Humankind is always in search of happiness that is far beyond its reach. What is the secret of happiness? Read the poem 'Lines Written in Early Spring' by William Wordsworth and discover how he unfolds a world of beauty and happiness.
“Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he’s destroying is this God he’s worshiping.”
- Hubert Reeves
About the Poet
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth [1770-1850] was a major English Romantic poet . Lyrical Ballads, a collection of poems written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge made him a major figure in the literary circle. He became poet Laureate in 1843. His famous works Daffodils, Lucy Gray and The Prelude. In simple ordinary language, Wordsworth presents nature as an antidote to the corrupting influences of society. He is known as the poet of nature.
Summary of the poem.
Lines written in early spring was first published in the collection Lyrical Ballads in 1798, though not under his name. It was then published again, crediting Wordsworth as the poet, in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800. The poem is set in a landscape of beauty, a small woodland grove. Wordsworth was inspired into writing this poem when he was walking near Alford, so the setting of the poem can be associated with the beautiful scenery of Alford. To be close to nature for Wordsworth, was close to God.
The poet, in a relaxed state of mind, is reclining in a grove. He listens to a thousand blended notes of nature. He was in a happy mood. But this pleasant mood leads him to deeper thoughts, those associated with the nature of mankind, about the failure of man to understand harmony and peace in nature, about the cruelties of man towards nature and his fellow beings, he becomes sad. He mourns over what man has done to man. Even as he thinks, however, he takes in the beautiful scenery that surrounds him. The speaker observes the birds which sing and hop around him. It creates an air of excitement. This joy of nature seems to be heaven-sent. Nature’s holy plan is to offer joy and peace to all forms of life on earth. The poet’s pleasant train of thought slowly leads to the sad reflection. He then goes on to state where he cannot be sure whether they are happy. He, therefore, concludes rhetorically, emphasizing that if nature is full of pleasure, he then has a good reason to be sad about "what man has made of man".
The entire poem contains visual description of natural beauty. It is about the interaction between nature and man. Wordsworth is unhappy about the things that man has done to the nature. He describes Nature in detail in the second and third stanzas when he personifies the periwinkle and the flowers. The poem is encompassing life in its various forms and stages. The poem consists of six four-line stanzas. Each with its unique abab rhyme scheme. All lines are written in iambic pentameter. He also personifies nature, giving her the ability to make decisions, to link herself to his soul, and to experience pleasure. This poem is a beautiful composition laden with vivid imagery and makes the readers appreciate and protect nature. Wordsworth reminds the readers of the beauty of nature, the value of enjoying and appreciating their existence, and the need to protect nature from harm.
First Bell Online Class - 12, 27 July 20211. What idea does the title give you about the poem?
Answer : Spring a season of joy and happiness inspires the poet to write a poem.
Write 4 words and expressions
Answer: 1. I heard a thousand blended notes.
2. To her fair works did Nature link.
3. The birds around me hopped and played.
4. The budding twigs spread out their fan.
Comprehension Questions
Let's analyse the first stanza
1. Who is 'I' referred to in the poem?
Answer: William Wordsworth / the poet / the speaker.
2. Where was the poet sitting?
Answer: The poet was sitting in a grove.
3. Name the flowers mentioned in the poem
Answer:
PRIMROSE
PERIWINKLE
4. What do the birds do?
Answer: The birds hopped and played.
5. What do you think is the central idea/ theme of the poem?
Answer: Nature is a perfect example of contentment, happiness and beauty. And mankind is in huge contrast (വൈപരീത്യം) to this.
(പ്രകൃതി നമുക്ക് സ്നേഹവും സന്തോഷവും സംതൃപ്തിയും നൽകുന്നു. എന്നാൽ മനുഷ്യന്റെ പെരുമാറ്റം അതിന് നേർ വിപരീതമാണ്.)
Let's analyse the poem in detail. (കവിതയെ വിശദമായി വിശകലനം ചെയ്യാം.)
1. What expression (പദപ്രയോഗം)does the poet use to describe the sounds of nature?
Answer: A thousand blended notes.
2. What is a grove?
Answer: A small wood or group of trees.
3. What does the expression 'I sate reclined' indicate about the poet's state of mind?
Answer: The poet sits in a relaxed manner.
4. The poet has mixed feelings, how do you know that?
Answer: The expressions 'pleasant and 'sad' indicate that the poet has mixed feelings.
5. What makes him happy?
Answer: The harmony, the beauty and love which he sees in nature make him happy.
6. What makes him sad?
Answer: When he thinks about the changes that happen around him, about the failure of man to understand harmony and peace in nature, about the cruelties of man towards nature and his fellow beings, he becomes sad.
To be close to nature for Wordsworth, was close to God. Wordsworth feels pleasure and peace in nature at the same time, he feels sad at the failure of man to understand what nature has for him. |
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 words notes- thoughts, reclined - mind - are rhyming words.
Words that sound similar are called rhyming words. Rhyming words make any poem musical.
Find out the rhyming words from all the stanzas.
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First Bell Online Class - 13, 29 July 2021
What is the name of the book that William Wordsworth and S.T Coleridge wrote together?
Lyrical Ballad -
Description of Rhyming words and Rhyme scheme is given in the section Poetic Devices. Go to that section of this blog and understand it better.
Activity 1
Find out the rhyming words and rhyme scheme of each stanza.
An example is given here. Study it
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.
Answer - abab
Let's analyse the second stanza
To her fair works did Nature link..... What man has made of man
1. What makes him sad?
Answer: When he thinks about what man has made of man.
2. What do the two lines "To her fair works did Nature link, he human soul that through me ran" convey?
Answer: It conveys the idea that man is part of nature. In fact, he is one with nature. Perhaps the poet wants to convey that man should understand that he is part of nature to be happy. This was Wordsworth's principle philosophy that it is man's innate state to be close to nature. Man can only be happy when he comes close to nature.
3. "And much it grieved my heart to think ,
What man has made of man." What do these lines tell us?
Answer: Man's cruelty towards nature and his fellow beings with his greed and selfishness.
Alliteration - Go to the Poetic Device section of this blog.
Let's analyse the third stanza
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,......Enjoys the air it breathes.
1. What does the poet say about each flower?
Answer: The poet says each flower is quite happy to be in nature.
2. Why does the poet use words like 'trailed' for periwinkle and 'breathes' for flowers?
Answer: Wordsworth tries to create the idea of a living, breathing world. Nature is a living mechanism and the poet tries to underline these ideas using such words.
3. What does the poet hope?
Answer: The poet hopes that every person can enjoy like a flower if he comes close to nature.
Personification - Go to the Poetic Device section of this blog.
4. Can you point out an instance of personification from the third stanza?
Answer: Every flower enjoys the air it breaths. ( flower is personified here. Wordsworth shows flower as a living being. Flower is given the characteristic traits of a human being. Flower is portrayed as having human qualities.)
5. Find more examples of personification.
Let's analyse the fourth stanza
The birds around me hopped and played,.......... It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
1. What do the birds do?
Answer: The birds hopped and played.
2. Pick out the lines that state that even the slightest movement gives the poet happiness.
Answer: But the least motion which they made, It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
3. What does the poet see everywhere in nature?
Answer: Happiness
4. Which line reveals the tone and message of the poem?
Answer: In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
(here the beauty of nature is gracefully portrayed. But we can also see the negative effects of mankind throughout the poem.)
(ആരാണ് സങ്കടത്തിനു കാരണം എന്ന് കവി തന്നെ പറയുന്നുണ്ട് , പ്രകൃതിയിൽ കാണുന്നതൊന്നും അല്ല, മറിച്ച് മനുഷ്യനാണ് ഇതിനു എല്ലറ്റിനും കാരണം. പ്രകൃതിയോട് അടുത്തെങ്കിൽ മാത്രമേ മനുഷ്യന് സന്തോഷം നേടുവാൻ കഴിയുള്ളു. ഇത് കവി വളരെ വ്യക്തമായിട്ടു പറയുന്നുണ്ട് )
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First Bell Online Class - 14, 3 August 20211. What does the poet communicate in the poem?
Answer: The poet compares nature and man and tries to bring out their contrasts.
In short, nature makes him happy, but man and his deeds make him unhappy.
Let's analyse the fifth stanza
The budding twigs spread out their fan,............That there was pleasure there.
1. Identify the lines that tell us that the budding twigs are reaching out for something.
Answer: The budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch the breezy air.
2. What are they reaching out for?
Answer: They are reaching out for happiness.
Answer: Maybe the beginning of life is addressed here.
4. There is a genuine hope addressed here?
Answer: All living beings can live happily if they are close to nature.
5. Pick out an instance of personification from the stanza.
5. Pick out an instance of personification from the stanza.
Answer: The budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch the breezy air.
6. Look at the expression 'the budding twigs'. What impression does it create in our minds?
Answer: It tells us probably that the life forms in nature are reaching out to experience life.Poets use such images or word pictures that appeal to our sense organs to make the poem attractive and beautiful.
Imagery - Imagery is to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, ideas, in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. It can simply mean mental pictures but it's much more than that.
Let's analyse the last stanza
If this belief from heaven be sent,.............What man has made of man?
1. Which earlier stanza contains almost the same ideas described in the last stanza?
Answer: The second stanza.
2. Pick out an instance of personification from the stanza.
Answer: 'If such be Nature’s holy plan.' Throughout the poem, Wordsworth presents nature as a living being.
3. Does the poem end on a happy note or a sad note? Identify the lines which tell so.
Answer: The poem ends on a sad note.
'Have I not reason to lament, What man has made of man?'
4. Which expression does the poet use to indicate his sadness?
Answer: The expression 'lament'.
5. What is nature's holy plan?
Answer: Nature fills everything with beauty, pleasure, and peace.
6. What does the phrase ' made' in the line 'What man has made of man' indicate?
Answer: We have gone wrong. In fact, we have wronged ourselves.
7. What does the last stanza convey?
Answer: Nature has only holy plans for humanity. Instead of understanding that man's greed, materialism and selfishness kill himself and nature. In fact, he has moved far away from nature. He becomes unholy and unleashes cruelty.
Assignment-
1. Write your interpretations about the poem.
2. Which lines appeal to you the most and why? (state your own reasons)
Recap
What do we infer/understand from the poem?
Answer: Wordsworth, probably, looks at the positive and negative sides simultaneously. Nature fills everything with beauty, pleasure, and peace is the positive element. The destructive nature of human forces, beautifully expressed in the lines ' What man has made of man' is a negative one.
Nature makes the best effort to make everything bright. But in contrast, human beings, who fail to understand the harmony in nature, continue to live in misery.
Textual Activity - Activity 3 (page 33)
Write an appreciation for the poem.
An appreciation is to evaluate and analyse a poem in order to develop a deeper understanding of it. It doesn't have a prescribed format. Let's see what are the things needed to write an appreciation.
1. The title of the poem, name of the poet, type of the poem, rhyme scheme, central idea.
2. Brief summary, figures of speech, poetic devices, imagery, language/tone, implied meaning.
3. Contemporary relevance, Why I like or dislike the poem.
Tone of the poem - The tone of the poem is melancholic. It is written in a simple laguage, evident from the choice of words.
Why I like/ dislike the poem.
Because the poet never tells us 'What man has made of man', Instead he leads us to think about humanity's greed and selfishness which made him capable of realizing the intense connection between man and nature.
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