Nichols
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame Gerard Manley Hopkins
A slumber did my spirit seal William Wordsworth
A snake came to my water-trough D H Lawrence
A sudden blow: the great wings beating still W B Yeats
A sweet disorder in the dress Robert Herrick
At evening, sitting on this terrace D H Lawrence
At the round earth’s imagin’d corners, blow John Donne
Avenge, O Lord! Thy slaughter’d Saints, whose bones John Milton
A widow bird sate mourning for her Love Percy Bysshe Shelley
Bards of Passion and of Mirth John Keats
Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode G K Chesterton
Behold her, single in the field William Wordsworth
Being your slave, what should I do but tend William Shakespeare
Ben Battle was a soldier bold Thomas Hood
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks Wilfred Owen
Best and Brightest, come away Percy Bysshe Shelley
Bid me to live, and I will live Robert Herrick
Blow, blow, thou winter wind William Shakespeare
Break, break, break Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Busy old fool, unruly sun John Donne
But these things also are Spring’s — Edward Thomas
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea Rudyard Kipling
Calm, sad, secure; behind high convent walls Ernest Dowson
Came the dread Archer up yonder lawn Jean Ingelow
Clouds spout upon her Thomas Hardy
Clunton and Clunbury A E Housman
Come away, come away, Death William Shakespeare
Come, dear children, let us away Matthew Arnold
Come live with me and be my love Christopher Marlowe
Come live with me and be my love John Donne
Come, Madam, come, all rest my powers defy John Donne
Come, my Celia, let us prove Ben Jonson
Come to me in the silence of the night Christina Rossetti
Crabbed Age and Youth William Shakespeare
Death be not proud, though some have called thee John Donne
Degenerate Douglas! O the unworthy lord! William Wordsworth
Does the road wind uphill all the way? Christina Rossetti
Downhill I came, hungry, and yet not starved Edward Thomas
Down on the shore, on the sunny shore! William Allingham
Down the close, darkening lanes they sang their way Wilfred Owen
Drake he’s in his hammock an’ a thousand miles away Sir Henry Newbolt
Drink to me only with thine eyes Ben Jonson
Duncan Gray cam here to woo Robert Burns
Earth has not anything to show more fair: William Wordsworth
Ethereal Minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! William Wordsworth
Ever let the Fancy roam! John Keats
Every valley drinks Christina Rossetti
Fair Daffodils, we weep to see Robert Herrick
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face Robert Burns
Fair pledges of a fruitful tree Robert Herrick
Farewell the softer hours, Spring’s opening blush Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing William Shakespeare
Far in a western brookland A E Housman
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun William Shakespeare
Felix Randal the farrier, O he is dead then? my duty all ended Gerard Manley Hopkins
Flowers to the fair: To you these flowers I bring Anna Laetitia Barbauld
For Mercy, Courage, Kindness, Mirth Laurence Binyon
Four ducks on a pond William Allingham
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year John Keats
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears William Shakespeare
Full many a glorious morning have I seen William Shakespeare
Gather ye rose-buds while ye may Robert Herrick
Give Beauty all her right Thomas Campion
Glory be to God for dappled things — Gerard Manley Hopkins
Go and catch a falling star John Donne
God moves in a mysterious way William Cowper
God of our fathers, known of old Rudyard Kipling
Go fetch to me a pint o’ wine Robert Burns
Go from me, summer friends, and tarry not Christina Rossetti
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes Thomas Dekker
Good people all, of every sort Oliver Goldsmith
Go, shepherd, and untie the wattled cotes! Matthew Arnold
Had we but world enough and time Andrew Marvell
Hail to thee, blithe Spirit! Percy Bysshe Shelley
Half a league, half a league, Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Happy the man, whose wish and care Alexander Pope
He clasps the crag with crooked hands Alfred, Lord Tennyson
He lay, and those who watched him were amazed Robert Nichols
Her arms across her breast she laid Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Here lies, whom hound did ne’er pursue William Cowper
Hereto I come to interview a voiceless ghost Thomas Hardy
How beautiful it is to wake at night Robert Nichols
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How like a winter hath my absence been William Shakespeare
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear Edward Lear
How to kéep — is there ány any, is there none such, nowhere Gerard Manley Hopkins
How vainly men themselves amaze Andrew Marvell
I am monarch of all I survey William Cowper
I am! yet what I am who cares, or knows? John Clare
I arise from dreams of Thee Percy Bysshe Shelley
I care not for these ladies that must be wooed and prayed Thomas Campion
I caught this morning morning's minion, king- Gerard Manley Hopkins
I dream’d that, as I wander’d by the way Percy Bysshe Shelley
If aught of oaten stop, or pastoral song William Collins
I fear thy kisses, gentle maiden Percy Bysshe Shelley
If I should die, think only this of me Rupert Brooke
If thou must love me, let it be for nought Elizabeth Barrett Browning
If you can keep your head when all about you Rudyard Kipling
I had a love in soft south land Christina Rossetti
I have come to the borders of sleep Edward Thomas
I have had playmates, I have had companions Charles Lamb
I have no wit, no words, no tears Christina Rossetti
I heard a thousand blended notes William Wordsworth
I know that I shall meet my fate W B Yeats
I leant upon a coppice gate Thomas Hardy
I look into my glass Thomas Hardy
I loved you first: but afterwards your love Christina Rossetti
Imagine that any mind ever thought a red geranium! D H Lawrence
I met a traveller from an antique land Percy Bysshe Shelley
I mind me in the days departed Elizabeth Barrett Browning
In a drear-nighted December John Keats
In summertime on Bredon A E Housman
In the northern hemisphere D H Lawrence
Into my heart an air that kills A E Housman
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan Samuel Taylor Coleridge
I remember, I remember Thomas Hood
I saw where in the shroud did lurk Charles Lamb
I so liked Spring last year Charlotte Mew
I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he Robert Browning
Is there for honest Poverty Robert Burns
I strove with none, for none was worth my strife Walter Savage Landor
I tell thee, Dick, where I have been Sir John Suckling
It is not growing like a tree Ben Jonson
It little profits that an idle king Alfred, Lord Tennyson
I took her dainty eyes, as well Ernest Dowson
I took my heart in my hand Christina Rossetti
It ought to be lovely to be old D H Lawrence
I travell’d among unknown men William Wordsworth
It seemed that out of battle I escaped Wilfred Owen
It was a lover and his lass William Shakespeare
It was a summer evening Robert Southey
I wandered lonely as a cloud William Wordsworth
I wandered through each chartered street William Blake
I was angry with my friend William Blake
I was not he — the man Thomas Hardy
I weep for Adonais — he is dead! Percy Bysshe Shelley
I went to her who loveth me no more Arthur O’Shaughnessy
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree W B Yeats
I will not let thee go Robert Bridges
I wish I could remember that first day Christina Rossetti
I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I John Donne
Jack and Joan they think no ill Thomas Campion
John Anderson my jo, John Robert Burns
Just now the lilac is in bloom Rupert Brooke
Last night, ah, yesternight, betwixt her lips and mine Ernest Dowson
Last night rain fell over the scarred plateau Robert Nichols
Let me not to the marriage of true minds William Shakespeare
Life! I know not what thou art Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore William Shakespeare
Little Lamb, who made thee? William Blake
Little trotty wagtail he went in the rain John Clare
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now A E Housman
Love’s aftermath! I think the time is now Ernest Dowson
Lo! where the rosy-bosom’d Hours Thomas Gray
Many a green isle needs must be Percy Bysshe Shelley
Márgarét, áre you gríeving Gerard Manley Hopkins
Mary! I want a lyre with other strings William Cowper
May is Mary&rsquos month, and I Gerard Manley Hopkins
Mine be a cot beside the hill Samuel Rogers
Most sweet it is with unuplifted eyes William Wordsworth
Move him into the sun — Wilfred Owen
Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold John Keats
Music, when soft voices die Percy Bysshe Shelley
My days among the Dead are past Robert Southey
My aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled Gerard Manley Hopkins
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains John Keats
My heart is like a singing bird Christina Rossetti
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun William Shakespeare
My sweetest Lesbia, let us live and love Thomas Campion
My true love hath my heart, and I have his Sir Philip Sidney
Never seek to tell thy love William Blake
No longer mourn for me when I am dead William Shakespeare
No, no, fair heretic, it needs must be Sir John Suckling
No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist John Keats
No sun — no moon! Thomas Hood
Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note Charles Wolfe
Not a sign of life we rouse Robert Nichols
Not every man has gentians in his house D H Lawrence
Nothing is so beautiful as spring — Gerard Manley Hopkins
Not, I’ll not, carrion comfort, Despair, not feast on thee; Gerard Manley Hopkins
Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! D H Lawrence
Not marble, nor the gilded monuments William Shakespeare
Nowadays everybody wants to be young D H Lawrence
Now did you mark a falcon Christina Rossetti
Now is the time for the burning of the leaves Laurence Binyon
Now it is autumn and the falling fruit D H Lawrence
Now sleeps the crimson petal, now the white Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Now the last day of many days Percy Bysshe Shelley
Now thou has loved me one whole day John Donne
O blithe new-comer! I have heard William Wordsworth
Of a’ the airts the wind can blaw Robert Burns
Of Nelson and the North Thomas Campbell
Of the old house, only a few crumbled Laurence Binyon
O Earth, lie heavily upon her eyes Christina Rossetti
Oh happy shades — to me unblest! William Cowper
Oh, to be in England Robert Browning
Oh we’ve got to trust D H Lawrence
Old Meg she was a Gipsy John Keats
O love, turn from the unchanging sea, and gaze William Morris
O Mary, at thy window be Robert Burns
O Mistress mine, where are you roaming? William Shakespeare
O my Luve is like a red, red rose Robert Burns
On either side the river lie Alfred, Lord Tennyson
One more Unfortunate Thomas Hood
One morn before me were three figures seen John Keats
O never say that I was false of heart William Shakespeare
One without looks in to-night Thomas Hardy
One word is too often profaned Percy Bysshe Shelley
On he goes, the little one D H Lawrence
On Linden, when the sun was low Thomas Campbell
On Wenlock Edge the wood’s in trouble A E Housman
O rose, thou art sick! William Blake
O saw ye bonnie Lesley Robert Burns
O snatch’d away in beauty’s bloom! Lord Byron
O talk not to me of a name great in story Lord Byron
Our bugles sang truce, for the night-cloud had lower’d Thomas Campbell
Out of the night that covers me William Ernest Henley
Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed Edward Thomas
O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms John Keats
O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being Percy Bysshe Shelley
Queen and Huntress, chaste and fair Ben Jonson
Rarely, rarely, comest thou Percy Bysshe Shelley
Remember me when I am gone away Christina Rossetti
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Scots, wha hae wi’ Wallace bled Robert Burns
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness John Keats
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? William Shakespeare
She dwelt among the untrodden ways William Wordsworth
She had a name among the children Edward Thomas
She walks in beauty, like the night Lord Byron
She was a phantom of delight William Wordsworth
Should auld acquaintance be forgot Robert Burns
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea William Shakespeare
Sleep on, and dream of Heaven awhile — Samuel Rogers
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright William Blake
Snow is a strange word Isaac Rosenberg
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me D H Lawrence
Sombre the night is Isaac Rosenberg
So sweet love seemed that April morn Robert Bridges
Souls of Poets dead and gone John Keats
So we’ll go no more a-roving Lord Byron
Spring goeth all in white Robert Bridges
Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant king Thomas Nash
St. Agnes’ Eve — Ah, bitter chill it was! John Keats
Stern Daughter of the voice of God! William Wordsworth
Summer ends now; now, barbarous in beauty, the stooks arise Gerard Manley Hopkins
Sunset and evening star Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Surprised by joy - impatient as the wind William Wordsworth
Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain Oliver Goldsmith
Sweet, be not proud of those two eyes Robert Herrick
Sweet cyder is a great thing Thomas Hardy
Sweet Highland Girl, a very shower William Wordsworth
Sweet stream, that winds through yonder glade William Cowper
Swiftly walk over the western wave Percy Bysshe Shelley
Tall nettles cover up, as they have done Edward Thomas
Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind Richard Lovelace
That is no country for old men. The young W B Yeats
That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall Robert Browning
That time of year thou mayst in me behold William Shakespeare
The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold Lord Byron
The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne William Shakespeare
The cherry trees bend over and are shedding Edward Thomas
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day Thomas Gray
The cypress stood up like a church Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The darkness crumbles away Isaac Rosenberg
The fire is out, and spent the warmth thereof Ernest Dowson
The fountains mingle with the river Percy Bysshe Shelley
The green elm with the one great bough of gold Edward Thomas
The jester walked in the garden W B Yeats
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair A E Housman
The lovely lass o’ Inverness Robert Burns
The maple with its tassel flowers of green John Clare
The more we live, more brief appear Thomas Campbell
The nightingale has a lyre of gold William Ernest Henley
The old mayor climb’d the belfry tower Jean Ingelow
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea Edward Lear
The Pobble who has no toes Edward Lear
The poplars are fell’d, farewell to the shade William Cowper
The quality of mercy is not strained William Shakespeare
There be none of Beauty’s daughters Lord Byron
There is a garden in her face Thomas Campion
There’s a breathless hush in the Close to-night Sir Henry Newbolt
There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away Lord Byron
There they stand, on their ends, the fifty faggots Edward Thomas
There was a sound of revelry by night Lord Byron
There was a weasel lived in the sun Edward Thomas
There were four of us about that bed William Morris
The rock-like mud unfroze a little and rills Edward Thomas
The rolls and harrows lie at rest beside John Clare
The sea is calm tonight Matthew Arnold
The sparrow dips in his wheel-rut bath Thomas Hardy
The splendour falls on castle walls Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The summer nests uncovered by autumn wind Edward Thomas
The sun is warm, the sky is clear Percy Bysshe Shelley
The sun was shining on the sea Lewis Carroll
The trees are in their autumn beauty W B Yeats
The twentieth year is well nigh past William Cowper
The woods decay, the woods decay and fall Alfred, Lord Tennyson
The world is charged with the grandeur of God Gerard Manley Hopkins
They are cutting down the great plane-trees at the end of the gardens Charlotte Mew
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter Ernest Dowson
The year’s at the spring Robert Browning
They shut the road through the woods Rudyard Kipling
They sing their dearest songs — Thomas Hardy
They that have power to hurt, and will do none William Shakespeare
They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest Thomas Hardy
They told me you had been to her Lewis Carroll
They went to sea in a Sieve, they did Edward Lear
This beauty made me dream there was a time Edward Thomas
This darksome burn, horseback brown Gerard Manley Hopkins
This is no case of petty right or wrong Edward Thomas
This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green D H Lawrence
Thou art indeed just, Lord, if I contend Gerard Manley Hopkins
Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness John Keats
Three lovely notes he whistled, too soft to be heard Edward Thomas
Three summers since I chose a maid Charlotte Mew
Three years she grew in sun and shower William Wordsworth
Through Alpine meadows soft-suffused Matthew Arnold
Tired with all these, for restful death I cry William Shakespeare
’Tis spring; come out to ramble A E Housman
To be, or not to be: that is the question William Shakespeare
Toll for the Brave! William Cowper
To me, fair friend, you never can be old William Shakespeare
To one who has been long in city pent John Keats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre W B Yeats
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Lewis Carroll
’Twas on a lofty vase’s side Thomas Gray
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright William Blake
Under the after-sunset sky Edward Thomas
Under the greenwood tree William Shakespeare
Up the airy mountain William Allingham
Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships Christopher Marlowe
We are the music-makers Arthur O’Shaughnessy
Wee, sleekit, cow’rin’, tim’rous beastie Robert Burns
We have walked in Love’s land a little way Ernest Dowson
We watch’d her breathing thro’ the night Thomas Hood
What is it to grow old? Matthew Arnold
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Wilfred Owen
What shall I do with this absurdity? W B Yeats
Whenas in silks my Julia goes Robert Herrick
When awful darkness and silence reign Edward Lear
When chapman billies leave the street Robert Burns
When first the fiery mantled Sun Thomas Campbell
When first we met we did not guess Robert Bridges
When fishes flew and forests walked G K Chesterton
When I am dead, my dearest Christina Rossetti
When icicles hang by the wall William Shakespeare
When I consider how my light is spent John Milton
When I have fears that I may cease to be John Keats
When I have seen by Time’s fell hand defac'd William Shakespeare
When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes William Shakespeare
When in the chronicle of wasted time William Shakespeare
When I was dead, my spirit turned Christina Rossetti
When I was one-and-twenty A E Housman
When lovely woman stoops to folly Oliver Goldsmith
When Love with unconfinéd wings Richard Lovelace
When maidens such as Hester die Charles Lamb
When men were all asleep the snow came flying Robert Bridges
When Music, heavenly maid, was young William Collins
When smoke stood up from Ludlow A E Housman
When the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride Rudyard Kipling
When the lamp is shatter’d Percy Bysshe Shelley
When the Present has latched its postern behind my tremulous stay Thomas Hardy
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought William Shakespeare
When we as strangers sought Thomas Hardy
When we two parted Lord Byron
When we were children Old Nurse used to say Charlotte Mew
When you are old and grey and full of sleep W B Yeats
Where art thou, my beloved Son William Wordsworth
Where once we danced, where once we sang Thomas Hardy
When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut Gerard Manley Hopkins
Who long for rest, who look for pleasure Gerard Manley Hopkins
Why art thou silent! Is thy love a plant William Wordsworth
Why so pale and wan, fond lover? Sir John Suckling
William Dewy, Tranter Reuben, Farmer Ledlow late at plough Thomas Hardy
With blackest moss the flower-plots Alfred, Lord Tennyson
With eyelids heavy and red Thomas Hood
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children Laurence Binyon
With rue my heart is laden A E Housman
Woman much missed, how you call to me, call to me Thomas Hardy
Women he liked, did shovel-bearded Bob Edward Thomas
Ye distant spires, ye antique tow’rs Thomas Gray
Ye banks and braes and streams around Robert Burns
Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon Robert Burns
Ye Mariners of England Thomas Campbell
Yes, Delia loves! My fondest vows are blest Anna Laetitia Barbauld
Yes. I remember Adlestrop Edward Thomas
Yesterday the fields were only grey with scattered snow D H Lawrence
Yes, there is holy pleasure in thine eye! William Wordsworth
Yet once more, O ye laurels, and once more John Milton
You are old, Father William, the young man cried Robert Southey
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said Lewis Carroll
Young Ben he was a nice young man Thomas Hood