Last week I had to complete a module on the poems of Wordsworth for British Literature. We have been reading about Romanticism and Wordsworth discusses very deep meanings into the natural world. I never thought I would enjoy these poems, or relate to them, as much as I did. There were a few poems that truly stuck out to me and I hope they will also speak to you as well.
The first poem that really hit home with me was “The World Is Too Much With Us.” In this poem Wordsworth describes how the “world is too much with us,” meaning that the world is too overwhelming for us to appreciate it. He says that people are too concerned with time and money than with what is really important and this till rings very true today. People would rather buy a $50,000 car than to travel and experience life. Wordsworth also mentions how we should appreciate the little things in life like the moon shining over the sea or the blowing of strong winds. This I also relate to. Anxiety makes it hard to just sit back and relax but I make myself do so now and again and just appreciate life. Sometimes when the sun is setting and its not 8,000 degrees outside I sit on the porch and read a book or go to the park and sit in my hammock. HE finishes the poem saying he would rather be a pagan who worships an outdated religion. I also feel this way; I have been judged by my peers for reading books which honestly baffles me yet, but I would rather lose myself in a book than be stressed about classes.
The second Wordsworth poem that really spoke to me was one titled “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud.” This poem was longer yet easier to summarize and yet I still relate. Wordsworth is walking around through hills and valleys lonely and sad but then he happens upon a huge field of daffodils. He says that they “stretched in a never-ending line” and “ten thousand saw I at a glance.” In the last stanza he mentions how every time he is in a “pensive” or sad mood he thinks about the daffodils and is no longer sad. I believe that everyone should have something such as this. In Twilight (don’t banish me for this) Alice always tells Bella to “go to your happy place” and we’ll just say Stephanie Meyers was inspired by Wordsworth too. Whether a happy place is in a coffee shop or a crowded mall, it’s always good to have a good memory to hold on to in times of strife.
The last poem that I related to was titled “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold.” In this poem Wordsworth see a rainbow and is awestruck; he says if the feeling ever leaves he wishes to die. This is a bit extreme, yet this poem is mainly about there being a child in all of us. Sometimes it’s hard for us to enjoy the things we enjoyed in our childhood but we should always try to remember the spark we had as children that we had with things that made us happy.
