sparkle (v) : reflect / shine

foliage (n) : leaves

glancing (adj) : taking a brief look

swelling (adj) : increasing or expanding in size

brawling (adj) : struggling

rose-banks (n) : riverbanks where roses (flowers) appear along

impetuous (adj) : rash / acting quickly without thinking

brimming (adj) : full / full of

tending (adj) : going in a particular way

mortal prime (n) : the best part of one’s life that cannot last for ever

headlong (adv) : with the head first and the rest of the body following

hath (v) : has

eternity (n) : life continuing without end after death

1. Is the river like a child? Why?

2. Why does the poet call it ‘swelling river’?

3. ‘Seeming still yet still in motion.’What does the word ‘still’ mean in either case?

4. How does the sea remind you of eternity?

5. What do the river and the sea remind the poet of?