Read and Understand Poetry: 'From a Railway Carriage'

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish author who was born in 1850 and died in 1894. He is famous for writing books such as Treasure Island but he also wrote a lot of poetry.

One of his best-known poems is called 'From a Railway Carriage'. Read it through several times to make sure you understand it.

 

 

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From a Railway Carriage

 

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

And charging along like troops in a battle,

All through the meadows the horses and cattle:

All of the sights of the hill and the plain

Fly as thick as driving rain;

And ever again, in the wink of an eye,

Painted stations whistle by.

 

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles;

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;

And there is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is the cart run away in the road

Lumping along with man and load;

And here is a mill, and there is a river:

Each a glimpse and gone for ever!

 

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In this activity, you can answer questions about the poem. Remember that you can look back at it as often as you like by clicking the Help button.