Two Poems by Ryder: "The Wind"; "VOICE OF THE FOREST"
Ryder wrote and published some poems unconnected to any of his paintings in particular. Here are two of them, notable for their imaginative qualities and descriptions of nature. While Ryder was certainly not a major American poet, you and your students can decide if his poetry is effective.
The Wind
(by Albert Pinkham Ryder)
(appeared in Century Magazine in 1890)
The wind, the wind, the wind,
The breath of balmy, balmy evening,
that am I, that am I!
My unseen wanderings
Who can pursue, who comprehend?
Soft as a panther treads
When moving on its prey,
I fly o'er beds of roses sweet
And violets pale,
Till disturbed within their slumbers,
They bend from my gay caress --
Only to lift their heads again
And send the aroma of sweet perfumes
To call me yet once more
Ere that I pass away.
I am the wind, the wind, the wind,
As fickle as lightning, swift as light.
I seize on the giants of the forest
And shake them to their roots!
I make them tremble to their sap!
I am the wind, the wind, the wind,
I'll away, I'll away to where maidens
Are sighing for fond lovers;
And softly coo and woo and whisper in their ears,
With sigh answering sighs,
Making their hearts to throb...
But I'm the wind, the wind, the wind,
I'll away to the gloomy pools profound,
Stirring the silence of their reflective depths
With rippling laughter...
For I'm the wind, the wind, the wind,
And my fantastic wanderings
Who can pursue, who comprehend?
(by Albert Pinkham Ryder)
(appeared in Century Magazine in 1890)
The wind, the wind, the wind,
The breath of balmy, balmy evening,
that am I, that am I!
My unseen wanderings
Who can pursue, who comprehend?
Soft as a panther treads
When moving on its prey,
I fly o'er beds of roses sweet
And violets pale,
Till disturbed within their slumbers,
They bend from my gay caress --
Only to lift their heads again
And send the aroma of sweet perfumes
To call me yet once more
Ere that I pass away.
I am the wind, the wind, the wind,
As fickle as lightning, swift as light.
I seize on the giants of the forest
And shake them to their roots!
I make them tremble to their sap!
I am the wind, the wind, the wind,
I'll away, I'll away to where maidens
Are sighing for fond lovers;
And softly coo and woo and whisper in their ears,
With sigh answering sighs,
Making their hearts to throb...
But I'm the wind, the wind, the wind,
I'll away to the gloomy pools profound,
Stirring the silence of their reflective depths
With rippling laughter...
For I'm the wind, the wind, the wind,
And my fantastic wanderings
Who can pursue, who comprehend?
The Voice of the Forest
(by Albert Pinkham Ryder)
(printed in the Evening Sun on May 6th, 1909)
These lines were inspired by a gale at Yarmouth Port, Mass., and the harmonies it tore from the trees.
Oh ye beautiful trees of the forest;
Grandest and most eloquent daughters
Of fertile Mother Earth.
When first ye spring from her,
An infant's puny foot
Could spurn ye to the ground,
So insignificant ye are.
Yet ye spread your huge limbs,
Mightier than the brawny giants of Gath,
How strong,
How beautiful,
How wonderful ye are.
Yet ye talk only in whispers,
Uttering sighs continually
Like melancholy lovers,
Yes, I understand thy language.
Oh voices of sympathy,
I will draw near to thee
For thou can'st not to me,
And embrace thy rugged stems
In all the transports of affection.
Stoop and kiss my brow
With thy cooling leaves
Oh ye beautiful creations of the forest.
(by Albert Pinkham Ryder)
(printed in the Evening Sun on May 6th, 1909)
These lines were inspired by a gale at Yarmouth Port, Mass., and the harmonies it tore from the trees.
Oh ye beautiful trees of the forest;
Grandest and most eloquent daughters
Of fertile Mother Earth.
When first ye spring from her,
An infant's puny foot
Could spurn ye to the ground,
So insignificant ye are.
Yet ye spread your huge limbs,
Mightier than the brawny giants of Gath,
How strong,
How beautiful,
How wonderful ye are.
Yet ye talk only in whispers,
Uttering sighs continually
Like melancholy lovers,
Yes, I understand thy language.
Oh voices of sympathy,
I will draw near to thee
For thou can'st not to me,
And embrace thy rugged stems
In all the transports of affection.
Stoop and kiss my brow
With thy cooling leaves
Oh ye beautiful creations of the forest.
Discussion points / questions / activities
"The Wind"
----> Have students choose an inanimate object / part of nature to write about and become. Their poem will include repetitions of the lines "I am the _____, the _______, the _______" (whatever it is they chose to be), either at the start of each stanza, like Ryder, or simply included in various spots in their poem. Students should use imagery to describe their power and what they do with it. Point out to students that Ryder's "wind" goes on a journey of sorts, visiting all sorts of things, from the forest, to the world of humans, to gloomy pools. Your students' embodiment of a force of nature can feel free to travel to a variety of places, imaginary, exotic, otherworldly, ordinary, and anywhere in between.
---->An insight from Metropolitan Museum of Art Loan Exhibition catalog: This poem presents an interesting analogy to Ryder's methods of picture making, especially his deteriorating thick paint, just like the "gloomy pools profound" in the poem.
"The Voice of the Forest"
----> Have students write their own poem called "The Voice of the ____________ ", filling in whatever they choose to give a language to that doesn't ordinary have a language. In Ryder's poem, he mostly describes his reaction to the voice of the forest, but you might want to have students literally describe what the voice of a waterfall is like, or the voice of clocks, or the voice of a winter's day, for instance.
----> What might be most interesting about this poem is the parenthetical opening statement, especially the evocative phrase "the harmonies it tore from the trees" and its rhythmic qualities of internal rhyme and alliteration.
----> Connect this poem to a selection of three or four of Ryder's paintings. Are there similar concerns in both this poem and in the paintings? How would you describe Ryder's personality, based on the poem and his paintings?
----> Connect both this poem and "The Wind" to tenets of Romanticism.
"The Wind"
----> Have students choose an inanimate object / part of nature to write about and become. Their poem will include repetitions of the lines "I am the _____, the _______, the _______" (whatever it is they chose to be), either at the start of each stanza, like Ryder, or simply included in various spots in their poem. Students should use imagery to describe their power and what they do with it. Point out to students that Ryder's "wind" goes on a journey of sorts, visiting all sorts of things, from the forest, to the world of humans, to gloomy pools. Your students' embodiment of a force of nature can feel free to travel to a variety of places, imaginary, exotic, otherworldly, ordinary, and anywhere in between.
---->An insight from Metropolitan Museum of Art Loan Exhibition catalog: This poem presents an interesting analogy to Ryder's methods of picture making, especially his deteriorating thick paint, just like the "gloomy pools profound" in the poem.
"The Voice of the Forest"
----> Have students write their own poem called "The Voice of the ____________ ", filling in whatever they choose to give a language to that doesn't ordinary have a language. In Ryder's poem, he mostly describes his reaction to the voice of the forest, but you might want to have students literally describe what the voice of a waterfall is like, or the voice of clocks, or the voice of a winter's day, for instance.
----> What might be most interesting about this poem is the parenthetical opening statement, especially the evocative phrase "the harmonies it tore from the trees" and its rhythmic qualities of internal rhyme and alliteration.
----> Connect this poem to a selection of three or four of Ryder's paintings. Are there similar concerns in both this poem and in the paintings? How would you describe Ryder's personality, based on the poem and his paintings?
----> Connect both this poem and "The Wind" to tenets of Romanticism.
REFERENCES
Crystal Bridges Museum Library: Ryder, Albert Pinkham. Poetry print of “The Voice of the Forest” reprinted in the “Evening Sun” on May 6th, 1909 (Box 6, Folder 48)
"The Wind": Metropolitan Museum of Art: Loan Exhibition of the Works of Albert P. Ryder: New York, March 11 to April 14, MCMXVIII. Cornell University Library, 2009. Print.
Crystal Bridges Museum Library: Ryder, Albert Pinkham. Poetry print of “The Voice of the Forest” reprinted in the “Evening Sun” on May 6th, 1909 (Box 6, Folder 48)
"The Wind": Metropolitan Museum of Art: Loan Exhibition of the Works of Albert P. Ryder: New York, March 11 to April 14, MCMXVIII. Cornell University Library, 2009. Print.