Though Lines Written In Early Spring is a very short poem, it is a summary of Wordsworth’s attitude to Nature and his views on man. Let’s explore the Lines Written In Early Spring summary questions answers.
About the poet William Wordsworth:
William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) is considered to be one of the greatest poets. His contribution to English poetry is unique. He was the only European poet who looked upon Nature in the way in which many of us Indians so. Nature has been dealt with in many ways by other poets too. But Wordsworth alone looked upon her as possessing a spirit closely allied to that of human beings.
He thought that man is but a part and parcel of that moving spirit which gives life to all the things in the universe. Hence, he looked upon Nature as something to be worshipped. Most of his poems have the purpose of teaching this message of the influence of Nature, and the kinship between man and Nature. The life of Wordsworth was particularly suited to this attitude to Nature. He was allowed to lead an undisturbed life in the midst of Nature in his early days. This left a powerful impression on Wordsworth as a sensitive boy.
Lines Written in Early Spring Poem Text:
I heard a thousand blended notes
While in a grove I state reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Being 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 can not 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?
Lines Written In Early Spring Summary:
Stanza 1:
One day, early in the Spring season, the poet Wordsworth was spending the time at leisure in a grove. He gave himself up to the thousand sights and sounds of Nature that surrounded him on the spot. His mood at that time was a peculiar mixture of happiness and saddens.
The poet feels happy because every object of Nature is happy around him and produces a healthy and pleasant effect on himself personally. But at the same time, he is sad because other persons who can be equally influenced by Nature and be good and happy thereby, miss the chance by their own indifference. He is happy about himself but sad for the sake of others.
Stanza 2:
Nature appeared to ‘connect’ the human soul with Her beautiful creatures like the flowers and birds and the pleasant breeze, through his own soul. In this Stanza, the poet explains clearly why his pleasant thoughts were mixed with sad thoughts. When everything else in Nature was happy and good, man alone had made himself miserable. People had ‘dehumanized’ themselves.
Stanza 3:
The next three stanzas explain how the other objects of Nature were making themselves happy. There was a green bower and clusters or groups of primrose plants. Through them the periwinkle creeper trailed along, embracing them as if in a friendly manner. To the poet it appeared that every flower welcomed and enjoyed the air it breathed. There appeared to be a picture of perfect ‘co-operative’ happiness in the world of the plants and flowers
In this Stanza, the poet points out that the different kinds of plants and creepers live in happiness with one another. All together appeared to enjoy the air breathed by them. By contrast, the poet implies human beings do not follow this principle of mutual affection and happiness. The feeling of the ‘family of man’ is not found in them as in the case of the plant world.
Stanza 4:
Similarly, the birds hopped about in cheerful play and pleasure. Naturally, the poet could not guess what thoughts they might have had when they were so happy. But he knew that the slightest movement made by them indicated a thrill of pleasure.
Stanza 5:
The poet comes back to the world of the plants again. The twigs which were just budding appeared to spread out their fan-like leaves in order yo catch the breeze and refresh themselves. The poet could not help being filled with happiness when he watched the sight. This stanza, more or less repeats what has been said in the second stanza. But the poet makes clear the affinity between the air and the plants whose twigs appear to be extended to receive the breeze and give a welcome to it.
Stanza 6:
This is the last stanza of the poem, is a clear interpretation of what he has seen and felt so far. He has said that there appeared to be a feeling of ‘friendship’ and ‘oneness’ among the plants and the birds and they were all happy. Further, he felt that there was an affinity between his own soul and the things seen by him. He feels that this faith has been sent to him from heaven itself.
He is convinced also that there is a plan in ‘Nature’ to unite all her ‘children’ and make them happy in one another’s contact. When such is case, he can not but be sad to find that human beings alone appeared to act against ‘the Wisdom and Spirit of the Universe.’ They had not merely cut themselves away from Nature, but were harming one another. In other words, ‘what man had done to man’ was contrary to the Law of Nature, as
Wordsworth was able to see it in the activities of the plants and the birds and the breeze in the grove where he had been reclining with thoughtful pleasure. This brief poem is thus a re-affirmation of his theory of Nature.
Lines Written in Early Spring Questions Answers:
1. How does Wordsworth describe his mood when he has been reclining early in spring?
Ans: Wordsworth describes his mood when was reclining at ease one day early in spring. There were a thousand noises around him and they blended sweetly in harmony. A sweet mood was produced in the poet, which was a combination of pleasant thoughts and sad ones. The pleasure arose because of the happiness of the various things of Nature. They appeared to be all ‘at one’ according to a holy plan of Nature.
The sadness arose in his mind because of the only exception to the general rule. Man alone did not appear to be a part and parcel of the general law of Nature. His activities were based on hatred and not love. Hence, the poet was sad to think of ‘what man had made of man’. The poet’s feelings were thus mixed ones of joy and sorrow. We are reminded of the words of Shelley in his “Ode to a Skylark” to the effect, “Our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught.”
2. How does Wordsworth create a bond between him and the Nature in the poem, Lines Written in Early Spring?
Ans: Wordsworth in his poem “Lines Written in Early Spring” explains why his pleasant thoughts were mixed with sad ones. He was happy because all things in Nature appeared to be very happy. Further there appeared to be a bond between him and the ‘fair works’ of Nature. He believed that there was one spirit which breathed through human beings and the other objects of Nature.
The ‘human soul’ which was present in his individual life was connected with the ‘fair works of Nature’, and he grew conscious of that. At the same time, he felt sad to think that other men did not realize this ‘unity’ Or ‘bond’ among themselves, and between them and the other objects of Nature. That is why Wordsworth was unhappy in the midst of his joy in the sight of the fair works of Nature around him.
3. How does the poem “Lines Written in Early Spring” describe Wordsworth’s theory of pantheism in Nature?
Ans: Wordsworth in his poem, “Lines Written in Early Spring” describes in detail the ‘fair works’ of Nature which were linked by Nature with his human soul. There was green bower near the place where he was reclining at ease. There, some creepers were intertwining themselves with groups of primrose flowers. The flowers appeared to be happy.
There seemed to be an ‘affection’ between them and the air which they breathed. That was Wordsworth’s faith. Again and again, he observes that there is one spirit which breathes through all created things. Hence his statement that every flower enjoyed the air breathed by it, just as human beings enjoy fresh breeze which blows upon them. What we call ‘intimate’ things are not really lifeless, in the view of Wordsworth.
4. What is meant by “nature’s holy plan”?
Ans: Wordsworth describes the ‘nature’s holy plan’ in the conclusion of the poem. The primroses and creepers, the birds and the twigs appeared to be very happy. He felt that Nature was binding them to his own human soul. That was his philosophy of life. He thought that all things in Nature had an affinity between one another and that human beings too were part and parcel of Nature.
He felt that this belief was a holy one sent from heaven itself. He was sure that there was a holy plan in Nature to bind things and persons in holy joy and love. But human beings alone did not fall in line with the general law. They harmed one another. Therefore, says the poet, his pleasant thoughts were mixed with sad ones for the sake of humanity. What man has made of man, the manner in which human being harmed others and themselves was a sad thought for him.
5. What was Wordsworth’s attitude to Nature and towards other human beings in Lines Written in Early Spring?
Ans: Though the “Lines Written in Early Spring” is a short poem, it is a summary of Wordsworth’s attitude to Nature and his views on man. He believed that there is a ‘holy plan’ in Nature. One spirit runs through all created things. There is a Spirit and Wisdom of the Universe shaping all things. Even ‘inanimate’ or lifeless things have this ‘soul’ and human beings too are moved by the same spirit.
This holy truth, according to the poet, can be realised by persons who view natural objects around them with sympathy and understanding. Unfortunately, human beings do not pay sufficient attention to Nature which can be an excellent teacher to them and give them comfort. But ‘what man has made of man’ is something sad to think of. These form the creed of Wordsworth, and he explains it clearly in the “Lines Written in Early Spring”.
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