In this unit, you read William Wordsworth’s poems “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” “The World Is Too Much with Us,” and “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud." Identify 3 of the romantic values Wordsworth conveys with a quotation from the poem which shows the romantic values.
1. Love and appreciation for nature:
- "These beauteous forms, / Through a long absence, have not been to me, / As is a landscape to a blind man's eye" (from "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"). Wordsworth expresses his deep connection to nature and how it brings him joy and inspiration even when he is away from it.
2. Focus on the individual and the power of imagination:
- "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" (from "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"). Wordsworth highlights the power of his imagination and how it transports him to a state of bliss and happiness.
3. Rejection of materialism and society's influence:
- "The world is too much with us; late and soon, / Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers" (from "The World Is Too Much with Us"). Wordsworth criticizes the materialistic and consumerist culture of his time, emphasizing the detrimental impact it has on individuals and their connection to nature.