Lines Written in Early Spring

William Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring” is a meditative lyric that explores the connection between nature and humanity.

The poem embodies the Romantic ideal that close observation of nature fosters moral reflection and spiritual clarity.

I heard a thousand blended notes,

While in a grove I sat 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

Considered every thing that ran

Along, along the earth and sky

Till I found that Nature never did

betray

The heart that loved her; ‘tis her privilege,

Through all the years of man, to guide

The steps of those who feel her touch.

Several themes emerge from Wordsworth’s meditation: