Introduction: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
“Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth first appeared in 1807 in the collection Poems, in Two Volumes. This profound and reflective poem explores themes of memory, loss, and the continuity of the soul, delving into the idea that childhood possesses an innate, almost divine perception of immortality that fades with age. Wordsworth emphasizes a sense of spiritual connection between humans and nature, suggesting that our early, unblemished experiences provide glimpses of a higher reality. The ode’s popularity is rooted in its profound, almost philosophical contemplation of human existence and its resonance with Romantic ideals, particularly the belief in nature as a source of spiritual renewal and moral insight. The poem’s lyrical beauty, coupled with its meditative tone, has made it a celebrated piece in English literature, revered for its exploration of existential themes and its ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia for the lost innocence of youth.
Text: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
The child is father of the man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
(Wordsworth, “My Heart Leaps Up”)
There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,
The earth, and every common sight,
To me did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream.
It is not now as it hath been of yore;—
Turn wheresoe’er I may,
By night or day.
The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
The Rainbow comes and goes,
And lovely is the Rose,
The Moon doth with delight
Look round her when the heavens are bare,
Waters on a starry night
Are beautiful and fair;
The sunshine is a glorious birth;
But yet I know, where’er I go,
That there hath past away a glory from the earth.
Now, while the birds thus sing a joyous song,
And while the young lambs bound
As to the tabor’s sound,
To me alone there came a thought of grief:
A timely utterance gave that thought relief,
And I again am strong:
The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep;
No more shall grief of mine the season wrong;
I hear the Echoes through the mountains throng,
The Winds come to me from the fields of sleep,
And all the earth is gay;
Land and sea
Give themselves up to jollity,
And with the heart of May
Doth every Beast keep holiday;—
Thou Child of Joy,
Shout round me, let me hear thy shouts, thou happy Shepherd-boy.
Ye blessèd creatures, I have heard the call
Ye to each other make; I see
The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee;
My heart is at your festival,
My head hath its coronal,
The fulness of your bliss, I feel—I feel it all.
Oh evil day! if I were sullen
While Earth herself is adorning,
This sweet May-morning,
And the Children are culling
On every side,
In a thousand valleys far and wide,
Fresh flowers; while the sun shines warm,
And the Babe leaps up on his Mother’s arm:—
I hear, I hear, with joy I hear!
—But there’s a Tree, of many, one,
A single field which I have looked upon,
Both of them speak of something that is gone;
The Pansy at my feet
Doth the same tale repeat:
Whither is fled the visionary gleam?
Where is it now, the glory and the dream?
Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!
Shades of the prison-house begin to close
Upon the growing Boy,
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,
He sees it in his joy;
The Youth, who daily farther from the east
Must travel, still is Nature’s Priest,
And by the vision splendid
Is on his way attended;
At length the Man perceives it die away,
And fade into the light of common day.
Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own;
Yearnings she hath in her own natural kind,
And, even with something of a Mother’s mind,
And no unworthy aim,
The homely Nurse doth all she can
To make her Foster-child, her Inmate Man,
Forget the glories he hath known,
And that imperial palace whence he came.
Behold the Child among his new-born blisses,
A six years’ Darling of a pigmy size!
See, where ‘mid work of his own hand he lies,
Fretted by sallies of his mother’s kisses,
With light upon him from his father’s eyes!
See, at his feet, some little plan or chart,
Some fragment from his dream of human life,
Shaped by himself with newly-learn{e}d art
A wedding or a festival,
A mourning or a funeral;
And this hath now his heart,
And unto this he frames his song:
Then will he fit his tongue
To dialogues of business, love, or strife;
But it will not be long
Ere this be thrown aside,
And with new joy and pride
The little Actor cons another part;
Filling from time to time his “humorous stage”
With all the Persons, down to palsied Age,
That Life brings with her in her equipage;
As if his whole vocation
Were endless imitation.
Thou, whose exterior semblance doth belie
Thy Soul’s immensity;
Thou best Philosopher, who yet dost keep
Thy heritage, thou Eye among the blind,
That, deaf and silent, read’st the eternal deep,
Haunted for ever by the eternal mind,—
Mighty Prophet! Seer blest!
On whom those truths do rest,
Which we are toiling all our lives to find,
In darkness lost, the darkness of the grave;
Thou, over whom thy Immortality
Broods like the Day, a Master o’er a Slave,
A Presence which is not to be put by;
Thou little Child, yet glorious in the might
Of heaven-born freedom on thy being’s height,
Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke
The years to bring the inevitable yoke,
Thus blindly with thy blessedness at strife?
Full soon thy Soul shall have her earthly freight,
And custom lie upon thee with a weight,
Heavy as frost, and deep almost as life!
O joy! that in our embers
Is something that doth live,
That Nature yet remembers
What was so fugitive!
The thought of our past years in me doth breed
Perpetual benediction: not indeed
For that which is most worthy to be blest;
Delight and liberty, the simple creed
Of Childhood, whether busy or at rest,
With new-fledged hope still fluttering in his breast:—
Not for these I raise
The song of thanks and praise
But for those obstinate questionings
Of sense and outward things,
Fallings from us, vanishings;
Blank misgivings of a Creature
Moving about in worlds not realised,
High instincts before which our mortal Nature
Did tremble like a guilty thing surprised:
But for those first affections,
Those shadowy recollections,
Which, be they what they may
Are yet the fountain-light of all our day,
Are yet a master-light of all our seeing;
Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make
Our noisy years seem moments in the being
Of the eternal Silence: truths that wake,
To perish never;
Which neither listlessness, nor mad endeavour,
Nor Man nor Boy,
Nor all that is at enmity with joy,
Can utterly abolish or destroy!
Hence in a season of calm weather
Though inland far we be,
Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither,
Can in a moment travel thither,
And see the Children sport upon the shore,
And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.
Then sing, ye Birds, sing, sing a joyous song!
And let the young Lambs bound
As to the tabor’s sound!
We in thought will join your throng,
Ye that pipe and ye that play,
Ye that through your hearts to-day
Feel the gladness of the May!
What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.
And O, ye Fountains, Meadows, Hills, and Groves,
Forebode not any severing of our loves!
Yet in my heart of hearts I feel your might;
I only have relinquished one delight
To live beneath your more habitual sway.
I love the Brooks which down their channels fret,
Even more than when I tripped lightly as they;
The innocent brightness of a new-born Day
Is lovely yet;
The Clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o’er man’s mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
Annotations: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
| Lines | Annotation |
| The child is father of the man; And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety. | This famous line from “My Heart Leaps Up” suggests that the innocence and wonder of childhood shape adulthood. Wordsworth wishes for a lifelong connection to nature, reflecting his belief in “natural piety”—a reverence and unity with nature as a continuous spiritual guide. |
| There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, The earth, and every common sight, To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light, The glory and the freshness of a dream. | Here, Wordsworth nostalgically recalls a time in his childhood when the world seemed illuminated with divine beauty. The “celestial light” and “glory” imply a transcendent vision, suggesting that childhood perception sees nature in its purest, most wondrous form. |
| It is not now as it hath been of yore;— Turn wheresoe’er I may, By night or day. The things which I have seen I now can see no more. | Wordsworth mourns the loss of this heightened perception. Despite looking for it everywhere, he cannot recapture the same profound connection he once felt, symbolizing a universal feeling of loss as one grows older and loses the innocence of youth. |
| The Rainbow comes and goes, And lovely is the Rose, The Moon doth with delight Look round her when the heavens are bare, Waters on a starry night Are beautiful and fair; | These lines celebrate the beauty of nature, listing the Rainbow, Rose, Moon, and night waters as examples of recurring, awe-inspiring wonders. Each element is beautiful and timeless, suggesting that nature continues to offer moments of beauty, though perhaps not as intensely felt as in childhood. |
| The sunshine is a glorious birth; But yet I know, where’er I go, That there hath past away a glory from the earth. | Sunshine represents new beginnings, but Wordsworth recognizes that a unique “glory” or spiritual essence has faded with age. He acknowledges that while nature remains beautiful, it no longer carries the same magical quality it held for him in youth. |
| Now, while the birds thus sing a joyous song, And while the young lambs bound As to the tabor’s sound, To me alone there came a thought of grief: | Despite the joyous scenes of nature, Wordsworth alone feels sorrow. The joy around him seems almost alien, prompting him to reflect on his disconnection from the innocent, carefree happiness he observes in birds and lambs. |
| A timely utterance gave that thought relief, And I again am strong: | Expressing his grief allows Wordsworth some release, helping him to regain his composure. By acknowledging his sadness, he feels strengthened, suggesting the cathartic power of accepting and verbalizing one’s emotions. |
| The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep; No more shall grief of mine the season wrong; | Waterfalls are described as “trumpets,” symbolizing nature’s vitality and relentless energy. Wordsworth resolves not to let his personal grief diminish his appreciation of nature’s magnificence. |
| I hear the Echoes through the mountains throng, The Winds come to me from the fields of sleep, And all the earth is gay; | The echoes and winds represent nature’s call, invoking a feeling of unity with the Earth’s joy. “Fields of sleep” may suggest a dream-like state, where nature’s sounds and energy reinvigorate him, embodying nature’s power to renew the human spirit. |
| Land and sea Give themselves up to jollity, And with the heart of May Doth every Beast keep holiday; | These lines personify land and sea, depicting them as reveling in joy. May, a symbol of spring and renewal, inspires all creatures to celebrate, embodying nature’s cyclical vitality and resilience. |
| Thou Child of Joy, Shout round me, let me hear thy shouts, thou happy Shepherd-boy. | Wordsworth addresses a “Child of Joy,” likely representing an embodiment of innocence and unrestrained happiness. The joyful calls of the shepherd-boy symbolize the vitality and purity of childhood, which the speaker yearns to reconnect with. |
| Ye blessèd creatures, I have heard the call Ye to each other make; I see The heavens laugh with you in your jubilee; | Wordsworth marvels at the creatures of nature, their unity and jubilance. The “heavens laugh” implies a harmonious connection between the earthly and divine realms, suggesting nature’s purity and celebration as a glimpse into transcendence. |
| My heart is at your festival, My head hath its coronal, The fulness of your bliss, I feel—I feel it all. | Immersed in nature’s joy, Wordsworth feels a spiritual crown or “coronal,” symbolizing the power of nature’s bliss to uplift and dignify him. He participates fully in their celebration, experiencing the depth of their happiness, even if fleetingly. |
| Oh evil day! if I were sullen While Earth herself is adorning, This sweet May-morning, | Wordsworth considers it a misfortune to be gloomy amidst the Earth’s beauty, especially during such a splendid “May-morning.” It suggests an awareness of the duty to honor nature’s beauty with gratitude and joy, regardless of personal sorrow. |
| But there’s a Tree, of many, one, A single field which I have looked upon, Both of them speak of something that is gone; | He reflects on how specific natural elements (a tree, a field) remind him of what has been lost—perhaps childhood innocence or a certain spiritual clarity. They embody a subtle reminder of the past and a sense of irreplaceable loss. |
| Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream? | Wordsworth mourns the loss of his “visionary gleam”—the sense of awe he felt in youth. The “glory and the dream” represents a spiritual, imaginative vision that has faded over time, leaving him feeling disconnected from his childhood perceptions of the world. |
Literary And Poetic Devices: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
| Literary Device | Examples and Explanations |
| Alliteration | “Behold the Child among his new-born blisses,” – Repetition of the “b” sound captures the joy and innocence of childhood. |
| Allusion | “The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,” – Alludes to the idea of a soul’s pre-existence, drawing on Platonic philosophy that suggests our souls come from a divine origin. |
| Anaphora | “Ye blessed creatures, I have heard the call / Ye to each other make,” – Repetition of “Ye” emphasizes the address to nature’s creatures, highlighting Wordsworth’s reverence. |
| Apostrophe | “Thou Child of Joy,” – Directly addressing the “Child of Joy” personifies innocence and happiness, making childhood itself a character. “O joy!” – Wordsworth appeals to joy directly, emphasizing his deep yearning for it. |
| Assonance | “The Moon doth with delight / Look round her when the heavens are bare,” – Repetition of the “o” sound adds a musical quality, creating a calming and lyrical rhythm, mirroring the serene scene. |
| Caesura | “There hath past away a glory from the earth.” – The pause after “away” creates a moment of reflection, allowing the reader to absorb the sense of loss. |
| Consonance | “The Child is father of the Man;” – Repetition of the “d” and “n” sounds creates harmony within the line, emphasizing the relationship between childhood and adulthood. |
| Contrast | “The Rainbow comes and goes, / And lovely is the Rose,” – The fleeting nature of the rainbow contrasts with the more enduring beauty of the rose, illustrating nature’s blend of transience and continuity. |
| Enjambment | “But trailing clouds of glory do we come / From God, who is our home.” – The line flows onto the next without pause, mirroring the continuity and connection between the human soul and the divine. |
| Epiphany | “The thought of our past years in me doth breed / Perpetual benediction,” – Wordsworth realizes that the experiences of youth hold a lasting spiritual power, an epiphany that brings solace despite the inevitable passage of time. |
| Imagery | “The cataracts blow their trumpets from the steep;” – Vivid imagery of waterfalls as trumpets conveys nature’s grandeur and vitality. “Apparelled in celestial light,” – The image of light clothing the earth elevates nature to a divine status. |
| Metaphor | “Trailing clouds of glory do we come” – The soul’s journey from heaven to earth is depicted as trailing “clouds of glory,” symbolizing our divine origin. “The sunshine is a glorious birth” – Sunshine is described as a “birth,” metaphorically representing renewal and hope. |
| Oxymoron | “Splendour in the grass, glory in the flower” – Contrasts between the “splendor” and the natural, ordinary grass, as well as “glory” in a simple flower, highlight the paradoxical beauty found in humble elements of nature. |
| Paradox | “The Child is father of the Man;” – A seemingly contradictory statement suggests that childhood influences and shapes adulthood, providing a profound insight into human development. |
| Personification | “The Moon doth with delight / Look round her when the heavens are bare,” – The Moon is given human emotions, personified as “delighting,” enhancing the mystical quality of nature. “Earth fills her lap with pleasures of her own” – The Earth is portrayed as a nurturing figure, a motherly provider of joy and beauty. |
| Repetition | “Where is it now, the glory and the dream?” – Repetition of the question emphasizes Wordsworth’s yearning for the lost vision of his youth, reinforcing his sense of loss. “What though the radiance… Be now forever taken from my sight” – Repeating the idea of loss strengthens the poem’s melancholic tone. |
| Rhetorical Question | “Whither is fled the visionary gleam?” – Wordsworth’s questioning is reflective, not meant to be answered, underscoring his struggle to understand the loss of youthful wonder. “Where is it now, the glory and the dream?” – Another reflective question, emphasizing the elusive nature of transcendence. |
| Simile | “Shades of the prison-house begin to close / Upon the growing Boy,” – Childhood’s freedom is compared to prison-like constraints that gradually close in, symbolizing the onset of adult responsibilities and limitations. |
| Symbolism | “The rainbow,” “the rose,” and “the moon” – Each element symbolizes different aspects of beauty and temporality in nature. The rainbow represents fleeting beauty, the rose symbolizes love and beauty, and the moon represents change and cycles. |
| Tone | The tone shifts from nostalgic and mournful (when recalling lost childhood wonder) to contemplative and accepting, as Wordsworth reconciles with the natural process of aging. This evolution in tone mirrors the speaker’s journey toward understanding and finding meaning in the inevitable loss of innocence. |
Themes: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
- The Loss of Childhood Innocence and Wonder: A dominant theme in Wordsworth’s Ode is the nostalgic yearning for the innocent wonder of childhood, a period when nature seemed “apparelled in celestial light” (line 9). Wordsworth reflects on how, as we age, the vibrancy and magic of the world diminish. He mourns this loss with the line, “The things which I have seen I now can see no more” (line 18), suggesting that with maturity comes a dimming of the pure, unfiltered joy and spiritual connection that children instinctively feel toward nature. This theme underscores the poet’s belief that childhood holds a unique and unrepeatable connection to the divine.
- The Connection Between Humanity and the Divine: Wordsworth explores the theme of humanity’s spiritual origins and its connection to the divine, proposing that “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting” (line 58). He suggests that each human soul originates from a divine source, symbolized as “trailing clouds of glory” (line 64), and that as infants, we retain an innate connection to heaven. This connection fades as we grow older, yet remnants of this divine origin remain, manifesting in “shadowy recollections” (line 149) that provide fleeting reminders of a transcendent reality. The poem portrays childhood as a time when the soul is closest to its divine source, an insight that slowly fades but never entirely disappears.
- The Cycles of Nature and Continuity of Life: The ode reflects a deep reverence for the cyclical patterns of nature, which Wordsworth uses as a metaphor for life’s stages and human resilience. He describes the “Rainbow,” “Rose,” and “Moon” (lines 23-25) as enduring symbols of beauty that return despite the passing of time, representing nature’s perpetual renewal. The continuous rebirth in nature offers solace for the loss of childhood’s wonder, as the poet finds strength in “what remains behind” (line 183). Through this theme, Wordsworth conveys that although individual moments of joy and beauty may fade, nature’s cycles continue, allowing for spiritual regeneration and acceptance.
- The Persistence of Memory and Consolation of Past Joys: Memory, particularly memories of childhood, serves as a lasting source of comfort and strength for Wordsworth. Even as the “visionary gleam” fades with age, he draws solace from the “fountain-light of all our day” (line 154), which represents the enduring impact of childhood experiences on his adult consciousness. Wordsworth suggests that memories of early wonder carry a “perpetual benediction” (line 144), a lasting blessing that provides guidance and philosophical insight. The theme emphasizes how the past continually shapes the present, allowing us to find strength in past joys despite life’s inevitable losses.
Literary Theories and “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
| Literary Theory | Application to “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” | References from the Poem |
| Romanticism | The poem embodies key elements of Romanticism, emphasizing nature, individual emotion, and the sublime experience of the natural world. Wordsworth reflects on a profound spiritual connection to nature and expresses nostalgia for the innocent wonder of childhood. Romanticism’s focus on the individual’s subjective experience aligns with Wordsworth’s introspective examination of personal loss and longing. | “There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth, and every common sight, / To me did seem Apparelled in celestial light” (lines 7-9). This passage exemplifies the Romantic ideal of nature as a source of wonder and the heightened emotional response associated with childhood perception. |
| Transcendentalism | The poem reflects Transcendentalist ideas, particularly the belief in a spiritual connection between humanity and the divine, as well as the notion of an intuitive understanding that transcends rational thought. Wordsworth suggests that humans are born with a divine awareness that fades over time but still lingers within the individual’s spirit, aligning with the Transcendentalist emphasis on inner knowledge and the “Over-Soul.” | “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: / The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, / Hath had elsewhere its setting, / And cometh from afar” (lines 58-61). These lines reflect the idea of the soul’s divine origin and its connection to a greater universal truth, central to Transcendentalist thought. |
| Psychoanalytic Theory | The poem can be analyzed through a psychoanalytic lens, particularly in terms of memory, nostalgia, and the subconscious yearning for a lost sense of unity with nature. Wordsworth’s exploration of the fading “visionary gleam” mirrors Freud’s concept of the unconscious mind retaining childhood experiences and their impact on the adult psyche. The “Ode” can thus be seen as an expression of repressed desires and the lasting influence of early experiences on the poet’s consciousness. | “Whither is fled the visionary gleam? / Where is it now, the glory and the dream?” (lines 57-58). These lines reflect a deep-seated longing for childhood experiences, embodying Freud’s idea of suppressed memories that shape adult emotions and desires. |
Critical Questions about “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
- How does Wordsworth explore the concept of spiritual loss and reconnection in the poem?
- Wordsworth addresses spiritual loss by reflecting on the fading sense of wonder and divine connection that he felt as a child. This feeling of loss is central to the poem, as Wordsworth laments, “The things which I have seen I now can see no more” (line 18). However, he also finds a path to reconnection through memory, as past experiences serve as a “fountain-light of all our day” (line 154), a sustaining spiritual force. While he recognizes that the “glory and the dream” (line 57) of childhood cannot be fully restored, he derives strength from what he calls the “philosophic mind” (line 184) that emerges with maturity. This newfound perspective allows him to reconnect with a more profound, albeit different, spiritual awareness.
- In what ways does Wordsworth portray childhood as a unique stage of life in the poem?
- Wordsworth depicts childhood as a sacred and imaginative phase where one holds an innate connection to the divine. He writes, “Heaven lies about us in our infancy!” (line 66), suggesting that children possess a closeness to a higher spiritual realm, described as “trailing clouds of glory” (line 64). This stage is portrayed as one of purity and insight, where the child is still aware of their divine origin. As Wordsworth observes, this awareness fades with age, as “Shades of the prison-house begin to close / Upon the growing Boy” (lines 67-68). This metaphor of the “prison-house” reflects how adulthood limits perception and suppresses the intuitive understanding of the divine, rendering childhood uniquely attuned to spiritual truths.
- What role does nature play in Wordsworth’s reflections on memory and loss?
- Nature serves as both a backdrop and a symbol for Wordsworth’s reflections on memory and loss. Throughout the poem, elements of nature—such as “The Rainbow,” “the Rose,” and “the Moon” (lines 23-25)—symbolize beauty, constancy, and the transient nature of experience. While nature’s beauty remains, Wordsworth notes that “there hath past away a glory from the earth” (line 18), implying that his perception of nature has changed with the loss of childhood innocence. Nevertheless, nature provides a form of solace, as Wordsworth draws on “the primal sympathy” (line 185) found in natural beauty to help him accept loss and find strength in memory. Nature, then, becomes a vital connection to his past and a reminder of the enduring cycles of life.
- How does Wordsworth reconcile the inevitable loss of youthful innocence with his adult understanding?
- Wordsworth reconciles the loss of youthful innocence by embracing the insights gained through experience and memory. While he grieves the fading of the “visionary gleam” (line 56), he comes to appreciate the “philosophic mind” (line 184) that accompanies maturity. This shift allows him to find strength in memory and past joys, which continue to enrich his life, even if they are no longer directly accessible. He expresses this reconciliation by stating, “We will grieve not, rather find / Strength in what remains behind” (lines 183-184). Wordsworth ultimately accepts that although innocence fades, the memories of that time remain powerful sources of wisdom and comfort, guiding him through life’s challenges with a deeper understanding.
Literary Works Similar to “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
- “Tintern Abbey” by William Wordsworth
Like Ode, this poem reflects on memory, nature, and the spiritual connection between past and present, capturing Wordsworth’s introspection on the passage of time and loss of youthful innocence. - “To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Shelley’s poem explores transcendence and longing for an innocent, joyful existence akin to Wordsworth’s childhood vision, celebrating the purity and ethereal quality of nature. - “The Prelude” by William Wordsworth
This autobiographical poem delves into Wordsworth’s life and spiritual development, emphasizing childhood’s unique insights and nature’s influence on the poet’s soul, mirroring themes in Ode. - “Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Coleridge’s poem explores the elusive nature of creativity and memory, capturing a fleeting sense of vision and transcendence similar to Wordsworth’s reflections on the “visionary gleam.” - “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats
Keats meditates on mortality, the fleeting beauty of life, and the desire to escape into an idealized, timeless state, resonating with Wordsworth’s contemplation of loss and the persistence of memory.
Representative Quotations of “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
| Quotation | Context | Theoretical Perspective |
| “There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth, and every common sight, / To me did seem / Apparelled in celestial light” | Wordsworth reflects on his childhood, when nature appeared divine and filled with spiritual radiance. | Romanticism – Highlights the Romantic ideal of nature as a source of divine beauty and wonder. |
| “The Child is father of the Man; And I could wish my days to be / Bound each to each by natural piety.” | The poet expresses his wish to retain the insights of childhood in his adult life. | Transcendentalism – Emphasizes the inherent wisdom of childhood, central to Transcendentalist views of innate divinity. |
| “The things which I have seen I now can see no more.” | Wordsworth mourns the loss of his youthful perception of nature’s beauty. | Psychoanalytic Theory – Suggests a subconscious longing for lost innocence and childhood memories. |
| “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; / The Soul that rises with us, our life’s Star, / Hath had elsewhere its setting.” | He explores the idea that souls come from a divine origin, which is gradually forgotten as one ages. | Platonism – Reflects Platonic philosophy of the soul’s eternal journey and pre-existence. |
| “Trailing clouds of glory do we come / From God, who is our home.” | Childhood is depicted as a time close to God and spiritual purity. | Transcendentalism – Illustrates a divine connection that transcends earthly experience. |
| “Shades of the prison-house begin to close / Upon the growing Boy.” | Wordsworth describes the onset of adulthood as a confinement of the soul’s innate freedom. | Existentialism – Suggests the limitations imposed by societal roles and responsibilities as one matures. |
| “What though the radiance which was once so bright / Be now for ever taken from my sight.” | The poet resigns to the fact that childhood’s vivid perceptions cannot be fully restored. | Romanticism – Embraces the melancholic beauty of loss, a recurring Romantic theme. |
| “Hence in a season of calm weather / Though inland far we be, / Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea.” | Wordsworth finds solace in the soul’s ability to connect to the eternal even in adulthood. | Transcendentalism – Affirms the soul’s eternal nature and connection to a greater cosmic truth. |
| “We will grieve not, rather find / Strength in what remains behind.” | Accepting the loss of childhood wonder, Wordsworth finds comfort in memory and past joys. | Stoicism – Reflects a Stoic approach to loss, finding strength and resilience in the enduring power of memory. |
| “Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.” | He describes the profound, almost inexpressible emotions stirred by past memories. | Psychoanalytic Theory – Reflects on suppressed emotions and the complexity of subconscious memory. |
Suggested Readings: “Ode: Intimations of Immortality” by William Wordsworth
- Mathison, John K. “Wordsworth’s Ode: ‘Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood.'” Studies in Philology, vol. 46, no. 3, 1949, pp. 419–39. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4172896. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
- Marsh, Florence G. “Wordsworth’s ‘Ode’: Obstinate Questionings.” Studies in Romanticism, vol. 5, no. 4, 1966, pp. 219–30. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/25599669. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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