Hello and welcome to the Discourse. ‘Lines Written in Early Spring’ is a lyrical poem by William Wordsworth, written in 1798, and published in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. ‘Lyrical Ballads’ was a combined poetical collection of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge through which they tried to resurrect old poetic traditions such as folk ballads. This poem is a lyrical ballad meant to reflect the poet's emotions.
‘Lines Written in Early Spring’ is a landscape poem discussing nature and its beauty. The poem's speaker is enjoying his solitude as he observes the natural beauty on a spring morning. He perceives the peace and natural beauty of the surroundings and feels that though he and other humans are also a part of nature, they have failed to follow nature's peaceful example. Thus, he moans the cruelty, selfishness, greed, and struggle for superiority that characterizes humanity and says, "what man has made of man." The speaker argues that though Nature contains all of us, we do not follow what nature teaches us.
Wordsworth wrote this poem during the period of the French Revolution when citizens rose up and toppled their despotic monarchy. It was a cultural shock that stunned everyone, including the British literary society. The poem reflects his thoughts about human nature marred with selfishness, greed, and cruelty, and how it differs from the simple pleasures of Nature of which we are all a part.
Structure of Lines Written in Early Spring:
The poem consists of 24 lines set in six stanzas of four lines each (quatrains). It is a lyrical ballad that follows the simple rhythm of ballads ABAB in each stanza. Traditional ballads follow the alternating meter of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter in the stanza. However, Wordsworth brought upon a difference by using iambic tetrameter in the first three lines of the first, second, third, and sixth stanzas, and the last line of these stanzas is written in iambic trimeter.
In the fourth and fifth stanzas, Wordsworth followed the simple ballad meter (alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter lines).
It should be noted that the fourth and fifth stanzas of the poem describe the pure delight of the natural world. Hence, the poet used ballad meter to suggest more balance in nature.
Wordsworth used Alliteration, Assonance, Repetition, Enjambment, Personification, Imagery, and Rhetorical Questioning in the poem.
Summary of Lines Written in Early Spring:
Stanza 1 Lines 1-4
“I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.”
The poem begins as the speaker offers a Persona to nature and hears ‘a thousand blended notes.’ The speaker describes nature as a Divine spirit that permeates all objects. The poem begins with a first-person narrative and we may assume that the speaker is Wordsworth himself, as the name or gender of the speaker isn’t mentioned. The speaker feels deeply connected to the world around him—so much so that his sense of natural joy becomes his "faith," his religion. Nature has connected itself to the speaker's soul. He is reclining (sitting idly) in a grove, under the trees. He enjoys nature as his mind is peaceful and his mood is pleasant, but this natural peace reminds him of some sad thoughts. The poet used assonance ‘notes’ and ‘grove.’
Stanza 2 Lines 5-8
“To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.”
In the second stanza, the speaker takes the reader away from natural serenity to the troubled noises of the human world. The speaker says that the spirit of nature permeates the human soul and nature links its fair works to the human soul through his description. Yet, humans have failed to realize and appreciate that link and the poet is in much grief while thinking a rhetorical question ‘what man has made of man,’ despite knowing that it is man’s natural state to be close to Nature and follow its example.
Stanza 3 Lines 9-12
“Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes. ”
In the third stanza, the speaker again describes the beauty of nature surrounding him and says how periwinkle flowers have spread creating a wreath through the primrose tufts in the green bower. The speaker believes that each and every flower breathes and enjoys the same air as he does. In these lines, the poet gives the flowers human-like qualities, such as the ability to experience joy and pleasure. This is a form of Personification. The speaker believes each flower finds joy in its existence and surroundings. In this stanza, the speaker accentuates his earlier claim that Nature permeates every object, including us humans, and there is a distinct connection.
Stanza 4 Lines 13-16
“The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.”
The speaker continues to describe the beauty of his surroundings while depicting the little birds hopping and playing around him. He observes that while the birds move around, they are almost still as if contemplating something. He says that he may not come to know what the birds are thinking but it is clear to him that the thoughts of birds relate to thrill and pleasure, which is evident from their little motions, hopping, and playing around. The speaker continues Personification for the birds though he remains sidelined in the whole scene, reclining, with no motion, no thoughts of himself.
Stanza 5 Lines 17-20
“The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.”
The speaker continues the beautiful Imagery of the scene around him as he observes ‘budding twigs’ or the new leaves and flowers emerging from the branches of trees and shrubs. He says that the little leaves are spreading out to catch the breezy air, live, and feel the thrill. The speaker notices that it is all pleasurable and it must be pleasurable to each and every part of his enlivened surroundings.
Stanza 6 Lines 21-24
“If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?”
The speaker ends his monologue with the same rhetorical question “What man has made of man?” He mentioned he is in a sweet mood while enjoying the serenity of surroundings but the peaceful pleasurable nature prompted him to some sad thoughts about why, humans are not as happy as the other parts of nature are, though he believes Nature permeates all. If Nature’s goal is to spread pleasure to all, the speaker wonders why should not he be sad while noticing how cruel, sadistic, and selfish the human world has become to be. The speaker seems to feel that it is his responsibility to ponder upon the mistakes of humanity. This is shown by his rhetorical question that he repeats (Repetition). He notices that the world of nature, untouched by the miseries of humanity, continues to spread pleasure while the human soul, bound in its rigid cage of mortality and reason, is left behind to experience the misery of the human world. The speaker suggests that man can simultaneously be a part of nature and rational, in control of himself, and in control of his surroundings.
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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