Overview
This lecture provides a detailed line-by-line analysis of William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Written in Early Spring," focusing on its context, themes, structure, and literary devices.
Context & Significance of the Title
- Wordsworth wrote the poem in 1798 during the French Revolution, reflecting on violence and human suffering.
- The title uses "spring" as pathetic fallacy to present nature's harmony, which contrasts with human disharmony.
- The irony of the title is that nature’s harmony highlights mankind's lack of unity.
Structure & Form
- The poem has six quatrains (four-line stanzas) and follows an ABAB rhyme scheme.
- Structure symbolizes nature’s constant renewal and order.
Analysis of Stanzas 1-3
- The first stanza uses hyperbole ("a thousand blended notes") to show harmony in nature.
- An oxymoron ("pleasant thoughts bring sad thoughts") reflects the poet's conflicting emotions.
- Second stanza personifies nature and links human soul to natural beauty, expressing grief for humanity's corruption ("what man has made of man").
- Stanza three uses the semantic field of flowers ("primrose," "periwinkle") and personifies them to show unity and harmony in nature, contrasting with human division.
Analysis of Stanzas 4-6
- Fourth stanza describes birds' carefree joy, highlighting their freedom compared to human anxiety.
- Fifth stanza describes budding twigs spreading like fans, symbolizing growth and openness, and personifies twigs as playful and blissful.
- The final stanza uses religious language ("Heaven," "holy plan") to suggest nature lives as intended by God, while humans do not.
- Ends with a rhetorical question, lamenting humanity's failure to live harmoniously.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Pathetic Fallacy — Attributing human feelings to nature or objects.
- Oxymoron — A figure of speech combining contradictory terms.
- Personification — Attributing human qualities to non-human things.
- Semantic Field — A set of words related in meaning.
- Rhetorical Question — A question asked for effect, not requiring an answer.
- Quatrain — A stanza of four lines.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the poem and identify examples of the literary devices discussed.
- Prepare notes on how natural imagery contrasts with human behavior in the poem.
- Read related poems from the AQA Worlds and Lives Anthology.