UNIT 1

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH: ‘ODE

ON INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY
FROM RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY
CHILDHOOD’, ‘LINES COMPOSED A
FEW MILES ABOVE TINTERN ABBEY’
Structure
1.0 Objectives
1.1 Romantic Poetry
1.3 William Wordsworth
1.3.1 Introduction to Tintern Abbey

1.3.2 Outline of the Poem

1.3.3 Interpretation

1.4 The Daffodils

14.1 Outline of the Poem

1.4.2 Interpretation

1.5 Poetic Devices in Tintern Abbey and Daffodils

1.6 Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early
Childhood
1.7 Questions for Further Study
1.8 Let Us Sum Up
1.9 Suggested Readings

1.0 OBJECTIVES
This unit introduces you to Wordsworth, one of the pioneers of the nineteenth
century English Romantic Movement. The three poems included in your study
ofareTintern Abbey and Daffodils. The study of this unit is intended to
• help you understand the features of English Romantic Poetry in relation to
• offer you a detailed analysis of Wordsworth’s poems prescribed in your
course.
• enable you to understand the poetic devices employed by Wordsworth.
• gain insight into Wordsworth’s attitude towards nature.

1.1 ROMANTIC POETRY

In the last unit of the previous Block (Block 1, Unit 6), you studied The Elegy
written by Thomas Gray towards the second half of the 18th century. You may
recall that Gray has been classified as a pre-Romantic poet whose Elegy anticipates 61
British Romantic the Romantic Movement in English poetry. The Romantic movement of the
Literature II early 19th century is a continuation of the pre-Romantic trend seen in Gray.
Gray’s poems mark the nascent appreciation of the power of imagination. His
successors are the Romantics – Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley
and Byron. With them, the emphasis shifts altogether to the sphere of feeling
and imagination.
These poets look at the world with the eye of imagination, which is honed
and trained to penetrate beyond its surface reality and to perceive the essential
reality beneath it – what Wordsworth defines as “the Wisdom and Spirit of
the Universe. To Wordsworth “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings”. Shelley defines poetry as “the expression of the imagination”, while
Keats says “I describe what I imagine”. The Romantic poets thus seek to portray the
Infinite within the finite world, the ideal within the actual. The 19th C in Romantic
poets move away from the rational way of looking at the world towards intuitive
and individual insights. Thus, the single characteristic which distinguishes
Romantic poetry is the importance it attaches to the power of imagination.

1.2 WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) has written some of the finest poems on
Nature in English language. He was one of the pioneers of the early English
Romantic Movement in English poetry. He was deeply involved in the early
enthusiasm of the French Revolution. With Coleridge, he published ‘‘The
Lyrical Ballads’’ in 1798, which marks the beginning of a new trend in English
poetry. Wordsworth wrote a Preface to the second edition of ‘‘The Lyrical
Ballads’’ in 1800 which is regarded as the literary manifesto of the movement.
Wordsworth’s great poems include Tintern Abbey, Michael, Ode on Intimations
of Immortality, The Prelude, and Ode to Duty besides a large number of short
lyrics – notable among them being The Lucy poems, The Solitary Reaper,
Daffodils and The Leech Gatherer.

1.3 TINTERN ABBEY

1.3.1 Introduction to Tintern Abbey
Tintern Abbey is the abridged title of the poem Lines Composed A Few Miles
Above Tintern Abbey On Revisiting The Banks of The Wye During A Tour. This
poem was composed and published in 1798 and stands as a testimony to the two
basic creeds that Wordsworth enunciated in his ‘Preface’ to The Lyrical Ballads
in 1800. Wordsworth stated that poetry has its origin in “emotion recollected in
tranquility” and that poetry is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”.
In the light of these two poetic creeds, let us analyze the significance of the full
title of this poem. Can you identify the key word in this long title that lends
support to Wordsworth’s theories on poetic composition?
Wordsworth’s emphasis is on the word “revisiting”. This poem was composed
on his revisiting the Tintern Abbey that stands on the banks of the river Wye after
a lapse of five years. Hence, the poem is a recapitulation of the emotions that
Wordsworth had experienced on his earlier visit to the place. These recollected
emotions give rise to fresh feelings of joy that spontaneously flow out through
62 this poem. The poem in short, is an expression of Wordsworth’s thoughts and
feelings in the presence of a remembered scene. William
Wordsworth: ‘Ode
Tintern Abbey is a spiritual autobiography. Wordsworth’s recollection of on Intimations of
pleasures enjoyed during an earlier visit interlaced with harmony experienced Immortality from
Recollection of Early
in his present visit holds out to him the prospect of a similar joyous experience
Childhood’, ‘Lines
in the future and thus knits the poem into an autobiographical framework. The Composed A Few
poet traces his spiritual growth and development in the poem and therefore it is Miles Above Tintern
referred to as a spiritual autobiography. Wordsworth wrote three other poems Abbey’
of autobiographical kind – Ode on Intimations of Immortality, Ode to Duty and
The Prelude. Tintern Abbey is the first among these four poems.
The poem also falls in the category of meditative poetry which is philosophical
in intent and circular in structure. Tintern Abbey begins and ends with an
invocation to Nature. The last stanza with a reference to woods, cliffs and the
green pastoral farms is an echo of the opening stanza and thus the poem gains
a circular frame.

1.3.2 Outline of the Poem

The poem can be summarized along its five movements (each movement
corresponds to a stanza).
In the first movement, the poet describes nature with a special emphasis on its
essential quality of harmony and order.
In the second movement, he speaks of the gifts of nature with respect to himself.
Harmony in nature brings about harmony in the poet – in his senses, heart, mind
and soul. As a result, `the poet enters into a state of mystical trance when all his
external sensations are laid asleep and only his soul is awake, which with the
help of his power of imagination sees “into the life of things”- i.e., perceives the
essence of existence. Nature’s greatest gift is to transport him to a sublime state
where he can get a glimpse of the Infinite.
In the third movement he wakes up from his state of trance only to be tormented
by doubts as to the validity of these gifts of nature (harmony and insight.) But
the doubts are at once silenced as he recalls how he had always received comfort
and consolation from a recollection of these images of nature whenever he had
experienced the stress and strain of life amidst the din and noise of cities and
towns.
In the fourth movement, the poet surveys the scene before him – the sense that had
given him so much pleasure and reassurance in the past. He asserts that nature will
continue to provide similar sustenance in the future. What makes Wordsworth so
positive in his affirmation of nature’s perennial gifts? He traces the three stages
of his approach to nature – in his boyhood, youth and manhood and how through
a fusion of these varied experiences, he has always felt complete harmony and
identification with nature. It is then that he recognizes the correspondence between
the spirit in him and the spirit in nature as they both are moved by “the Wisdom
and Spirit of the Universe”. Nature has thus been a harmonising and protecting
influence on the poet.
In the fifth and final movement (not included in your course of study) Wordsworth
addresses nature with gratitude and a renewed prayer. He seeks nature’s blessings
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British Romantic
Literature II on his sister, Dorothy Wordsworth, who is in the second and youthful stage of
her approach to nature. He prays that she, like him, shall be led from joy to
joy and shall also experience the intimations of immortality in the presence of
nature.

1.3.3 Interpretation
Stanza 1 (II 1-22)
Wordsworth is celebrated as a poet of nature-not only for his accuracy of
description (as exemplified in this stanza), but also for expressing the spirit of
the landscape. Wordsworth personifies nature in all his poems and he perceives
a one-to-one correspondence between man and nature. In this connection,
it is worthwhile to recall the comment of Matthew Arnold— a 19th century
poet and critic who said that it looks as though nature has taken the pen
out of Wordsworth’s hands and written the poem for him. A detailed study
of Wordsworth’s poems reveals that despite the focus on nature, Man is the
protagonist in all his poems.
It is Man who is at the centre in his works and Wordsworth’s thesis involves
the interplay between the Mind (of Man) and nature. Man is the subject of his
poems, God (the Infinite) is the object and nature provides the link between the
subject and the object.
In these lines 1-22, nature is described not only in terms of its composition, but
the details relate to its innate qualities of harmony, seclusion, and quietude.
II 1-2: Note the threefold repetition of “five”. What is the significance of this
repetition? :
i) It offers a statement of the length of what has lapsed since the poet’s earlier
visit to Tintern Abbey.
ii) The threefold repetition taken in conjunction with the words “long” and two
visits. For the poet, this long absence has only made his heart grow fonder
of the place with memories of the images of nature which are forever green
and fresh in his mind.
From line 2 onwards, notice the repetition of the word “again” in lines 2,4,
9 and 14. Can you discern a connection between the two words “five” and
“again”?“Five” refers to the past—his visit to the place five years ago. “Again”
refers to the present—his present visit to the same spot. The return to the valley
after an interval of five long years gives him an excitement similar to the earlier
one, but made richer by the blend of the past and the present. This holds hops
for a more intense form of experience in the future.
II 2-22 Note the keywords that stress on the essential qualities of nature such as
harmony, solitude and quietness. Wordsworth describes nature in terms of “the
soft inland murmur” (4), “steep and lofty cliffs” (5), “secluded scene’(6), “quiet
of the sky”(8), “repose”(9), “green hue”(13)? “silence”(18), “hermit”(21-2) &
“alone”(22).
I 3 “mountain springs”: suggest freshness. Because they flow with a
64 soft inland murmur, there is the added suggestion of harmony and
 gentleness. William
Wordsworth: ‘Ode
II 5-7 The steep and lofty cliffs that connect the landscape with the quiet on Intimations of
of the sky suggest the link between the peaceful landscape below Immortality from
Recollection of Early
and the profound quietness of the heavens above. The harmony he
Childhood’, ‘Lines
notices in nature infuses harmony in the mind of the poet. These Composed A Few
lines establish the perfect communion between Wordsworth and Miles Above Tintern
nature. Abbey’

II 10-17 Nature is harmonious in all her aspects. Here you notice nature’s
harmony in colour. The orchard tufts with their unripe fruits look
green. They seem to be lost in the surrounding groves and copses
which are also green. The colour green is associated with springtime
freshness described in II 3-4.
In the first stanza, we notice Wordsworth’s talent for expressing the spirit of
the landscape. He has fused the world of man (of cottages and pastoral farms,
of orchards and hedgerows, of vagrant dwellers and hermit) with the world of
nature (of the lofty cliffs and mountain springs) and both are connected with
the quiet of the sky (the Symbol of the Divine Spirit). The landscape of Tintern
Abbey reveals to Wordsworth the unity of the universe.
Stanza II (23-48)
Wordsworth describes the gifts of nature bestowed on him. The most unique gift is
harmony and the most exalting gift is the perception of the infinite within the
finite world of beauty.
I 23- “beauteous forms”: “beauteous” is used in the sense of harmony.
The forms of nature are not only harmonious in themselves, but
capable of inducing harmony in others. They are not only beautiful
but they inspire a sense of beauty in others too.
II 23-7 These beauteous forms have smoothened him in his hours of
loneliness and weariness, in lonely rooms in the midst of the noise
of towns and cities.
II 27-30 “sensations sweet”: Harmony on the plane of the senses.
“felt in the blood and felt along the heart”: harmony on the plane of
the emotions.
“passing…..restoration”: harmony on the plane of thoughts.
Nature has given him sensual, emotional and mental harmony. Thus being
at peace within, he is able to perform spontaneous acts of kindness and love.
Hence Wordsworth feels a lot of gratitude towards nature.
II 37-48 describe the state of mystical trance that the poet attains as a result of
complete inner harmony infused in him by nature.
In this state, the world ceases to be a burden and he is able to perceive the order
and coherence within it. With his power of imagination, he penetrates into the
core of existence to discover the Infinite pattern within. This is what he means
when he says that he “sees into the life of things”
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British Romantic Stanza 3
Literature II
II 49-57 The third movement expresses a doubt in the poet’s mind regarding
nature’s gifts to him. But the doubt is cleared as he recalls with
gratitude how the memories of the Wye had given him comfort and
consolation during the periods of stress and strain.
54 “have… heart”: suggests the palpitations of excitement as he
remembers the pictures of the sylvan wye.
Stanza 4 (58-111)
The fourth movement traces the spiritual growth of Wordsworth. II 66-72 :
boyhood approach to nature
II 66-72 : boyhood approach to nature
72-85 : youthful approach 93-102 : manhood approach
II 58-65 : Wordsworth has a faint and dim recognition of the scene before
him, which he had seen five years ago.
60 : “sad perplexity”: Wordsworth is puzzled as to whether he can count
upon his present experience of joy and harmony to sustain him in
the future. This leads him to trace his different experiences he had
during his three-stage approach to nature.
66-74 the boyish days are characterised by “glad animal movements”.
Lime a new-born lamb, he had sprinted across the mountains and
meadows, by the side of rivers and streams in a state of sheer
physical excitement.
74-77 That time is past. The boyish days are over and in the next stage “Nature
was to him all in all”. These lines express Wordsworth’s romantic
love for nature. The essence of romantic love is the total identity
between the lover and his beloved. No other feelings, no other
thought, no other individual exists for the lovers… the senses
which had given him the visual images of nature have kindled in
him a romantic yearning for nature.
78-83 Wordsworth is known as the mighty poet of the eye and the ear.
These are the two senses that provide him with visual images
of nature. Hence he speaks of “the sounding cataracts”(auditory
perception) and the tall rocks, mountains and woods (visual
perception). He says that these objects of nature were not only an
appetite (a physical craving for sensual satisfaction), but objects of
passion to him. There is a fusion of the senses and the heart in this
second stage resulting in a total communion between the poet and
nature. No extraneous thought or interest intrudes into this state of
total identity.
II 85-95 Wordsworth no longer experiences “the aching joys” and “dizzy
raptures” as he enters the third stage of his approach to nature. But
he has no regrets for these losses because “abundant recompense”
66 has followed. No longer does he approach nature in the hour of
 thoughtless youth, but he has matured, been chastened and subdued William
of his romantic exuberance. How has this transformation come Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
about? Immortality from
Recollection of Early
Wordsworth gives the answer in II 93-4, “….but hearing often times; The still
Childhood’, ‘Lines
sad music of humanity”. Why does humanity make a chorus of sad music? Composed A Few
What does the poet mean by describing the“sad music” as “still”? How does he Miles Above Tintern
get to listening to this still, sad music of humanity? Abbey’

Wordsworth’s youthful approach to nature was one of passion, of “aching joys”

and “dizzy raptures”. But this romantic love does not last forever. It is in his
recognition of the transitoriness of something as powerful as romantic passion
that he understands the yawning gap between human aspiration for something
eternal and the denial or non-fulfilment of the same. The phrase “sad music of
humanity” crystallises the unfulfilled aspiration of mankind for the Infinite.
This sad music is still because it is heard by the soul and does not appeal to the
sensual ear of man. Hence humanity makes a chorus of still sad music.
By listening to the still, sad music of humanity, the poet says that he is chastened
and subdued. The earlier romantic stage had no thought or concern for anything
other than their mutual existence (Nature and Wordsworth). But in this mature
stage of his approach to nature, both mind and humanity have been included.
Wordsworth makes an integrated approach to nature with a fusion of his senses,
heart, mind and soul. It is then he discerns that the spirit in him is identical with
the spirit in nature and both are interpenetrated by the “Wisdom and Spirit of
the Universe”.
II 95-102 In this adulthood approach, he feels the presence of the sublime
Spirit that breathes and moves through all beings-that includes both
the world of nature and the mind of Man. He finds the manifestation
of that propelling force in all subjects and all objects. The Primary
Spirit is the force that lies beyond all thinking things and all objects
of all thought.
Is this a mystical experience and is it unique only of Wordsworth? No, because if
it is a mystical experience, it can take place only in a state of trance (as described
in the second stanza). But here Wordsworth communicates his experience with
an emphasis upon the things seen and remembered and not unrelated to a visible
world. The presence of outer nature sets into motion varied kinds of experiences
until he discovers that the spirit in nature and the spirit in him are not distinct,
but interfused by something that moves and breathes through them. Therefore,
he is a worshipper of nature which has given him the sublime experience of
“the one thing that rolls through all things”. Given below is a diagrammatic
illustration of the interplay between Man and nature as Wordsworth perceives
it:
The outer rims of the two concentric circles represent the external aspects of
Man and nature. The senses (the eye and the ear) perceive the external objects
of nature and give Man a sensual delight. The inner circle representing the heart
– the seat of emotions – finds a corresponding layer in nature as it apprehends
the essence of nature – its beauty and harmony. The result is an experience of
passionate love for nature. (refer 1.80) Deeper within is the mind - the seat of
67
British Romantic thought which experiences “tranquil restoration”. The innermost aspect of Man
Literature II is his soul which relates itself to the spirit in nature and recognizes the identity
between the two. Hence, Wordsworth’s thesis is that the spirit in Man is the
same as the spirit in nature and both are moved by the Primary Spirit of the
universe.
II 105-106 “both what they half create/And what perceive.”
The objects of nature are apprehended by the eye and the ear. But why does
Wordsworth say “what they half create?”While Man is totally absorbed in
nature, what is outward (external) comes to him through a selective perception
made by the eye and the ear. The shaping spirit of his imagination acts on
this selective perception and helps him recognize in nature the presence of the
universal spirit. Without the presence of nature and his love for it, he could not
have gained this sublime experience.
II 106-111 This mature love for nature enables him to love other men.
He has been liberated to have a total acceptance of the world. This is the
guidance he receives from nature. The world of nature and the perception of
the senses together influence the moral and spiritual aspects in him so that the
fourth movement ends on a reverential note of gratitude to nature. He offers his
thanks to nature whom he addresses as his spiritual educator and moral guide.
The meditation comes to an end in the final stanza (not included in your course)
when the object of this meditation—nature—is approached with great reverence
and prayer. Wordsworth prays to natural like a devotee who approaches his
deity in a mood of certitude.
Tintern Abbey blends past and present, the youth (his early years) and his new
self (mature years). These experiences are not disparate ones but they comprise
of one totality. Wordsworth’s visit to the Wye after a lapse of five years confirms
his belief in the unity of the past and the present as well as his belief in unity of
Man and nature. This poem is a spontaneous outflow of his powerful emotions
and feelings as a result of his recollection of his previous emotions that he had
experienced during his earlier visit to the place.

1.4 THE DAFFODILS

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Besides the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten saw I at a glance,
Tossing their in Sprightly dance.

68
The waves beside them danced: but they William
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
A poet could not but be gay, Immortality from
In such a jocund company: Recollection of Early
I gazed-and-gazed-but little thought Childhood’, ‘Lines
What wealth the show to me had brought: Composed A Few
Miles Above Tintern
For oft, when on my couch Abbey’
I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heat with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

1.4.1 Outline of the Poem

This poem records an anecdote of Wordsworth’s life history when he came upon
a bunch of daffodils while walking in Lake District. Daffodils are yellow flowers
that are found in plenty in Lake District, a picturesque mountainous region in
England. Wordsworth says that Daffodils is not just a poem of simple human
sentiments of pleasure and delight on seeing a bunch of daffodils, but this tender
and delicate poem has much to offer to the reader in terms of “knowledge”. By
“knowledge”, Wordsworth means knowledge of the process of poetic creation.
The poem is remarkable for its accuracy of description and it also offers an
account of the way poetry is created. It illustrates the working of Wordsworth’s
imagination as it acts on the picture of daffodils given by the senses and turns it
into a rich, perennial source of joy and inspiration. He can recall these images
at times of stress and strain or during periods of loneliness and experience joy
and tranquillity. Daffodils is yet another instance of the overflow of emotion
recollected in tranquillity.

1.4.2 Interpretation
1.1 “could” suggests a mood of desolation, of uncertainty, and
loneliness. The movement of the cloud with no discernible pattern
or direction suggests that the poet is wandering aimlessly.
Contrast this mood of depression with the later mood of “bliss of
solitude” described in 1.22. The metamorphosis takes place as a
result of the poet finding himself in “jocund company”(1.16) of
the daffodils. The poem thus records the progress of the poet from
an initial state of loneliness to a state of fellowship with nature
which leads him to a state of creative joy in the process of poetic
composition.
II 3-4 The poet’s mood of indifference is “all at once” broke as his eyes
rest upon a “host of golden daffodils”. These lines hint at the
beginnings of poetic process in Wordsworth. The flowers which
to begin with are described as “a crowd” are referred to in the
following line as “a host”. The term “crowd” is associated with a
number of persons or things pressing together without any order.
Wordsworth initially sees the flowers as bunched together with no
69
British Romantic order about them.
Literature II
But the creative process within him is set in motion as he suddenly discovers a
pattern in their midst. They no longer appear as a crowd, but take the form of
“a host” – a term often associated with “a host of angels.” The daffodils are no
longer simple yellow flowers in wild growth, but they are of a rich golden hue.
The poet’s creative imagination is already at work as the crowd of yellow flowers
is transferred into a host of golden daffodils.
II 5-6 Wordsworth is remarkable because of his accuracy in his
presentation of details. The daffodils need adequate water and
shade for their growth. Hence the poet says that the daffodils are
seen in abundance beside the lake and beneath the trees.
116 The poet sees the fluttering and dancing movement of the flowers as
they are swayed by the breeze that blows across the lake. Again in
lines 13-14, he says that the waves danced like the flowers but not
with “glee”. The word “glee” is a significant word in Wordsworth’s
poems when he uses it to describe the joy of creative activity. The
dance of the daffodils is akin to creative ecstasy.
What sets the flowers and the waves in motion? It is the breeze—yet another
significant word in his poems. “Breeze” in Wordsworth’s usage often represents
creative inspiration. The breeze that sets in motion the daffodils in gay abandon
is equivalent to the poetic breeze that sets in motion the poet’s imagination
towards creative activity.
11 17-24 The daffodils are linked with the stars that shine and twinkle on
“the milky way”. By instituting this comparison with the stars,
Wordsworth has made the daffodils a part of the universal order.
The multitudinous flowers tossing their heads in sprightly dance
resemble the bright stars in the Galaxy. Shining, twinkling and
dancing, the flowers exude joy and life that lift the lonely heart
of Wordsworth into a state of bliss. In such a company, the poet
cannot but be gay. Where he was lonely at the beginning, he is now
in “the jocund company” of the daffodils.
11 17-24 gazed: looked intently. In ‘the case of Wordsworth, it is an act
of mind. It is both perception and creation. Compare “what they
half create and what perceive” (11 106-7) (Tintern Abbey). The
poet is not only experiencing immediate pleasure but is storing the
experience for the future. But he is not conscious of what he is
doing as he gazes at the daffodils.
Later when he is in a pensive and vacant mood, in loneliness and disquietude,
he is able to recall these delightful pictures of the daffodils. They flash upon his
inward eye—the eye of imagination—and give him peace and consolation. As
he recollects the past emotions in tranquillity, he is creatively inspired to render
these emotions flow through his poetic composition.

70
Daffodils concretises Wordsworth’s romantic belief in poetry as ‘‘a spontaneous William
overflow of emotions recollected in tranquillity’’. Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
Immortality from
1.5 POETIC DEVICES IN TINTERN ABBEY AND Recollection of Early
THE DAFFODILS Childhood’, ‘Lines
Composed A Few
1) In his preface to the Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth presented a set of Miles Above Tintern
propositions about the nature and criteria of poetry. We have dealt with Abbey’
Wordsworth’s basic definitions of poetry as “a spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings” and as “emotion recollected in tranquillity”. Besides
these, he had also commented on poetic diction and figurative speech.
Wordsworth believed that poetry is the instinctive utterance of feeling and
passion and so the language of poetry is the language of passion and emotion
and therefore, it is natural. In other words, he said that there is no need
in poetry to deviate from ordinary language—(i.e.) the language spoken
by men under the stress of genuine feeling. He describes natural language
as “the simple and unelaborated expressions of essential passions by men
living close to nature”. As for the figures of speech employed in poetry,
Wordsworth rejected the concept of figures as the ornaments of language.
He said that the figures of speech instead of being “supposed ornaments”
should be naturally suggested by passion. Both diction and imagery in
these two poems ‘‘Tintern Abbey’’ and ‘‘Daffodils’’ are consistent with
Wordsworth’s pronouncements. For example the imagery is Tintern Abbey
expresses its quietness and harmony. Wordsworth speaks of harmony in
sights and sounds. The progression to the quiet phase of nature is seen in
the progression in the imagery from the “din of cities” to “the soft inland
murmur” to “the still, sad music of humanity”. Note the harmony in colour
in the opening lines of the poem. Similarly in Daffodils, we notice the poet’s
creative imagination that turns “a crowd” of yellow flowers into “a host” of
“golden” daffodils.
2) Wordsworth’s use of similes in Daffodils is illustrative of his use of figures
as suggested by his emotion and feelings. He begins the poem by instituting
a comparison between himself and the cloud—suggestive of his drifting
aimlessly in a mood of desolation and despondency. Try to explain the
other comparison in the poem between the daffodils and the stars on the
milky way.
3) Identify the use of alliterations in the two poems.
(Hints: “Sensations Sweet”, “Secluded scene”, “Sent up in silence “(Tintern
Abbey), “Stars that Shine”, “Beside the lake, beneath the trees” (Daffodils)
“Ten thousand. Tossing”.
4) Wordsworth’s insistence upon language as primitive utterance of passions

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British Romantic is seen in the archaisms in the poems. For example we have the expression
Literature II “beauteous forms” (TinternAbbey), the “jocund company” (Daffodils) that
suggest the impassioned utterances of the poet.

1.6 Ode: Intimations of Immortality

from Recollections of Early
Childhood
The Poem
The child is father of the man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
(Wordsworth, “My Heart Leaps Up”)
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
       The earth, and every common sight,
                          To me did seem
                      Apparelled in celestial light,
            The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
                      Turn wheresoe’er I may,
                          By night or day.
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.

                      The Rainbow comes and goes,

                      And lovely is the Rose,
                      The Moon doth with delight
       Look round her when the heavens are bare,
                      Waters on a starry night
                      Are beautiful and fair;
       The sunshine is a glorious birth;
       But yet I know, where’er I go,
That there hath past away a glory from the earth.

Now, while the birds thus sing a joyous song,

       And while the young lambs bound
                      As to the tabor’s sound,
To me alone there came a thought of grief:
A timely utterance gave that thought relief,
                      And I again am strong:
The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep;
No more shall grief of mine the season wrong;
I hear the Echoes through the mountains throng,
       The Winds come to me from the fields of sleep,
                      And all the earth is gay;
                           Land and sea
                Give themselves up to jollity,
                      And with the heart of May

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                 Doth every Beast keep holiday;— William
                      Thou Child of Joy, Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
Shout round me, let me hear thy shouts, thou happy Shepherd-boy. Immortality from
Recollection of Early
Ye blessèd creatures, I have heard the call Childhood’, ‘Lines
      Ye to each other make; I see Composed A Few
The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee; Miles Above Tintern
Abbey’
      My heart is at your festival,
            My head hath its coronal,
The fulness of your bliss, I feel—I feel it all.
                      Oh evil day! if I were sullen
                      While Earth herself is adorning,
                         This sweet May-morning,
                      And the Children are culling
                         On every side,
In a thousand valleys far and wide,
                      Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm,
And the Babe leaps up on his Mother’s arm:—
                      I hear, I hear, with joy I hear!
                      —But there’s a Tree, of many, one,
A single field which I have looked upon,
Both of them speak of something that is gone;
                      The Pansy at my feet
                      Doth the same tale repeat:
Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
                      Hath had elsewhere its setting,
                         And cometh from afar:
                      Not in entire forgetfulness,
                      And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
                      From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
Shades of the prison-house begin to close
                      Upon the growing Boy,
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,
                      He sees it in his joy;
The Youth, who daily farther from the east
                      Must travel, still is Nature’s Priest,
                      And by the vision splendid
                      Is on his way attended;
At length the Man perceives it die away,
And fade into the light of common day.

Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own;

Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind,
                      And, even with something of a Mother’s mind, 73
                      And no unworthy aim,
The homely Nurse doth all she can
British Romantic To make her Foster-child, her Inmate Man,
Literature II                       Forget the glories he hath known,
And that imperial palace whence he came.

Behold the Child among his new-born blisses,

A six years’ Darling of a pigmy size!
See, where ‘mid work of his own hand he lies,
Fretted by sallies of his mother’s kisses,
With light upon him from his father’s eyes!
See, at his feet, some little plan or chart,
Some fragment from his dream of human life,
Shaped by himself with newly-learn(e)d art
                      A wedding or a festival,
                      A mourning or a funeral;
                         And this hath now his heart,
                      And unto this he frames his song:
                         Then will he fit his tongue
To dialogues of business, love, or strife;
                      But it will not be long
                      Ere this be thrown aside,
                      And with new joy and pride
The little Actor cons another part;
Filling from time to time his “humorous stage”
With all the Persons, down to palsied Age,
That Life brings with her in her equipage;
                      As if his whole vocation
                      Were endless imitation.

Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie

                      Thy Soul’s immensity;
Thou best Philosopher, who yet dost keep
Thy heritage, thou Eye among the blind,
That, deaf and silent, read’st the eternal deep,
Haunted for ever by the eternal mind,—
                      Mighty Prophet! Seer blest!
                      On whom those truths do rest,
Which we are toiling all our lives to find,
In darkness lost, the darkness of the grave;
Thou, over whom thy Immortality
Broods like the Day, a Master o’er a Slave,
A Presence which is not to be put by;
Thou little Child, yet glorious in the might
Of heaven-born freedom on thy being’s height,
Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke
The years to bring the inevitable yoke,
Thus blindly with thy blessedness at strife?
Full soon thy Soul shall have her earthly freight,
And custom lie upon thee with a weight,
Heavy as frost, and deep almost as life!
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                      O joy! that in our embers William
                      Is something that doth live, Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
                      That Nature yet remembers Immortality from
What was so fugitive! Recollection of Early
The thought of our past years in me doth breed Childhood’, ‘Lines
Perpetual benediction: not indeed Composed A Few
For that which is most worthy to be blest; Miles Above Tintern
Abbey’
Delight and liberty, the simple creed
Of Childhood, whether busy or at rest,
With new-fledged hope still fluttering in his breast:—
                      Not for these I raise
                      The song of thanks and praise
                But for those obstinate questionings
                Of sense and outward things,
                Fallings from us, vanishings;
                Blank misgivings of a Creature
Moving about in worlds not realised,
High instincts before which our mortal Nature
Did tremble like a guilty thing surprised:
                      But for those first affections,
                      Those shadowy recollections,
                Which, be they what they may
Are yet the fountain-light of all our day,
Are yet a master-light of all our seeing;
                Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make
Our noisy years seem moments in the being
Of the eternal Silence: truths that wake,
                To perish never;
Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavour,
                      Nor Man nor Boy,
Nor all that is at enmity with joy,
Can utterly abolish or destroy!
                Hence in a season of calm weather
                      Though inland far we be,
Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea
                      Which brought us hither,
                Can in a moment travel thither,
And see the Children sport upon the shore,
And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.

Then sing, ye Birds, sing, sing a joyous song!

                      And let the young Lambs bound
                      As to the tabor’s sound!
We in thought will join your throng,
                      Ye that pipe and ye that play,
                      Ye that through your hearts to-day
                      Feel the gladness of the May!
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
                Though nothing can bring back the hour 75
British Romantic Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
Literature II                       We will grieve not, rather find
                      Strength in what remains behind;
                      In the primal sympathy
                      Which having been must ever be;
                      In the soothing thoughts that spring
                      Out of human suffering;
                      In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.
And O, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves,
Forebode not any severing of our loves!
Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might;
I only have relinquished one delight
To live beneath your more habitual sway.
I love the Brooks which down their channels fret,
Even more than when I tripped lightly as they;
The innocent brightness of a new-born Day
                      Is lovely yet;
The Clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o’er man’s mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
Interpretation:
Wordsworth begins the poem with a note of sadness- on having lost the glorious
years of youth when everything seemed full of life and vigour. The deeper
connection that the poet used to have with nature is now lost and despite many
efforts the poet is unable to reconnect. During the older days everything seemed
serene, ‘apparelled in celestial light’. The dreamlike days are now over. Trials
and tribulations have stolen the thunder of the poet that he possessed in the
boyhood days. This brooding-over-the-loss attitude of the poet, however,
changes when the old charm and youthfulness (in the form a memory, perhaps)
revisits him. But this joy rekindled is only momentary and once again the sense
of disconnect revisits the poet. In the third stanza, the poet seems resolved not
to be defeated by this sadness that comes from within and reflects in everything
that lies around and in all the objects of nature-- the ‘bleating lamb’, the ‘singing
birds’.
The fifth stanza is one of the most important parts of this poem in the sense
that herein Wordsworth puts his point across to the readers in the most obvious
way when he writes ‘Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:’. The memory
of heaven is fresh in our infancy. Growing up is like moving away from the
celestial centre. The ‘Shades of the prison-house begin to close’once we begin
to transit from youth to old age, by extension, from innocence to maturity.
Towards the end of the poem, Wordsworth acknowledges the supremacy of
76 a man’s emotional prowess. Ultimately, it is by our hearts that we sustain
everything. The joys, the fears, the tenderness that our heart is capable of William
experiencing makes us all the more human. It makes possible the visualization Wordsworth: ‘Ode
on Intimations of
of rainbow in through a bubble. Trivial things matter and it is through our heart Immortality from
we get to realize the worth of everything. Recollection of Early
Childhood’, ‘Lines
1.7 QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY Composed A Few
Miles Above Tintern
1) What do you understand by the term “spiritual autobiography”? Abbey’

2) Do the poems Tintern Abbey and Daffodils subscribe to Wordsworth’s

3) definition of poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquillity”?
4) What are the three stages of Wordsworth’s approach to nature? How is
his mature approach to nature distinct from his boyhood and youthful
approaches?
5) Explain Daffodils as a poem about the process of poetic creation.

1.8 LET US SUM UP

• Wordsworth defines poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful
emotions” and as “emotion recollected in tranquillity:’
• Wordsworth’s Tintern Abbey is a spiritual autobiography dealing with the
spiritual growth and development of Wordsworth.
• Wordsworth’s poems illustrate his romantic theory about nature and criteria
for poetry.
• Language of poetry, according to Wordsworth is the natural language
spoken by men.

1.9 SUGGESTED READINGS

Bloom, Harold, and Janyce Marson. William Wordsworth. Bloom’s Literary
Criticism, 2009.
Bauer, Neil Stephen. William Wordsworth: a Reference Guide. G.K. Hall,
1978.
Christie, James W. “‘Tintern Abbey’ as an Introduction to Poetry.” The Wordsworth
Circle, vol. 9, no. 4, 1978, pp. 354–356., doi:10.1086/twc24041185.

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