'To My Sister'
Commentary & Analysis
Background to the poem:
The poem was written early in the year 1798, when Wordsworth was living near the beautiful Quantock Hills in Somerset. It was a year of change, of widespread upheaval. A bloody unsettled Europe stretched to the east, the fiery aftermath of the French Revolution. The clicking and swooping of the guillotine could still be heard, albeit in memory, even across the Channel. And even in the quiet part of England where Wordsworth lived, there were fears of a French invasion. Only a few months earlier, there had been reports that the Dutch Fleet was ready to bring a French invasion force to England.
Into this time of unrest and suspicion come Dorothy and William Wordsworth, a young man and woman, with strong ties to France. They had come to Somerset for this one year and were living in a beautiful house called Alfoxden Park near the Quantock hills. William was twenty-seven and Dorothy twenty-six. And they brought with them a child, Basil Montague, the son of their widowed friend. They were taking care of him during these years, and he has a wonderful, walk-on part in the poem, although under a different name.
It was in Alfoxden, in this spring of 1798, that Wordsworth's long and wounded depression began to heal. He had left France—and his mistress and his child—years earlier.
Eavan Boland - Originally published in Crossroads, Fall 2001
"A man speaking to me" - What this poem is about:
In this poem Wordsworth is keenly aware that spring has arrived. Excited and inspired by the change of season he urges his sister to forget about her daily chores and join him for a walk. The tone of the poem is jovial but it has a serious message. Years later Wordsworth would describe this poem as "a man speaking to men" meaning that this poem should be read like a living dialect - a plea to "men" to take time off to embrace what nature has to offer.
Commentary & Analysis:
With the onset of spring there is a joy pervading all Nature, throbbing with new life after the bleak bareness of winter. The harbinger of spring is the robin perched on the larch tree outside the poet’s door. The objects of Nature now have both silent and noisy communion with each other. The pleasant air brings a "blessing" to trees and mountains and the grass - emphasising the spiritual qualities of nature.
The poet invites his sister to come with him from the breakfast-table into nature outdoors. There is an urgency and excitement in his voice as he wishes for her to "make haste, your morning task resign;/come forth and feel the sun”. She should wear her woodland dress to harmonise with the simple current of joy that pulsates through both nature and the poet’s being. On this day she should take a holiday from her domestic chores, and together they should celebrate the awakening of life in spring in open communion with the elemental forms of nature. (oneness with nature)
‘Love, now a universal birth,
From heart to heart is stealing,
From earth to man, from man to earth:
It is the hour of feeling.’
In such a time one intense moment may store up treasures within us that bookish labour could never produce. The deep impressions left on our mind by the vibrant forces of Nature will guide us in future years. Here the poem builds towards the sublime in a perception of “the blessed power that rolls/About, below, above” and which frames the human soul to love. It is an affirmation of personal and cosmic integrity.
The advent of Spring so enraptures Wordsworth that he wishes to have a new calendar (or revert back to the old calendar when New Year’s day was celebrated with the beginning of Spring) with the dating device to be regulated by the procession of seasons headed by Spring. Therefore, since nature is starting afresh after a long winter, the poet thinks that they also ought to consider this day the "opening of the year".
The poet speaks about the benefits that will come from being spontaneous and enjoying this time outdoors. He suggests that some time spent among the new birth of nature will make you wiser than years spent studying books: "One moment now may give us more/Than years of toiling reason." This idea of nature offering fuel for future years is a concept further developed in 'Tintern Abbey' where the poet again pleads with his sister to remember their time spent at that scenic location.
Wordsworth suggests that nature is a benevolent force, and if we allow it to influence us we will become better people. If we attune our souls to the "blessed power" of nature we "shall be tuned to love".
The poem was written early in the year 1798, when Wordsworth was living near the beautiful Quantock Hills in Somerset. It was a year of change, of widespread upheaval. A bloody unsettled Europe stretched to the east, the fiery aftermath of the French Revolution. The clicking and swooping of the guillotine could still be heard, albeit in memory, even across the Channel. And even in the quiet part of England where Wordsworth lived, there were fears of a French invasion. Only a few months earlier, there had been reports that the Dutch Fleet was ready to bring a French invasion force to England.
Into this time of unrest and suspicion come Dorothy and William Wordsworth, a young man and woman, with strong ties to France. They had come to Somerset for this one year and were living in a beautiful house called Alfoxden Park near the Quantock hills. William was twenty-seven and Dorothy twenty-six. And they brought with them a child, Basil Montague, the son of their widowed friend. They were taking care of him during these years, and he has a wonderful, walk-on part in the poem, although under a different name.
It was in Alfoxden, in this spring of 1798, that Wordsworth's long and wounded depression began to heal. He had left France—and his mistress and his child—years earlier.
Eavan Boland - Originally published in Crossroads, Fall 2001
"A man speaking to me" - What this poem is about:
In this poem Wordsworth is keenly aware that spring has arrived. Excited and inspired by the change of season he urges his sister to forget about her daily chores and join him for a walk. The tone of the poem is jovial but it has a serious message. Years later Wordsworth would describe this poem as "a man speaking to men" meaning that this poem should be read like a living dialect - a plea to "men" to take time off to embrace what nature has to offer.
Commentary & Analysis:
With the onset of spring there is a joy pervading all Nature, throbbing with new life after the bleak bareness of winter. The harbinger of spring is the robin perched on the larch tree outside the poet’s door. The objects of Nature now have both silent and noisy communion with each other. The pleasant air brings a "blessing" to trees and mountains and the grass - emphasising the spiritual qualities of nature.
The poet invites his sister to come with him from the breakfast-table into nature outdoors. There is an urgency and excitement in his voice as he wishes for her to "make haste, your morning task resign;/come forth and feel the sun”. She should wear her woodland dress to harmonise with the simple current of joy that pulsates through both nature and the poet’s being. On this day she should take a holiday from her domestic chores, and together they should celebrate the awakening of life in spring in open communion with the elemental forms of nature. (oneness with nature)
‘Love, now a universal birth,
From heart to heart is stealing,
From earth to man, from man to earth:
It is the hour of feeling.’
In such a time one intense moment may store up treasures within us that bookish labour could never produce. The deep impressions left on our mind by the vibrant forces of Nature will guide us in future years. Here the poem builds towards the sublime in a perception of “the blessed power that rolls/About, below, above” and which frames the human soul to love. It is an affirmation of personal and cosmic integrity.
The advent of Spring so enraptures Wordsworth that he wishes to have a new calendar (or revert back to the old calendar when New Year’s day was celebrated with the beginning of Spring) with the dating device to be regulated by the procession of seasons headed by Spring. Therefore, since nature is starting afresh after a long winter, the poet thinks that they also ought to consider this day the "opening of the year".
The poet speaks about the benefits that will come from being spontaneous and enjoying this time outdoors. He suggests that some time spent among the new birth of nature will make you wiser than years spent studying books: "One moment now may give us more/Than years of toiling reason." This idea of nature offering fuel for future years is a concept further developed in 'Tintern Abbey' where the poet again pleads with his sister to remember their time spent at that scenic location.
Wordsworth suggests that nature is a benevolent force, and if we allow it to influence us we will become better people. If we attune our souls to the "blessed power" of nature we "shall be tuned to love".
