Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower’ is the longest of the Lucy poems written by William Wordsworth. He composed the poem in 1798 and it was published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1798. This poem is different from the other four Lucy poems as the poet personified Nature itself describes Lucy in the poem. In addition, it is the only poem that describes Lucy in much detail. Most of the other Lucy poems present her as more of a phantom or a shadow, focusing on the speaker's grief at losing her. But this poem describes Lucy's grace, wisdom, cheer, and calm by picturing her as Nature's child. The poem's tone is reflective and nostalgic, emphasizing the beauty of innocence and the bittersweet nature of growth and loss. The themes of innocence, nature and humanity, mortality and grief, and life cycle are woven throughout the poem. Wordsworth lost his daughter Catherine who died of Polio. Lucy is a symbol of his daughter in this poem.
Structure of ‘Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower’:
The poem consists of seven six-line stanzas or sestets with a rhyming scheme of AABCCB. The stanzas imitate the extended rhyming scheme of ballad stanzas. The poet used iambs in all the lines. Two iambic tetrameter lines alternated with an iambic trimeter line. The poem’s speaker is the same lover of Lucy who mourned her death in other poems. In this poem, however, the speaker claims that Nature—personified as a proper noun—spoke up about Lucy. The poet used Personification, Imagery, Symbolism, Alliteration, Metaphor, Repetition, Contrast, and Enjambment in the poem.
Nature is personified as a mighty but affectionate deity, the poem suggests that the natural world can be a guide, a teacher, and a parent—and that human beings might hope to model themselves on nature's example. Nature is often described as nurturing and caring for Lucy, suggesting that elements like the sun and showers actively contribute to her growth. This highlights the deep connection between Lucy and her environment.
Summary of Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower:
Stanza 1 Lines 1-6
“Three years she grew in sun and shower,
Then Nature said, "A lovelier flower
On earth was never sown;
This Child I to myself will take;
She shall be mine, and I will make
A Lady of my own.”
The speaker begins the poem by describing a lively young three-year-old, playing in the sun or in the rain. But she was too lovely for the earth, or so Nature decided. The speaker suggests that Nature has taken the child for herself because she was too beautiful for the earth. Nature is personified and quoted as finding the girl so beautiful that it decided to take her and make her its own. Nature is quoted as comparing the girl to a flower, just as flowers also need sun and rain to thrive. It claims that she is so beautiful that it wishes to “take” her. The description of a “child” portrays the girl in an innocent light. Nature decided to “take” the girl and groom her into a lovely “Lady” of its own creation. The poet used alliteration in the first line (sun and shower) while the girl is compared to ‘a lovelier flower,’ a metaphor. Sun symbolizes joy, life, and growth while the Shower represents sorrow, challenges, and nurturing elements of life.
Stanza 2 Lines 7-12
"Myself will to my darling be
Both law and impulse: and with me
The Girl, in rock and plain,
In earth and heaven, in glade and bower,
Shall feel an overseeing power
To kindle or restrain.”
The speaker continues to express and quote nature. Personified Nature continues to explain how it plans to nurture the growing girl. It will be her guide, setting rules for her and allowing her to indulge in impulses as well. The girl will be closely connected to all things in nature, living among them in harmony. Nature will further have the power to oversee the girl’s actions and choose when her decisions and desires should be kindled and when they should be restrained. The poet depicts nature as a parent or teacher, representing the typical aspect of Romantic literature, suggesting that nature can educate us by showing us how to live. Nature says that he will guide the girl in “both law and impulse,” indicating that it will guide the girl through her impulses while also helping her curb them to follow the laws, or rules, of life.
Stanza 3 Lines 13-18
"She shall be sportive as the fawn
That wild with glee across the lawn
Or up the mountain springs;
And hers shall be the breathing balm,
And hers the silence and the calm
Of mute insensate things.”
In the third stanza, the speaker continues to quote nature who depicts her as a free nonchalant girl. Nature says that although it will keep a close eye on her, it will also allow her to express herself and embrace her vitality in full. She will be as “sportive” as a fawn, leaping across the meadows. She will have the energy and the drive to climb mountains. At the same time, her energy and movement are contrasted with silence and calm. Nature’s mention of “breathing balm” implies that she will also learn the importance of slowing down, breathing, and finding calm after going on adventures. Muteness will be good for her spirit and is necessary to exist happily in nature. Despite her vitality, she is capable of being tamed. As in the previous stanzas, natural elements are contrasted (earth/heaven, sun/shower) but also shown to be in harmony. All these elements coexist and together encompass life.
Stanza 4 Lines 19-24
"The floating clouds their state shall lend
To her; for her the willow bend;
Nor shall she fail to see
Even in the motions of the Storm
Grace that shall mould the Maiden's form
By silent sympathy.”
Nature describes the girl in a peaceful setting. The clouds are depicted as pillows offering her rest and comfort, and the willow tree offers her shade. The girl is the speaker’s muse. She is intertwined with nature, depicted as resting calmly in the clouds or finding shade under a willow. She is as vital and inspirational as all the elements of nature to the Romantic poet. The “storm” may represent the trials of life, inferring that the woman will learn to handle conflicts gracefully and come out the other side with her dignity intact. By weathering such storms, she will grow into a young maiden and will no longer be a little girl. Thus, life experience will help her mature and show “silent sympathy,” or compassion, to those around her. Alternatively, the storm may serve as a metaphor for the poet’s creative process. Nature imagines that she should never “fail to see” the “silent sympathy” he feels for her.
Stanza 5 Lines 25-30
“To stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall lean her ear
In many a secret place
Where rivulets dance their wayward round
And beauty born of murmuring sound
shall pass into her face”
Nature imagines the maiden in a celestial light as she is described as communing with the stars. suggesting that somehow she may be linked to the afterlife. She is depicted as being so in tune with Nature that she is privy to its every rhythm—from the glow of the stars to the movement of the rivulets. The reference to rivulets, or running water, also evokes an image of purity. Nature claims that the maiden will “lean her ear,” or listen closely, in secret places where such clear and beautiful water dances. The sound the water makes is like a murmur, allowing the maiden to have a conversation with it. Her closeness to the water’s beauty will allow her to soak up that loveliness herself, once again putting her in harmony with nature. The speaker imagines that she is enjoying her existence as she moves about in the night, being loved by the stars and all the heavenly beings.
Stanza 6 Lines 31-36
“And vital feelings of delight
shall rear her form to stately height
her virgin bosom swell;
such thoughts to Lucy I will give
While she and I together live
Here in this happy dell”
In this stanza, the speaker expresses his own feelings. The speaker expresses his belief that although Lucy is no longer alive in earthly terms, she will still experience “vital feelings of delight” as she grows up into her “stately height” and into maturity. The imagery of her rearing her form “to stately height” and of “her virgin bosom swell[ing]” reveals his belief that wherever she is, wherever Nature has taken her, she will continue to grow up there, with all feelings of life and vitality. Nature has ‘taken’ her and now as an ideal maiden, she lives a larger-than-life life together with Nature.
Stanza 7 Lines 37-42
“Thus Nature spake- the work was done
How soon my Lucy’s race was run!
She died, and left to me
This heath, this calm, and quiet scene;
The memory of what has been,
And never more will be.”
In the final stanza, the speaker concludes nature’s monologue depicting Lucy. Nature expressed his desire for Lucy and decided to ‘take’ her and groom her. Now, the Nature’s work is done. However, Nature is not calm as he announces the death of Lucy. Nature cries out that Lucy’s “race”—her life—was run too soon, telling the reader that she died young. Once she died, she left the speaker the natural environment she once inhabited, as well as the memory of all she was and experienced, but will never be or feel again.
The speaker and nature can find no joy in being in the very spot where Lucy lived. He is haunted by the memory of what “has been”—whether they be his own experiences or hers. Whatever good may have once existed in that place will never exist again.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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