Lines Written In The Early Spring (Poem)

Unit 3: Poem – Lines Written in Early Spring

William Wordsworth

Warm Up

• Do you go for leisurely walks? If you are a city-dweller, what or who would you expect to see on your way?
• If you go to a village, what scenes would you observe?

Now, read the poem Lines Written in Early Spring, which expresses the poet’s feelings towards Nature and the lessons he has learnt from it.

Poem

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 trail’d its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopp’d and play’d
Their thoughts I cannot measure,
But the least motion which they made
It seem’d 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?

About the Author

William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) was a major English poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English Literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth was Britain’s Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death. He was popularly known as a Nature Poet. Some of his famous poems are Daffodils, The Solitary Reaper, To the Cuckoo, The Tables Turned and Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey.

Glossary

• grove – a small area of land with a group of trees
• sate – old-fashioned spelling for sat
• recline – lean back in a position of rest
• grieve – mourn or to feel intense sorrow
• primrose – a wild plant with yellow flowers
• tufts – bunches
• bower – a pleasant shady place under trees
• periwinkle – a trailing plant with large blue flowers
• wreaths – an arrangement of flowers in the shape of a circle
• lament – to express sorrow or unhappiness about something

1. Find words from the poem that convey the following ideas:

a. connected together
b. spread over the surface of the ground in a straggling manner
c. make out or understand
d. slender woody shoots growing from branches or stems of trees

2. Complete the summary of the poem

Fill in the blanks with the words given below:
creations, abundance, savour, pleasant, suffering, grove, lament, pervading, sorrowful, ecstasy

The poet, in a relaxed state of mind, is sitting in a (1) grove. He reflects on how his mood brings (2) pleasant thoughts, which are inevitably followed by (3) sorrowful ones. He feels connected to all of nature, and senses an inherent joy in all (4) creations. He has faith in the fact that all the primroses and periwinkles around him (5) savour the air they breathe. He feels that every bird in the grove moves with (6) ecstasy. As the twigs catch the breezy air, they do so with the same pleasure (7) pervading all life on earth. 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 of how mankind alone has wrought sorrow and (8) suffering upon itself. He firmly believes that man is meant to spend his days blissfully taking part in the vitality and joy surrounding him in (9) abundance. He therefore concludes rhetorically, emphasizing that he has good reason to (10) lament the distress man unnecessarily brings upon himself.

3. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow.

(i)
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes…
a. What is the poet’s faith?
b. What trait of Nature do we see here?

(ii)
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there…
a. What did the poet notice about the twigs?
b. What was the poet’s thought about then?

(iii)
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan.
a. What does ‘heaven’ refer to?
b. Why does the poet call it ‘holy’?

4. Explain the following lines with reference to the context in about four to five sentences each.

a. In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

b. The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,
Their thoughts I cannot measure.

c. Have I not reason to lament
What Man has made of Man?

5. A. Read the following lines and identify the figures of speech used in each extract.

a. To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran.

b. And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

c. What Man has made of Man?

B. Read the poem once again. Identify the rhyme scheme and pick out the rhyming pairs of words.

6. Based on your reading of the poem, answer the following questions in a sentence or two each.

a. How does the poet feel while enjoying the beauty of Nature?
b. Does Nature affect a person’s thoughts and feelings? Explain.
c. How do people bring grief and sorrow to one another?
d. Why does the poet think that the birds were happy?
e. The poet finds joy in various objects of Nature. Explain.
f. Bring out the poet’s thoughts, while comparing Nature with human behaviour.

7. Complete the following sentences by choosing the best options.

a. The poet experiences sadness because ___.
i) the blended notes are jarring
ii) Nature is filled with negativity
iii) he is worried about the destruction caused to Nature
iv) natural calamities occur frequently

b. The poem is set in a __.
i) city ii) village iii) grove iv) park

c. The poem speaks of ______.
i) Man’s plan to shape destiny
ii) Man seeking pleasure and riches
iii) Man indulging in wars and acts of destruction
iv) Man’s fear of Nature

8. Answer in a paragraph of about 100–150 words.

Do you think the poet wants to say that man is unhappy because he has lost his link with nature and forgotten how to enjoy nature, or because man is cruel to other men?

9. Listening Activity

Some phrases have been left out in the poem below. First, read the poem. Then, fill in the missing words on listening to the reading or the recording of it in full. You may listen again, if required.

To Autumn – William Blake

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my __, there thou may’st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my _;
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the _ of fruits and flowers.
“The __ opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her _;
Blossoms hang round the brows of morning, and
Flourish down the _ of modest Eve,
Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And __ strew flowers round her head.
The spirits of the air live on the smells
Of fruit; and joy, with _, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”
Thus sang the ___ as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his ______.

10. Speaking Activity

a. What scene in nature gives you pleasure? Talk for a minute describing a natural scene that gave you a lot of joy. What did you see, hear, smell or feel, that gave you joy?

b. Work in groups of 4–6. Discuss how you would preserve the environment and protect Nature. One or two representatives may share their ideas with the class.

11. Answer the following in a paragraph of 100–150 words each:

a. ‘Nature can nurture’. Describe how this process happens.
b. When humanity fails to live in harmony with Nature, its effects are felt around the world. Why and how?
c. Write a letter to the Councillor of your Ward, explaining why a park is necessary in your locality.

12. Parallel Reading

Summer Sun – Robert Louis Stevenson

Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.

Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.

The dusty attic spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.

Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy’s inmost nook.

Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.