PowerPoint Poetry :

PowerPointPoetry:“Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth (1798)

I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sate reclined,In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughtsBring sad thoughts to the mind.

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.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths; And 'tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes.

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 budding twigs spread out their fan, To catch the breezy air; And I must think, do all I can, That there was pleasure there.

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?

• Six quatrains

• ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ KLKL rhyme scheme

• Written during the Romantic period, when writers celebrated nature and feeling

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.

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.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

And 'tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

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 budding twigs spread out their fan,

To catch the breezy air;

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there.

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 sits in a forest, listening

• The notes he hears are “blended” – they sound good together

• The speaker is in a weird mood: for some reason his happy thoughts lead directly to “sad thoughts”

• Maybe the place he’s hanging out is so perfect that he can’t help but think of how imperfect everywhere else is?

old-fashioned

“sat”

























• The speaker states, with certainty, that his human soul is connected to all of nature

• “Nature” is personified, it is female – it sounds like Mother Nature

• The speaker is sad when he thinks about what human beings have done with themselves

• The reader gets the impression that the speaker thinks humans have forgotten about their connection to nature

saddened

























• The speaker tells us more about the poem’s setting: it’s full of flowers, it’s really beautiful

• The speaker states that he believes that flowers take pleasure in their existence

• That’s kind of a strange faith!

two kinds of flower

common in

England

bunches

a pleasant shady place

























• In addition to the flowers, there are a lot of birds here

• The speaker acknowledges that he has no idea what birds think

• Nevertheless, the speaker thinks he knows what birds feel – he thinks that, like the flowers, the birds take pleasure in their existence

• More specifically, the birds take pleasure in the simplest facts of their existence. They enjoy every flutter of their wings, every peck of their beaks, etc.

a sudden feeling

























• Birds do it, flowers do it, even trees do it: they all experience pleasure in being alive

• The speaker suggests that he has tried not to think this way – perhaps to think more scientifically – but he can’t help it

• What he is describing is truly a “faith” – it is unverifiable, but his belief is nevertheless unshakeable maybe their buds?

























• The poem ends with an If-Then statement

• If the speaker’s feeling is correct, if it is part of God’s design, then his sadness regarding what human beings have done with themselves is reasonable

mourn, feel sad about


•What have human beings done with themselves? The speaker thinks that they have cut themselves off from nature, and so cut themselves off from the pleasure that nature offers every living thing

• Wordsworth was writing in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. More and more people were moving to Britain’s cities. Men, women, and children worked long hours doing repetitive tasks for hourly wages.

• Smog was invented in London; buildings turned black from the air pollution…

• Perhaps Wordsworth’s speaker is sad because when he’s done sitting in the forest, he’ll likely return to one of Britain’s cities


• Some people predict that humans will be an entirely urban species by the end of this century

• Over the next one hundred years, as many as three billion people are expected to make the move from country to city, and so follow in the footsteps of Wordsworth’s neighbours

• “Lines Written in Early Spring” asks the reader to consider what might be left behind when we make this move

• Wordsworth’s poem reminds us that we can decide what to do with ourselves, what to make of ourselves

• Industrialization, and the loss of a connection to nature, is not inevitable if we don’t want it to be

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