Poems
The Broom Flower
Oh the Broom, the yellow Broom,
The ancient poet sung it,
And dear it is on summer days
To lie at rest among it.
I know the realms where people say
The flowers have not their fellow;
I know where they shine out like suns,
The crimson and the yellow.
I know where ladies live enchained
In luxury’s silken fetters,
And flowers as bright as glittering gems
Are used for written letters.
But ne’er was flower so fair as this,
In modern days or olden;
It groweth on its nodding stem
Like to a garland golden.
And all about my mother’s door
Shine out its glittering bushes,
And down the glen, where clear as light
The mountain-water gushes.
Take all the rest; but give me this,
And the bird that nestles in it;
I love it, for it loves the Broom –
The green and yellow linnet.
Well call the rose the queen of flowers,
And boast of that of Sharon,
Of lilies like to marble cups,
And the golden rod of Aaron:
I care not how these flowers may be
Beloved of man and woman;
The Broom it is the flower for me,
That groweth on the common.
Oh the Broom, the yellow Broom,
The ancient poet sung it,
And dear it is on summer days
To lie at rest among it.
The ancient poet sung it,
And dear it is on summer days
To lie at rest among it.
I know the realms where people say
The flowers have not their fellow;
I know where they shine out like suns,
The crimson and the yellow.
I know where ladies live enchained
In luxury’s silken fetters,
And flowers as bright as glittering gems
Are used for written letters.
But ne’er was flower so fair as this,
In modern days or olden;
It groweth on its nodding stem
Like to a garland golden.
And all about my mother’s door
Shine out its glittering bushes,
And down the glen, where clear as light
The mountain-water gushes.
Take all the rest; but give me this,
And the bird that nestles in it;
I love it, for it loves the Broom –
The green and yellow linnet.
Well call the rose the queen of flowers,
And boast of that of Sharon,
Of lilies like to marble cups,
And the golden rod of Aaron:
I care not how these flowers may be
Beloved of man and woman;
The Broom it is the flower for me,
That groweth on the common.
Oh the Broom, the yellow Broom,
The ancient poet sung it,
And dear it is on summer days
To lie at rest among it.
Analysis (ai): Written in quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme and a lilting iambic meter, the poem reflects the conventions of early Victorian lyricism. Its repetition of the opening stanza at the end frames the piece as a circular meditation, a technique common in devotional and nature poetry of the period.
- Tone and Perspective: The speaker adopts a personal, declarative tone that emphasizes emotional attachment over objective description. Unlike the ornate floral symbolism typical in mid-19th-century verse, this poem privileges the humble broom over conventionally admired flowers, signaling a quiet defiance of aesthetic hierarchies.
- Nature and Social Contrast: The contrast between the luxurious gardens where flowers are written into letters and the wild broom growing “on the common” introduces a subtle class critique. The broom symbolizes natural freedom versus artificial refinement, aligning with Romantic-era ideals but filtered through Victorian domesticity.
- Place in the Author’s Work: Among Howitt’s extensive body of moral and nature poetry, this piece stands out for its sustained focus on a single, unexalted plant. Unlike her more overtly didactic works, this poem conveys values through preference rather than instruction, marking a shift toward personal lyricism in her later writing.
- Comparison to Contemporaries: While many Victorian poets elevated exotic or symbolic blooms—roses, lilies, lotuses—this poem’s celebration of a common weed aligns it more closely with rustic traditions seen in rural Romanticism. Its sensibility anticipates later regional poets who valorized native flora, though without their linguistic experimentation.
- Modern Resonance: Though pre-modernist, the poem’s emphasis on the local and overlooked resonates with contemporary ecological thinking. Its preference for the unassuming broom over cultivated or biblical flowers can be read as an early form of bioregional awareness, long before such concepts were formalized.
- Dialect and Rhythm: While not dialectal in the strict sense, the diction is deliberately plain and repetitive, echoing folk song rhythms. This simplification enhances accessibility and aligns with Howitt’s broader commitment to literature for children and working readers.
- Less-Discussed Dimension: The linnet, not the broom, may be the poem’s true focal point—the bird’s nesting ties the plant to life and continuity, suggesting kinship between species. This ecological interdependence is rarely highlighted, though it underpins the speaker’s affection.
Mary Howitt
(1799 – 1888)
Mary Howitt
(12 March 1799 – 30 January 1888) was an English writer, editor, translator and a pioneer of the women’s rights movement in the UK. She is most known as the author of the famous poem The Spider and the Fly. She translated several works by Hans Christian Andersen and Frederika Bremer. Some of her works were written in conjunction with her husband, William Howitt. Many, in verse and prose, were intended for young people.
