Lines written in early spring - William Wordsworth Flashcards
What was in the background when the poem was written?
The French Revolution
What is the main theme of the poem?
Beauty of Nature
What does man feel?
That he is above nature > doing unnatural things
What is the speaker contemplating in the poem?
The beauty of nature
What does the speaker use nature to do?
Something to heal his mind and worries
What is Pantheism?
-Reality is identical with divinity > see God in the whole of the world around you.
What is meant by “a thousand blended notes” in Stanza 1?
-Harmonious element of nature > reaches a divine
-Everything co-dependent on each other
What does “I sate reclined” in stanza 1 create?
Juxtaposition between the static nature of the speaker and how nature is full of life
What is significant about “sweet…… sad” in the last two lines of stanza 1?
-Juxtaposition = conflict within speaker > inescapable presence of the human world is a threat to nature
What does nature’s harmony in stanza 1 reflect?
-Perfection yet human suffering and disconnection is in the world
What does “sad” in the last line of stanza 1 reference?
The inevitability of man’s misery > defined by oppression and rebellion in France (French Revolution)
What does “her fair works did nature link” in stanza two create?
-Elevates nature to a divine and also maternal caring role > mother nature
-Interconnectedness of mankind and nature
-personification of nature > The power of Mother Nature
What could the line break between “nature link” and “The human soul” in the first stanza 2 suggest?
-A constant reminder of the distance between the two > link reacted by man
Why is “What man has made of man” significant in stanza two?
-repetition of phrase in stanza 6 > cyclical structure begins to show the incessant and unanswerable problem of humanities misery
-Natures perfection acts as a contrast to highlight this misery
What does the “green bower” in stanza three symbolise?
-eternal growth and beauty
-fertility of nature
What are “periwinkle” and “primrose” known for?
-medicinal purposes > rejuvenation
What is significant about “wreaths” in Stanza 3?
-Circle of nature > eternal beauty of nature
-Celebration of nature’s beauty and gifts
Why does the speaker explore how nature offers an exploration of sensory delights in stanza 3?
feels strong emotion > restorative power of nature vs the misery of humanity
What is the significance of “every flower” in stanza three?
-Nature as all-encompassing
What is significant about the personification of nature in “trailed” in stanza 3?
-creates an image of nature as vibrant and full of nature
-Nature as perpetual, living, dynamic > hope for humanity
Why does the speaker describe that “their thought I cannot measure” in stanza 4?
-Speaker cannot seem to comprehend the joy and excitement > still thinking not feeling
What do the verbs “hopped” and “played” suggest in stanza 4?
-Verbs build a movement of nature > juxtapose the reasoning of the speaker
-Childlike sense of joy and freedom
What does “budding twigs” in stanza five suggest?
Suggestive of hope
What does “spread out their fan” suggest in stanza five and what is it?
-Personification is an anthropomorphism
- an image of an outstretched hand > gesture of unity and harmony
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What does the imperative phrase “I must think, do all I can” create in stanza five?
-Creates urgency as if realisation has occurred
-This is emphasised by the multi-clause structure > fast pace
What does the final two lines of stanza 5 create?
-Hopeful tone > pleasure can be felt through the smallest things
Why does the speaker start stanza 6 with “if”?
-Still hesitant > questioning man rather than nature
What is significant of “Nature’s holy plan” in stanza 6?
-Natural world conforms to this plan > result is positive whereas humans only capable of cruelty and destruction
-filled with awe at natures divine power
What is significant about using “what man has made of man!” as the last line of the poem?
-Rhetoric -unanswered > almost frustrated with mankind and disbelief
-Rhythmic simplicity is ironic
What could the poem be about?
-heightening the wonders of nature as an attack on the rise of industrialisation and the way in which it was ravaging the countryside, destroying the places of idyllic beauty
What could Wordsworth be doing through the poem?
-Condemning humanity’s moral degradation as a warning for the future of society, as well as a place for the desire to reconnect with nature and each other > to unite not destroy
What is the form of the poem?
-6 quatrains
-Ballad stanzas ( Simple ABAB rhyme scheme)
What is different about the form of the First, second , third and sixth stanza?
-three lines of iambic tetrameter build up to a single line of iambic trimeter
- A steady build followed by abrupt change fits in with the poem’s reflections on how humanity has fallen out of step with natural rhythms.
What is significant of the form of the fourth and fifth stanza?
, use a more traditional ballad meter (alternating lines of tetrameter and trimeter)—and their balance reflects the harmony they describe.
What is the meter in the poem?
-Most of the stanzas use three lines of iambic tetrameter capped with a single line of iambic trimeter
-spondee in the second foot of line 3 “sweet mood”and a trochee in the second foot of line 4 “thoughts to”
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What is the rhyme scheme in the poem?
-Traditional ABAB > Wordsworth values the philosophy of simple natural harmony.
- The poem breaks from its scheme in the very first stanza > “notes” and “thoughts” > slant rhyme.
