Back to top

To The Same

With coat of Lincoln-green and mantle too,
   And horn of ivory mouth, and buckle bright,
   And arrows wing'd with peacock-feathers light,
And trusty bow well gather'd of the yew,--
Stands Robin Hood:-- and near, with eyes of blue
   Shining through dusk hair, like the stars of night,
   And habited in pretty forest plight,--
His green-wood beauty sits, young as the dew.

Oh gentle tressed girl! Maid Marian!
   Are thine eyes bent upon the gallant game
   That stray in the merry Sherwood: Thy sweet fame
Can never, never die. And thou, high man,
Would we might pledge thee with thy silver Can
Of Rhenish, in the woods of Nottingham!
Additional Information:
"To the Same" was written, along with "To A Friend, On Robin Hood," in 1818 and sent by Reynolds to his friend John Keats.  Keats replied with "Robin Hood: To A Friend" and Reynolds replied to that poem with an additional sonnet, "To E--, With The Foregoing Sonnets."