Lines Written In Early Spring, poetry by William Wordsworth

Image Credit: poets.org

William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850) was an English Romantic poet who was Britain's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death. He is well-known by his masterpiece, The Prelude, which is a semiautobiographical poem of his early years. This magnum opus was generally known as "The Poem to Coleridge." Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped Wordsworth launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication, Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth is the second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson. He was very close to his sister Dorothy Wordsworth, who was also a poet and diarist.

Wordsworth was married four times: Isabella Curwen (Had 6 children); Helen Ross (No children); Mary Ann Dolan (1 child) and Mary Gamble (No children). If you're ever in the small village of Rydal, near Ambleside in the English Lake District, you must visit Rydal Mount. It is famously known as the home of poet William Wordsworth. Enjoy today's poem, Lines Written in Early Spring, as we celebrate National Poetry Month.

Lines Written In Early Spring

by William Wordsworth

I heard a thousand blended notes,

While in a grove I sate reclined,

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring 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 cannot 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?