Lines Written in Early Spring

 

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.

Rhyming words     notes - thoughts  reclined- mind

 Rhyme scheme     abab

Visual image         grove

Auditory image   I heard a thousand blended thoughts

 

hyperbole        I heard a thousand blended thoughts

Answer the following questions.

1. Who is the I referred to in the poem?
2. What does the poet mean by the expression ‘a thousand blended notes’?
3. What expression does the poet use to describe the sounds of nature?
4. Where was the poet sitting?
5. What does the expression ‘I sate reclined’ indicate about the poet’s state of mind?
6. Pick out pairs of rhyming words from the given lines and Write the rhyme scheme .
7. Pick out an example of auditory image from the given line.

 

Answers

1. The poet (William Wordsworth) is referred to as I in the poem.
2. The sounds of Nature are indicated through this expression.‘
3. A thousand blended notes’ is the expression used by the poet.
4. The poet was sitting in a grove.
5. It indicates that the poet sits in a relaxed manner.
6. Notes – thoughts, reclined- mind. Rhyme scheme- ab ab.
7. A thousand blended notes.

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.

Rhyming words        link  - think     ran -  man
 

 Rhyme scheme         abab

Alliteration               much    my    

                                 man      made  

Personification          To her fair works did Nature link

 

 

 1. Identify the lines that tell us Nature is linked to the soul of human beings?
2. What makes the poet happy?
3. What worries the poet?
4. What does nature do?
5. Pick out an expression which tells us about the feeling of the poet?
6. ‘And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.’ What do these lines tell us?
7. Pick out an instance of alliteration from the given lines.

 

 

Answers

1. ‘ To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
2. ‘The harmony , beauty and love in nature make the poet happy.
3. The cruelties of man towards nature and his fellow beings make the poet sad.
( what man has made of man.)
4. Nature has linked the human soul to her fair works.
5. The expression ‘ And much it grieved my heart to think’ tells us about the
feelings of the poet.
6. Man’s cruelties towards nature and to his fellow beings destroy the harmony of
nature. This thought makes the poet sad.
7. 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.

 Rhyming words   bower- flower    wreaths- breathes

Rhyme scheme      abab 

Assonance           The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

bower

 Visual  images       

 

primrose

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.

 Rhyming words     played - made      sure - pleasure.

 Rhyme scheme       abab       

                                     

  Alliteration           motion which they made  

1. What does the poet say about each flower?
2. Why does the poet feel that the flowers enjoy the air they breathe?
3. Mention the names of some flowers mentioned in these lines.
4. What do the birds do?
5. Pick out the lines which state that even the smallest movement in nature gives the poet happiness?
6. What does ‘the periwinkle trailed its wreaths’ imply?
7. Give an example of personification from these lines.

 

Answers

 1. The poet says that the flowers enjoy the fresh air they breathe.
2. The gentle movement of the flowers, in the breeze makes the poet think so.
3. Periwinkle and primrose are the flowers mentioned here.
4. The birds hop and play around the poet.
5. But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
6. It implies that the petals of the periwinkle blow in the wind.
7. Every flower enjoys the air it breathes, is an example of personification.

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.   

  Rhyming words           fan - can,    air - there

Rhyme scheme          abab 

Visual image              

budding twigs

 Tactile image                breezy air



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?

  Rhyming words           sent - lament     plan - man


  Rhyme scheme             abab  


   Alliteration                  belief from heaven be sent,          

 Visual image                 heaven  ,   man

Auditory image              lament
em.

 Appreciation of the poem 

(From the study material prepared  by DIET KOTTAYAM).

 Lines Written in Early Spring’ is a beautiful poem written by William Wordsworth. The poem celebrates the relation between man and nature. The poet becomes happy in the sights and sounds of nature and at the same time laments on what man has made of man.

The poet once sits in a grove in a very calm and relaxed mood. He hears lots of various sounds and songs. The poet rejoices in those things At the same time, some woeful thoughts come into his mind, and he becomes pensive.

He sees the primrose and periwinkle make wreaths in the bower there. He believes that every flower enjoys the air it breathes. The birds around him express their thrill of pleasure by hopping and playing in the grove. He also notices the budding twigs spread out their tender leaves to catch the breezy air. In short, the
poet sees thrilling sights, hears pleasant songs in everything he looks at in the grove, and he experiences the utmost pleasure in the world of nature

But when he thinks of the human world, he becomes sad. What man has done to mankind as well as to nature makes him uneasy and unpleasant. The coexistence in perfect harmony is the holy plan of nature. If the divine plan of nature is pleasurable and peaceful coexistence, he wonders why man has alone moved away from this holy plan.

The poem becomes much appealing because of the simplicity of its theme and beauty of lines and the abundant use of various poetic devices. The poem follows the rhyme scheme abab. The poet uses hyperbole when he says that he heard a thousand blended notes. He addresses Nature as a person and calls it ‘her’. He
makes the flowers breathe the air, and makes the tender leaves of budding twigs catch the breezy air. All these are perfect examples of Personification. A beautiful instance of Alliteration can be seen in the line ‘What man has made of man.’

Visual Images used in the poem add more beauty to it.“ The birds around me hopped and played”, The grove, the green bower, the flowers – primrose and periwinkle ,Budding twigs.....are perfect examples of visual images.
“I heard a thousand blended notes” is an instance of auditory image.

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For more questions and answers from © English Eduspot   (englisheduspot.blogspot.com)prepared by Mahmud K Pukayoor click here