William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth, a major English Romantic poet, often explored themes such as nature, childhood,
memory, and the sublime. His work reflects a deep reverence for the natural world and an intense
personal connection to it. Here are some of the central themes in his poetry along with specific
references to his works...

### 1. **Nature**

Wordsworth's celebration of nature highlights its beauty, power, and restorative qualities. He believed
that nature was a source of spiritual and emotional renewal and that it provided deep insights into
human existence.

- **"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"**:

- **Description**: Wordsworth reflects on how nature has been a source of comfort and inspiration
during his life. He emphasizes the profound and calming influence of the natural world.

- **Lines**: “These beauteous forms, / Through a long absence, have not been to me / As is a
landscape to a blind man's eye: / But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din / Of towns and cities, I have
owed to them, / In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; /
And passing even into my purer mind, / With tranquil restoration:—feelings too / Of unremembered
pleasure” (lines 23-32).

- **"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"**:

- **Description**: This poem captures the joy and tranquility that nature can provide. The sight of a
field of daffodils lifts the poet's spirits and brings him lasting happiness.

- **Lines**: “A host, of golden daffodils; / Beside the lake, beneath the trees, / Fluttering and dancing
in the breeze” (lines 4-6).

- “For oft, when on my couch I lie / In vacant or in pensive mood, / They flash upon that inward eye /
Which is the bliss of solitude; / And then my heart with pleasure fills, / And dances with the daffodils”
(lines 19-24).

### 2. **Childhood and Innocence**

Wordsworth revered childhood for its purity and unique perception of the world. He believed that
children have an innate closeness to nature and a spiritual wisdom that adults often lose.

- **"Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Early Childhood"**:

- **Description**: Wordsworth laments the loss of the child's ability to see the divine in nature. He
believes that children are born with an innate sense of wonder and connection to the world, which
fades with age.

- **Lines**: “There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth, and every common sight
/ To me did seem / Apparell'd in celestial light, / The glory and the freshness of a dream” (lines 1-5).

- “Heaven lies about us in our infancy! / Shades of the prison-house begin to close / Upon the growing
Boy” (lines 66-68).

- **"We Are Seven"**:

- **Description**: This poem explores a child's perception of death and the afterlife, highlighting the
innocence and simplicity of childhood understanding.

- **Lines**: “A simple Child, / That lightly draws its breath, / And feels its life in every limb, / What
should it know of death?” (lines 1-4).

- “'Sisters and brothers, little Maid, / How many may you be?' / 'How many? Seven in all,' she said, /
And wondering looked at me” (lines 17-20).

### 3. **Memory**

Memory serves as a source of solace and inspiration in Wordsworth’s work. He believed that memories
of past experiences, especially those connected to nature, could provide comfort and insight in later life.

- **"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"**:

- **Description**: Wordsworth reflects on how the memories of his earlier visit to the Wye Valley have
sustained him in times of trouble, offering a sense of peace and continuity.

- **Lines**: “How oft, in spirit, have I turned to thee, / O sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, /
How often has my spirit turned to thee!” (lines 56-58).
 - “Though absent long, / These forms of beauty have not been to me, / As is a landscape to a blind
man's eye: / But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din / Of towns and cities, I have owed to them, / In
hours of weariness, sensations sweet, / Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart; / And passing even
into my purer mind, / With tranquil restoration” (lines 23-31).

- **"The Prelude"**:

- **Description**: This autobiographical poem is a rich tapestry of Wordsworth's memories,

particularly those of his childhood and youth, which shaped his poetic vision and philosophy.

- **Lines**: “Fair seed-time had my soul, and I grew up / Fostered alike by beauty and by fear: / Much
favoured in my birthplace, and no less / In that beloved Vale to which erelong / We were transplanted;
there were we let loose / For sports of wider range” (Book 1, lines 301-306).

### 4. **The Sublime**

Wordsworth often describes the awe-inspiring power of nature, evoking wonder and transcendence. He
finds in nature a sense of the sublime, which transcends the ordinary and connects the human spirit to
the divine.

- **"The Prelude"**:

- **Description**: Wordsworth describes his experiences of the sublime in nature, such as the
overwhelming sense of awe he felt when climbing Mount Snowdon. These moments evoke a deep
spiritual and emotional response.

- **Lines**: “The immeasurable height / Of woods decaying, never to be decayed, / The stationary
blasts of waterfalls, / And in the narrow rent at every turn / Winds thwarting winds, bewildered and
forlorn, / The torrents shooting from the clear blue sky, / The rocks that muttered close upon our ears”
(Book 13, lines 30-36).

- **"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"**:

- **Description**: The poem conveys a sense of the sublime in the beauty and majesty of the Wye
Valley landscape, which inspires profound thoughts and emotions in the poet.

- **Lines**: “Once again / Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, / Which on a wild secluded scene
impress / Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect / The landscape with the quiet of the sky”
(lines 4-8).
### 5. **Humanity and Society**

Wordsworth critiques social and industrial changes, emphasizing the value of traditional rural life and
the simplicity of living in harmony with nature. He often mourned the loss of these values due to
industrialization and materialism.

- **"Michael"**:

- **Description**: This poem tells the story of a shepherd and his struggles, highlighting the effects of
industrialization and the loss of traditional rural life.

- **Lines**: “The cottage which was named the Evening Star / Is gone,—the ploughshare has been
through the ground / On which it stood; great changes have been wrought / In all the neighbourhood:
yet the oak is left / That grew beside their door” (lines 2-6).

- **"The World is Too Much with Us"**:

- **Description**: Wordsworth criticizes the materialism and disconnect from nature that he saw in
society, arguing that people have become too preoccupied with commerce and material wealth.

- **Lines**: “The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our
powers;— / Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (lines
1-4).

These themes and lines from Wordsworth's poetry illustrate his profound connection to nature, his
reflections on childhood and memory, his awe of the sublime, and his views on society.

Coleridge

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a key figure in the Romantic movement, explored a wide range of themes in his
poetry. Here are some of the central themes in his work, accompanied by specific lines from his poems:

### 1. **Imagination and the Supernatural**

Coleridge often delved into the realms of the imagination and the supernatural, creating vivid and
fantastical imagery.
- **"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"**:

- **Description**: This poem is a prime example of Coleridge's fascination with the supernatural,
telling the eerie tale of a mariner who is cursed after killing an albatross.

- **Lines**: “And ice, mast-high, came floating by, / As green as emerald. / And through the drifts the
snowy clifts / Did send a dismal sheen: / Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken— / The ice was all
between” (lines 53-58).

- **"Kubla Khan"**:

- **Description**: This poem explores the power of the imagination to create vivid, dream-like visions,
blending reality and fantasy.

- **Lines**: “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree: / Where Alph, the sacred
river, ran / Through caverns measureless to man / Down to a sunless sea” (lines 1-5).

### 2. **Nature**

Coleridge, like many Romantic poets, had a profound appreciation for nature and often depicted it as a
source of beauty, mystery, and inspiration.

- **"Frost at Midnight"**:

- **Description**: This poem reflects on the natural world and its connection to human experience,
particularly the tranquility of a frosty night.

- **Lines**: “The Frost performs its secret ministry, / Unhelped by any wind. The owlet's cry / Came
loud—and hark, again! loud as before. / The inmates of my cottage, all at rest, / Have left me to that
solitude, which suits / Abstruser musings” (lines 1-6).

- **"This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison"**:

- **Description**: Written during a time when Coleridge was confined indoors, this poem celebrates
the beauty of nature and the solace it provides.

- **Lines**: “Well, they are gone, and here must I remain, / This lime-tree bower my prison! I have
lost / Beauties and feelings, such as would have been / Most sweet to my remembrance even when
age / Had dimmed mine eyes to blindness!” (lines 1-5).
### 3. **The Power of the Human Mind**

Coleridge was deeply interested in the workings of the human mind, particularly its capacity for
imagination, creativity, and introspection.

- **"Dejection: An Ode"**:

- **Description**: This poem explores the poet's inner emotional state and the struggle to regain his
creative inspiration.

- **Lines**: “A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear, / A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief, /
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief, / In word, or sigh, or tear— / O Lady! in this wan and heartless
mood, / To other thoughts by yonder throstle woo'd” (lines 21-26).

- **"Kubla Khan"**:

- **Description**: This poem can be seen as a meditation on the power of the human mind to
construct elaborate and imaginative visions.

- **Lines**: “A damsel with a dulcimer / In a vision once I saw: / It was an Abyssinian maid, / And on
her dulcimer she played, / Singing of Mount Abora. / Could I revive within me / Her symphony and
song, / To such a deep delight 'twould win me” (lines 37-44).

### 4. **Isolation and Despair**

Themes of isolation and despair appear frequently in Coleridge's work, often reflecting his own personal
struggles with illness and addiction.

- **"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"**:

- **Description**: The mariner's isolation and despair are central to the poem's narrative, emphasizing
themes of guilt and redemption.

- **Lines**: “Alone, alone, all, all alone, / Alone on a wide, wide sea! / And never a saint took pity on /
My soul in agony” (lines 232-235).
- **"Dejection: An Ode"**:

- **Description**: This poem conveys a profound sense of despair and the poet's struggle to find
meaning and joy.

- **Lines**: “I see them all so excellently fair, / I see, not feel, how beautiful they are! / My genial
spirits fail; / And what can these avail / To lift the smothering weight from off my breast? / It were a vain
endeavour, / Though I should gaze for ever / On that green light that lingers in the west: / I may not
hope from outward forms to win / The passion and the life, whose fountains are within” (lines 36-45).

### 5. **Friendship and Human Connection**

Coleridge valued friendship and human connection, often expressing these themes in his poetry through
reflections on personal relationships and communal bonds.

- **"This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison"**:

- **Description**: Despite being physically separated from his friends, Coleridge finds comfort in
imagining their enjoyment of nature, highlighting the theme of friendship.

- **Lines**: “Henceforth I shall know / That Nature ne'er deserts the wise and pure; / No plot so
narrow, be but Nature there, / No waste so vacant, but may well employ / Each faculty of sense, and
keep the heart / Awake to Love and Beauty!” (lines 60-65).

- **"Frost at Midnight"**:

- **Description**: The poem reflects on the poet's solitude and the comfort he finds in the presence of
his sleeping child, symbolizing the connection between generations.

- **Lines**: “Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee, / Whether the summer clothe the general
earth / With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing / Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch / Of
mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch / Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall / Heard
only in the trances of the blast, / Or if the secret ministry of frost / Shall hang them up in silent icicles, /
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon” (lines 65-74).

These themes and lines from Coleridge's poetry illustrate his fascination with the supernatural, his deep
appreciation for nature, his introspective examination of the human mind, and his reflections on
isolation, despair, and human connection.