OVER hill, over dale

William ShakespeareEnglish RenaissancePoem

OVER hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere.
Swifter than the moonè’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green:
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.

Cultural reading

Reading the poem

A fairy servant tells of wandering everywhere swifter than the moon's sphere in the fairy queen's service, and departs to seek dew-drops to hang on the cowslips.

Language notes

Text and edition

The heading is taken from the first line; the source gives no title and no account of the setting in which this first-person speech occurs.