William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was born in 1770. Initially, Wordsworth was an ardent supporter of the French Revolution. While he sympathized with the French, ultimately his loyalties remained with the English and he became disillusioned by the war once England was drawn into it. Annette Vallon was a Frenchwoman with whom Wordsworth fathered a daughter. Wordsworth married Mary Hutchinson, a childhood friend, in 1802. Wordsworth's "two consciousnesses" represent the poet in two stages of his life; one is his present state and the other is how he was in time past. "Expostulation and Reply" is a poem comparing the value of books and nature in our lives. Written in 1798, it is based on a conversation the poet had with a friend, William Hazlitt. Hazlitt is chastising Wordsworth for "communing with nature" as opposed to reading and educating himself. Wordsworth responds to Hazlitt's remarks by saying that all of what we learn does not come from books. Wordsworth had a deep love of and respect for nature and I feel he is trying to tell us that if we take the time to observe and drink in our surroundings, we can enrich our lives. "The Tables Turned" again points out the lessons that can be learned outside of books. Written in 1798, it emp
He professes his love of nature but seems to say that he also realizes he must have compassion for and care about mankind as well. "My Heart Leaps Up" celebrates the simple pleasures in life that we are all able to experience. He states "My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky; So it was when my life began; So is it now I am a man". According to Wordsworth, God delivers us down to earth from heaven. As we grow up, that holiness and purity is eroded as we are immersed in our lives here on earth. For example, in "The Tables Turned", he says "And hark"! How blithe the throttle sings! He, too, is no mean preacher: Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher". He hopes that she too will find solace in her memories of this time and that nature will always be there to provide her an "escape" from the burdens of adulthood. He sees a rainbow and feels the same pleasure and excitement as a man that he did as a child. While out walking, he comes upon an "untouched" area in the woods. He savors the purity of it, drinking in the flowers, stream and bower. I sense that the early portion of the poem deals with his childhood, pure and innocent, and the latter portion of the poem deals with his adult life and the challenges, disappointments and frustration he feels in his life. These lines could be directed at the mother/child relationship. Since his mother died when he was quite young, I wonder if he feels that he lacked that maternal guidance. He says he would rather die than lose that innocence. Their beauty fills him with joy although at the time he doesn't realize their real value.
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