She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove,
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love:
A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
–Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.
She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!
Hartley Coleridge (1796-1849) later wrote a parody of the poem in which he quipped: "He lived among the untrodden ways/ To Rydal Lake that lead;/ A bard whom there were none to praise,/ And very few to read."

This poem by William Wordsworth evokes the quiet, unobtrusive existence of Lucy, a figure who stands as a symbol of unacknowledged beauty and transience. By depicting her as a "violet by a mossy stone," Wordsworth emphasizes her delicate beauty and her obscurity, suggesting that despite her loveliness, she remained largely unnoticed. Her comparison to a solitary star highlights her uniqueness and purity. The poem's melancholic tone reaches its peak with the stark realization of her death, encapsulated in the line, "The difference to me!" This line underscores the profound personal loss and emotional impact her passing has on the speaker. Through Lucy's anonymity and eventual death, Wordsworth reflects on themes of mortality, beauty, and the often-unseen depths of personal grief.