.By;Kumkum Gupta,Associate Professor,Govt. College, Panchkula

THREE YEARS SHE GREW IN SUN AND

SHOWER

The poem was composed in 1798 by an English Poet:

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH(7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850)

• Born in Cockermouth, England.• Belonged to the Romantic Era in

English Literature.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

ROMANTIC PERIOD

• 1785 – 1830• Also known as the age of new beginning and limitless possibilities.

• Development of self.

• Closeness to nature and giving human qualities to landscape.

• Concern for human liberty and outcry against tyranny.

NATURE

OTHER POEMS

• Daffodils.• The World is too much with us.

• Lucy Poems.• Tinternabbey.• Others.

TEXT Three Years She Grew

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.

 

 

Contd.

"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.  

"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.

 

"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

"The 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.

 

"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."

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.

BACKGROUND

The poet began writing in grammar school.

Before graduating from college went on a walking tour of Europe, which deepened his love for nature and sympathy for the common man.

EUROPE

William Wordsworth was one of the key figures in the Romantic Movement and his poems are characterized by a strong affinity with nature and in particular the Lake District where he lived.

He was often sad by what he saw - rapid changein the early 19 th century-industrialization – and found solace in the beauty of nature.

• The poem begins with the personified nature [noticing Lucy at three years].

• Nature thinks she is the most beautiful thing on earth and promises to take her into her custody to make her a lady of her own.

Nature promises to make Lucy a part of nature herself. She will be the part of rocks, the earth, the heaven, the grades, the mountain springs, the clouds, the trees, and the storms.

Lucy will also enjoy the nature and understand it.

Themes, Motifs and Symbols

A. Beneficial influence of Nature –

– Nature provides the ultimate good influence on the human mind.

– All manifestation of the natural world – from the highest mountain to the simplest flower – elicit noble ,elevated thoughts.

Nature essential for intellectual/spiritual growth.

B. The power of the human mind –• Relation ship between the mind

and poetry.• Definition of poetry :

“Emotions recollected in tranquility”.

Mind transforms the raw emotions of experience into poetry capable of giving pleasure.

C. The splendour of childhood –

• In Wordsworth’s poetry childhood is a magical period of innocence.

• Children have an intense bond with nature and hence are the part of the natural world.

• They feel joy at seeing a rainbow but great terror at seeing desolation and decay.

• The poet praises the beauty of Lucy and laments her un timely death. In death Lucy retains the innocence and splendour of childhood unlike the children who grow up and lose their connection with nature.

BELIEF

• The poet illustrates the belief that the nature is a great teacher. He believes that one can learn a great lesson if one approaches nature with pure and humble heart.

‘Heart that watches and receives.’

• In the last stanza the poet says that the nature fulfilled her promise but Lucy died very soon. The poet is left lonely in the barren land in a silent atmosphere.

He is left with the memories of the past, of Lucy, whom he will not be able to see again.

PERSONIFICATION

Technique of describing an inanimate object with human like traits and characteristics. e.g.

‘The tree wept with sadness as the sun set in the evening’.Crying/weeping is a traitassociated with human beings.

Nature Personified as Mother

Then Nature said -“A lovelier flower on earth was never sown, this child I to my self will take, she shall be mine and I will make a lady of my own”.Thus nature spake – “the work was done how soon my Lucy’s race was run!”

Again in ‘Willow bend’ poet personifies the willow as a human being who bows to instruct /teach humility and sensitivity.Next ‘ Rivulets and Streams’ are personified (as beautiful girls dance and sing).

SIMILE

It is a comparison of unlike things using like/as e.g.-“Lucy is sportive as the fawn.”Poem likens or compares Lucy to a small deer.

ALLITERATIONRepetition of a consonant sound e.g. –She grew in sun and shower

ELEGY

Seven stanza poem with characteristics of an elegy ( A song that laments a person’s death) e.g. – The speaker speaks out of grief:-“How soon my Lucy’s race was run.”

BALLADStory in a poetical form ( Poem tells a bit of a story)

VOCABULARY

Word meanings:-

‘Both law and impulse: and with me’

‘In earth and heaven, in glade and bower’

‘Of mute insensate things’

Impulse (Noun): Instinctual Urge.Glade (Noun): Open space in forest.

Bower (Noun): Leafy Shelter.Mute (Adjective): Silent

VOCABULARY (Contd.)

Verbs:- Action or Doing words –

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.

Tone

• Sad yet being in harmony with nature is a happy thing.

• Admiration, melancholy, yet most beautiful.

Imagery

• Descriptive language [for sight] – Fawn, Nature [typical of Wordsworth]

• Descriptive language [for auditory] – Musical imagery.

Composed between 6 th October and 28 th December 1798 the poem depicts relationship between Lucy and nature through a complex opposition of images and antithetical couplings of words:-

‘sun and shower’‘law and impulse’‘earth and heaven’‘kindle and restrain’

Such words are used to evoke the opposing forces inherent in nature. A conflict between nature and humanity is described , as each attempts to posses Lucy.

The poem contains both epithalamic and elegiac characteristics. Lucy is shown as wedded to nature while her human lover is left alone to mourn in the knowledge that death has separated her from humanity.

Typical of Romantic Era/wordsworthian

• Simple rustic setting - Familiar Landscape/talk about Lucy.

• Nature - Plants/ animals in complete unison.

• Relatable – Easily imagine a small playful child.

• Emotional Appeal – Intensity of Love.

• Beauty of the world – Not necessarily physical beauty but beauty in nature.

• Simple Language– For the common man.

The poet expresses his faith that nature nourishes physical as well as emotional health . It can play a vital educative and formative role in shaping human character and personality.

‘Mute insensate things’ i.e. common silent and unnoticeable

objects of nature have a great influence on the human mind.

Thank you