Address from the Spirit of Cockermouth Castle
William Wordsworth
"Thou look'st upon me, and dost fondly think,
Poet! that, stricken as both are by years,
We, differing once so much, are now compeers,
Prepared, when each has stood his time, to sink
Into the dust. Erewhile a sterner link
United us; when thou, in boyish play,
Entering my dungeon, didst become a prey
To soul-appalling darkness. Not a blink
Of light was there; and thus did I, thy tutor,
Make thy young thoughts acquainted with the grave;
While thou wert chasing the winged butterfly
Through my gi^een courts; or climbing, a bold suitor,
Up to the flowers whose golden progeny
Still round my shattered brow in beauty wave."
The Romantic Poet William Wordsworth was born and raised in Cockermouth.
Cockermouth Castle was built in 1134 and is now mostly in ruins. Parts of the castle were restored in the 19th century and it is a private home, sometimes open to the public.
