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Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man’s ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly;
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.
Then heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot;
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remembered not.
Heigh-ho! sing, heigh-ho! unto the green holly;
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.
Then heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
( William Shakespeare )
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a famous English poet, and ranks as the greatest dramatist the world has produced. He wrote for all times and all peoples. He was born at Stratford-on-Avon, where fifty-two years later he died.At the age of twenty-two he removed to London, where for over twenty years he wrote poems and plays, was an actor, and later a shareholder in the theater. The last years of his life he spent quietly at Stratford.
This song is from the comedy As You Like It, a story of the adventures of a group of courtiers and rustics in the forest of Arden. A charming element in Shakespeare’s comedies is the introduction of song-poems, or lyrics. All the writers of those days wrote songs; England was “a nest of singing birds.” They were real songs, too, filled with joy and musical language, and the people sang them to the accompaniment of the quaint musical instruments of the time. And the people took part in games and pageants “in Merrie England,” and listened to the strange tales of seafarers, and went to the playhouse to see Shakespeare’s As You Like It.
ingratitude : not being grateful for something
holly : a plant with red berries associated with Christmas
jolly : happy and bright
Answer the following questions.
1) Why is the thought of green holly appropriate in connection with the winter wind?
2) What feeling does ingratitude arouse?
3) Why does the poet say the “tooth” of the wind is not so keen as man’s ingratitude?
4) How does the feeling of the poem change after line 6?
5) Which lines express the poet’s distrust of friendship?
6) What is the most important meaning of this poem? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?