William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850)

William Wordsworth Born near, and raised in, the English Lake District, Wordsworth was left alone with the visible world at an unnaturally early age. Though he had three brothers and a sister, Dorothy, to whom he was closer than he would ever be to anyone else, he still had to sustain the death of his mother when he was just eight, and of his father when he was thirteen. His childhood bond was primarily with nature, the beautiful surroundings of the Lake Country. A love of the natural world is reflected in many of his poems.

Lines Written in Early Spring

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sat 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?

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