Poetry · Chapter
The Devon Maid explained
The speaker addresses a Devon maid, asking where she is going and what she carries in her basket.
What happens
The speaker addresses a Devon maid, asking where she is going and what she carries in her basket. He expresses love for the Devon landscape and proposes a romantic, pastoral encounter, offering to secure her basket and shawl so they can lie together on the heather and kiss.
Themes in this chapter
Nature and Imagination
The poem celebrates the Devon landscape—meads, flowers, hills, dales, and heather—as a setting for romantic imagination.
Love and Loss
The speaker's affectionate pursuit of the Devon maid and the desire for a shared, intimate moment evoke themes of love and its transient joys.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who addresses the Devon maid and expresses love for the landscape and a desire for intimacy.
Key passages
“Where be ye going, you Devon Maid? And what have ye there in the Basket?”
Where are you going, Devon maid, and what are you carrying in your basket?
The speaker opens with a direct, curious question to the maid.
“Ye tight little fairy just fresh from the dairy, Will ye give me some cream if I ask it?”
You neat little fairy just from the dairy, will you give me some cream if I ask?
The speaker playfully flatters the maid, comparing her to a fairy and requesting cream.
“I love your Meads, and I love your flowers, And I love your junkets mainly, But ’hind the door I love kissing more, O look not so disdainly.”
I love your meadows, flowers, and especially your sweet treats, but I love kissing you behind the door even more—please don't look so scornfully.
The speaker declares his love for the landscape and dairy products, but emphasizes his greater desire for physical affection.
“I love your hills, and I love your dales, And I love your flocks a-bleating— But O, on the heather to lie together, With both our hearts a-beating!”
I love your hills, valleys, and bleating flocks, but oh, to lie together on the heather with both our hearts beating!
The speaker contrasts his love for the pastoral scene with his longing for a shared, intimate moment.
“I’ll put your Basket all safe in a nook, Your shawl I hang up on the willow, And we will sigh in the daisy’s eye And kiss on a grass green pillow.”
I'll put your basket safely in a corner, hang your shawl on the willow, and we will sigh among the daisies and kiss on a grassy pillow.
The speaker proposes a romantic, secluded encounter in nature, using pastoral imagery.