Poetry anthology: Worlds and Lives: Lines Written in Early Spring

The idea

Wordsworth's poem presents a speaker who, while relaxing in a beautiful natural grove, is struck by a profound sadness. The joyful harmony he observes in the birds, flowers, and budding trees contrasts sharply with his thoughts on human society. He sees nature as operating according to a benevolent principle of pleasure and peace, which leads him to lament the conflict, cruelty, and suffering that humanity inflicts upon itself. The poem is a quintessential Romantic meditation on the moral and spiritual superiority of the natural world and a critique of a human world that has become disconnected from it, famously asking the sorrowful question, 'What man has made of man'.

What earns the marks

• AO1: Understand the poem as a lament where the speaker contrasts the perceived joy in nature with the sadness of the human condition.
• AO1: Use textual references to show how the speaker builds this contrast, moving between observations of nature and reflections on humanity.
• AO1: Compare the presentation of nature as a moral guide here with its role as a source of healing in 'Shall earth no more inspire thee'.
• AO2: Discuss Wordsworth's use of personification to give nature agency and feeling, such as the flowers enjoying the air; be careful not to label 'sweet mood' as pathetic fallacy, since the mood is the speaker's own.
• AO3: Link the poem's idealisation of nature and criticism of humanity to the core ideas of the Romantic movement.
• AO3: Connect the speaker's lament to the social and environmental upheaval of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century.
• AO3: Consider the poem's publication date (1798) in the context of the political turmoil following the French Revolution, which may inform the phrase 'What man has made of man'.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• The poem is just a simple description of a happy day in the countryside.

  Put it right: While it begins with a pleasant natural scene, the poem's core purpose is to use that scene to launch a profound and sorrowful critique of human society and its capacity for causing suffering.

• Wordsworth is angry at humanity for destroying nature.

  Put it right: The speaker's tone is more of sadness and lament than anger. The focus is less on environmental destruction and more on humanity's failure to live by the joyful, harmonious example nature provides.

• The 'holy plan' means Wordsworth is writing a religious, Christian poem.

  Put it right: While using religious language, Wordsworth's 'holy plan' refers to a spiritual idea, common in Romanticism, that a divine spirit is present in nature itself. It is a moral and spiritual code found in the natural world, not a specific Christian doctrine, and the conditional phrasing invites an interpretive reading.

Exam tips

• Compare with England in 1819: Both Romantic poems offer a powerful critique of the state of human society. Difference: Wordsworth's speaker finds a moral standard in a tranquil natural setting, from which he laments humanity's general failings. In contrast, Shelley's sonnet is a direct and furious political attack on specific English institutions like the monarchy and government, ending with an abstract hope for revolution. Useful when: How poets present social criticism.
• Compare with Shall earth no more inspire thee: Both poems present the natural world as a positive and restorative force. Difference: In Wordsworth's poem, the speaker is a passive observer of nature whose joy leads him to lament humanity's separation from it. In Brontë's poem, the speaker, who can be read as nature personified, actively addresses and implores a troubled individual to return to nature to be healed. Useful when: How poets explore the relationship between humanity and nature.
• Compare with In a London Drawingroom: Both poems critique the negative impact of industrialised, urban environments on the human spirit. Difference: Wordsworth's poem is set in a natural grove and critiques human society from a distance. Eliot's poem is set deep within the oppressive London cityscape itself, detailing the 'solid fog' and relentless hurry of a world where nature is almost entirely absent. Useful when: How poets present the effects of environment on people.
• Compare with A Wider View: Both poems explore a contrast between the harshness of the industrial world and a desire for something better. Difference: Wordsworth's poem offers a generalised, philosophical lament about humanity's separation from nature's 'holy plan'. Seneviratne's poem focuses on a specific historical individual, her ancestor, whose craving for 'a wider view' is a personal response to the grim realities of industrial labour in Leeds. Useful when: How poets explore responses to difficult environments.