Poetry · Chapter
If I Should Ever by Chance explained
The speaker dreams of acquiring several estates and leasing them to his elder daughter in exchange for the first flowers of spring, with the possibility of giving them to her outright if she finds a blossom on the furze.
What happens
The speaker dreams of acquiring several estates and leasing them to his elder daughter in exchange for the first flowers of spring, with the possibility of giving them to her outright if she finds a blossom on the furze.
Themes in this chapter
Place and Belonging
The poem lists specific English place names, evoking a sense of rootedness and the desire to possess and pass on land.
Nature and the Seasons
The rent is paid in first violets, primroses, and orchises, tying the transaction to the seasonal cycle and the beauty of early spring.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who imagines buying estates and setting a whimsical rent for his daughter.
Key passages
“If I should ever by chance grow rich I’ll buy Codham, Cockridden, and Childerditch, Roses, Pyrgo, and Lapwater, And let them all to my elder daughter.”
If I happen to become wealthy, I will purchase several named estates and lease them to my eldest daughter.
The speaker outlines a fantasy of acquiring land and granting it to his daughter.
“The rent I shall ask of her will be only Each year’s first violets, white and lonely, The first primroses and orchises— She must find them before I do, that is.”
Her only rent will be the first spring flowers of each year, which she must gather before I find them myself.
The rent is symbolic and tied to nature, emphasizing a playful competition.