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I’ll twine ‘mid the ringlets

Of my raven black hair,

The lilies so pale

And the roses so fair.

Without argument one of the most charming, intriguing, and captivating of all early American folk poems and songs is The Wildwood Flower. Its haunting tale has arrested the fascination and dedication of untold thousands. A major feature of it is fascination and holding-power lies in the fact that it is a riddle that has never been solved. Clearly, as the poem unfolds, the Wildwood Flower is a jilted girl, but what is the meaning of the other metaphors and symbols built into this classic? 

As the heartbroken lover sits alone in the wooded vale that was once their trysting place, she winds the locks of her raven black hair purposefully around her fingers. That effigy is clear sufficient but then the lyric becomes vague. Are the lilies flowers of the glen or are they a metaphor for something else? And what are the significations of the roses, the myrtle, and the pale amanita with bright blue eyes? To the discerning reader or listener is apparent that something other than the literal is intended here. The amanita is a deadly poison toadstool known as the Death Hood. It does not have bright blue eyes. And what may be said with regards to the rest of the lyric? Is it merely a lament and a fantasy to try to ease herself in her heartbreak and loneliness; or is it the revelation of a clever plot to take revenge on this opportunistic swain who has compromised her and then lost interest?

I am going to offer a good deal of thoughts as to what this arousing and attention holding tale says to me but before I do I want to preface it with galore realities regarding the times in which this occurred, and these kinds of situations. In the lonely backwoods of early America probabilities for romance and a future did not come around that often. Beside that, in the times in which this poem was written, a girl who had lost her virtue had a principally scaled down prospect of finding marriage and pleasure with a respectable man. Lying to a young woman, telling her you loved her, seducing her, and then going off and leaving her was almost a death sentence. The hatred and payback that in the long run emerged from these numbing heartbreaks oftentimes resulted in the death of the offender. There are a lot of such stories that have caught on as legends from the rural settings of early America. There is Frankie and Johnny, the Banks of the Ohio, Barbara Allen, and numerous others where jilted love and betrayal resulted in the death of the perpetrator. That having said, I wish to give you my version of the meaning of this elusive tale. 

It is evident that I possess no particular perceptivenesses and what I am going to say is not one thing more than my own opinion. It is not offered to contradict the determinations of anybody else, to intrude into the sanctuary that may have been built up in anyone’s mind when it comes to this haunting story, or to in any way offend anyone. It is just my providing as to what is taking place here.

I’ll twine ‘mid the ringlets

Of my raven black hair,

The lilies so pale

And the roses so fair,

The myrtle so bright

With an emerald hue,

And the pale amanita

With eyes of bright blue.  

A girl is sitting, probably in the all-together, in a wooded glen where she applied to meet with her lover, where she succumbed to his lies of love and marriage, and where she lost her virtue. The last line of verse 3 reveals that she is a frail girl and not a outstanding physical beauty, but she has a lot of charms. She has raven black hair which she is absently but acutely twisting around her fingers. The Song of Solomon and other historic creative writing of recognized artisti value lay the foundation for inferring that lilies are her breasts. The roses are her glowing red cheeks, not glowing now because of love and excitement as in verse 2, but in this instance burning with anger and hurt. The myrtle is the dark green lashes over her eyes and the pale amanita is the ghostly white face, colorless with rage and hatred (the death hood), out of which bright blue eyes are blazing as if to make appear before her now in the glen the scene that she is envisioning in her mind.

2.

I’ll sing and I’ll dance,  

My laugh shall be gay;  

I’ll discontinue this wild weeping - 

Drive sorrow away,  

Tho’ my heart is now breaking,  

He never shall know  

That his name made me tremble  

And my pale cheeks to glow.  

The girl has was struggling with heartbreak and hurt until her tears are dry. Now the desperate but futile hope that he will return to her has faded. In it is place a plan for revenge has begun to form. First of all she ought to stop acting as if she cares. She ought to come to the party, throw herself with abandonment into the game, charm each man whom she can, and make herself an item of discussion and an object of ambition. All of this will be a part of her plot to get even with him for what he has done to her but he ought to never know it. He will have to be made to believe that she cared no more when it comes to him than he did with regards to her and that he was just another of her flings.

3.

I’ll think of him never -

I’ll be wildly gay,  

I’ll charm ev’ry heart,  

And the crowd I will sway,  

I’ll live yet to see him,  

Regret the dark hour  

When he won, then neglected,  

The frail wildwood flower.  

Until the trap is ready to spring she will have to put him out of her mind and apply herself to her plan. She will let her hair down and be the life of the party. She will play the lover to each man whom she may charm. Why not? What is there for her to lose now? But this will be an act, not the real desires of her heart. The intention is to make him jealous. Such young men as he are selfish and possessive. The time will come when he will commence to wonder what he has walked away from and he will in the long run take the bait and come back to her. When he does, their meeting place will not be the dance hall but again the wild wood glen where he broke her heart and ruined her life. Her plan will succeed and he will come back, but he will never leave her again. Once she has him in the power of her charms the death hood will engulf him and take his life from him.

4.

He told me he loved me,  

And promis’d to love,  

Trough ill and misfortune,  

All others above,  

Another has won him;  

Ah, misery to tell;  

He left me in silence -

no word of farewell.  

As the girl sits in the wild wood and contemplates her drastic scheme, she begins to rationalize. It is his fault; not hers. He told her loved her and she believed him or she would never have given herself away to him. He spoke of love and lifelong commitment and he was so convincing. He callously took her life and future to fulfill his lust and greed. He shattered her dreams and grand hopes for husband, home, and family, and then walked away without so much as a “goodbye.”

5.

He taught me to love him,  

He call’d me his flower  

That blossom’d for him  

All the more magnificent each hour;  

But I woke from my dreaming,  

My idol was clay;  

My visions of love  

Have all faded away.  

Clearly an intimate conjugal kinship is conveyed here. No girl needs to be “taught” how to have sensations of love and endearment. The sweet intimacy that ought to have belonged to her soul mate alone was given to this deceiver. He told her the things she wanted to hear. ”She was what he had always wanted and what he lived for. She was his glorious wildwood flower that kept opening out it is blossom more prominent and more glorious each hour.”

But then the dream vanished in the harsh light of reality. It was all a lie. Her marvelous idol was not one thing more that a pile of dirt. He was gone, and with him her hopes for a happy future. He had killed her, and now she had a plot to get even. It was justified; what he had done to her, she would do to him.

Could this frail country girl genuinely carry out her plan for vengeance? Did her wild scheme have a chance of success? Was she another Frankie with a pistol behind her back?  Who knows? And for the narrative, it does not matter. She is a crushed, jilted, and heartbroken country maid who has been used and cast aside; and she is attempting desperately to survive. She seeks to find a good deal of gratification for the faulty that has been done her. She will make him pay; he has to pay. If in no other way, it has all played out before her in the meadow this day while she sits as she was when she saw him last, twists her raven black hair forcefully around he long white fingers, and seeks solace in sensations of revenge.

Great American Stories Unabridged Classics

These ten classic stories from four of America’s biggest writers of the 19th and early 20th century were chosen for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities. The stories include Mark Twain’s “The One-Million Pound Bank Note,” “A Visit to Niagara,” and “A Mysterious Visit;” Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel;” Ambrose Bierce’s “The Eyes of the Panther;” and Jack London’s “The Love of Life” and “To Build a Fire.”

Review”Each of the magnificent semi-voiced messages that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events conveys just the right tone and sentiment for each of the ten stories.” — Kliatt, July 1995

“Short and captivating, this production is a good taste of galore of America’s best authors.” — Sunday Patriot-News, April 3, 2003

“The oral calibers of these ten stories go nearly unmatched in the canon of American literature.” — Cosmik Debris, March 2003

“These gentlemen masterfully portray the words of their authors.” — VOYA, February 2004

“This is a solid production, reminding listeners of the power and beauty in the classic works of these authors.” — AudioFile, unknown date

About the AuthorPatrick Fraley, a leading reputation voice actor in Hollywood, is also the author/producer of Read It Again! How to Read Aloud to Kids and Creating Character Voices (published by The Audio Partners).

From AudioFileTen unabridged stories by four writers make up this collection. Each author’s work is read by a dissimilar actor. The strongest, both in terms of stories and narration, are the stories by Mark Twain, read by Patrick Fraley. His rendition of voices and accents is remarkable. Ross Holcomb conveys the eerie atmosphere necessitated for Ambrose Bierce’s “The Eyes of the Panther” and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Bruce Robertson provides straightforward narration of the Jack London stories, letting the stark harshness and risk of life in the far North speak to the listener. The classic “To Build a Fire” is so powerful that it closely overwhelms the listener. The Crane stories, “The Blue Hotel” and “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,” are the weakest material. Patrick Hogan does a good occupation with vocal characterizations nevertheless. Overall, this is a solid production, reminding listeners of the power and beauty in the classic works of these authors. M.A.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Great American Stories Unabridged Classics Picture

Great American Stories Unabridged Classics Pic

Great American Stories Unabridged Classics Picture

Great American Stories Unabridged Classics Picture

Most helpful client reviews

45 of 47 humans found the following review helpful.
Successful Gift
By D. Dwyer
I purchased this for my father along with a selection of other audio books. He reported that he liked this one the best. Apparently the selection of stories was excellent, and the reading was clear and expressive.

37 of 39 humans found the following review helpful.
Wonderful!
By LyndaK
I purchased this and a few other books on CD for my husband who has a bit of dislexia (sp?) and has trouble reading. He was so engrossed in the stories that if he were near the end of one, he would sit in the driveway and listen until it was done. So then, by proxy, I know all of the stories and it seems like a wondrous ‘read’. This is a perfective gift for someone who enjoys fine adventure creative writing of recognized artisti value by fine authors.

171 of 200 humans found the following review helpful.
Great American Stories: Ten Unabridged Classics
By 66coronet
Book Description
These ten classic stories from four of America’s biggest writers of the 19th and early 20th century were chosen for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities. The stories include Mark Twain’s “The One-Million Pound Bank Note,” “A Visit to Niagara,” and “A Mysterious Visit;” Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel;” Ambrose Bierce’s “The Eyes of the Panther;” and Jack London’s “The Love of Life” and “To Build a Fire.”

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