It is in the awe of Nature that the poet finds himself most inspired,
most elevated. He inspires readers to gain knowledge of the
splendours surrounding life’s beauty.
It is in the nature of man to rob the same beauty
he is seeking to understand its essence,
reducing it to trivial functions like industrial
development.
William Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in
Early Spring” (1798) expresses his
discontent with the heartless materialism
of the Enlightenment tradition (the
Industrial Revolution). He appeals to the
reader’s instincts and asks the reader to
observe the world through a superior,
romantic lens.
As a poem, “Lines Written in Early
Spring,” is written with the purpose of
freeing the human soul.
The poet feels that through man’s
desire to study the natural world, and
the ways in which nature can be made
use of, he has led him to believe that he
is not a part of nature, not a central
component of it.
Wordsworth illustrates this in his
poem by describing the way in which
all the individual parts and players
found in the natural world—the
flowers, the periwinkle, the birds and
trees—while still remaining
independent agents, never fancy
themselves as being outside the
grand scheme; instead feeling happy
about being a part it.
Humans, on the other hand, is
spiritually poor; they instinctively know
that they are a part of Nature, and
feels a cosmic urge to better
understand it, but the more they use
materialism to try to understand it, the
more difficult it will be to feel the true
essence of Nature’s work.
“To her fair works did Nature link the
Human soul that through me ran”
establishes the idea of Nature as the
unifying theme of life, and that the
human soul is the result of nature’s
work and is inseparable from its origin.
“And much it grieved my heart
to think what man has made of
man.” The poet believes Nature
is the creator and preserver of
man’s soul, and is now
in danger that is
bound to occur whenever man
tries to define Nature (and his
place in it) by his own terms.
According to Wordsworth, humans no longer
understand this and it is shown in our inability to
understand that our presence is as much a part
of her order as any other organism.
“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 ” -
how their thoughts he need not measure, because it
is true there is a lot of happiness in it, both for the
poet as well as the bird.
The birds themselves are unable
to reflect on the science of their
happiness, yet are still aware of
what makes them happy, suggest
that the utility of man’s rational
approach to seeing Nature is
deeply flawed.