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Wordsworth’s poem, “The Sparrow’s Nest”, published in the 1807 collection Poems in Two Volumes, placed in the section titled Moods of my Mind. “The Sparrow’s Nest” falls into the lyrical category because of its rhythm/rhyme scheme, usage of first person voice, and its composition surrounding a short, simple moment to centralize emotion and experience. In making such a decision, Wordsworth adds tenderness to the subject through general musicality and repetition of phrases such as “[s]he gave me…” and usage of personal voice to reflect development.

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This poem contains literary devices such as symbolism, personification, and repetition to further elucidate the poem’s central message and tone. Select examples of these are provided.

Symbolism: The sparrow’s nest symbolizes home, nature, and familial love. In a literal sense, a nest operates as a shelter for eggs laid, but as the poem progresses and the spotlight is shifted from the birds/the eggs onto the sister (Emmeline), the same themes are held.

Personification: Nature is infused with human qualities. The nest in not just a bird’s shelter, but instead carries human meaning as a “…home and sheltered bed” (line 6).

Repetition: The line “She gave me eyes, she gave me ears: / And humble cares, and delicate fears” (line 17) uses repetition of “she gave me” to emphasize Emmeline’s formative influence on Wordsworth.

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The underlying theme of Wordsworth’s “The Sparrow’s Nest” is the nurturing power of family love in shaping one’s moral and emotional life. Such a message is teased in line two which reads, “Those bright blue eggs together laid!” emphasizing togetherness and family. Even though the poem begins with a small and seemingly ordinary image from nature (a sparrow’s nest), it shifts into a reflection on how Emmeline profoundly shaped him. Wordsworth credits her with giving him “eyes” and “ears,” which can be interpreted as a sensitivity to beauty in the world and in nature. Emmeline gives him “humble cares” and “delicate fears,” which sounds most like moral awareness, compassion, and tenderness.

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The most impactful line in The Sparrow’s Nest is undoubtedly “A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;” present in line 19 as it the poem’s emotional essence. By likening the heart to a fountain, Wordsworth shows how love and tenderness flow naturally and endlessly. Calling the tears “sweet” transforms the implied sorrow of tears into affection, emphasizing the beauty of human feeling.

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Within Wordsworth’s poem, the word that carries the most meaning is term delicate as seen in line 18. The word delicate conveys both fragility and beauty at once, and ensnares the tender nature of the sparrows while mirroring the sensitivity of the human heart and even that of memories, which the poem serves to relay. By choosing this word, he demonstrates how the smallest and most fragile things (whether in nature or our emotions) carry deep significance and deserve to be cherished.

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One Word to Describe “The Sparrow’s Nest” (Q6)

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One Word to Describe “The Sparrow’s Nest” (Q6)

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One word to describe the poem—albeit not used in the poem itself—is the word bittersweet. The Sparrow’s Nest mixes the feelings of warmth/affection and sadness effortlessly through the imagery of “sweet tears” and “delicate fears.” However, instead of clarifying a flicker between the two, the poem suggests that joy and sorrow are closely intertwined. In the word bittersweet, the “sweet”ness present in the poem comes from love, memory, and nature, while the “bitter” lies in the fragility of those moments and the emotions they stir.

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In reading Wordsworth’s poem, the feeling of nostalgia and peace resonate with me. The calming visuals in “leafy shade,” “home and sheltered bed,” and “humble care” paired with the retelling of a moment with his sister brought on by the sight of a sparrow’s nest feels familiar and relaxing.

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The Sparrow’s Nest reflects key features of romanticism through its focus on emotion, nature, and the beauty of ordinary life. Wordsworth emphasizes the heart as the source of “sweet tears”, showing how deep the feeling is central to human experience. A glimpse at the sparrows becomes the inspiration of deep reflection, demonstrating how nature brings about memory and imagination. By elevating an ordinary scene into something meaningful, the poem commends the individual’s emotional response and captures the Romantic belief that truth and beauty are both found in personal sensibility and the natural world.

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In The Sparrow’s Nest, the bird imagery works on more than one level. On the surface, the sparrow’s nest gives us a simple and familiar picture from everyday life, reminding us of small details in nature that may otherwise go unnoticed. But the image carries a deeper meaning, too. The sparrow’s nest/eggs, with their fragility and gentle image, mirror the tenderness of human emotions that Wordsworth wants to highlight. By choosing such an ordinary bird, he shows that even the smallest, most overlooked parts of nature can stir powerful feelings of love, memory, and care in the human heart. The nest itself also adds to this effect, suggesting ideas of safety and home.

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This is a Eurasian Tree Sparrow!

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This is a sparrow’s call! A sparrow’s call consists of three sharp notes and a trill. As the poem doesn’t focus on the sparrow itself and instead on the nest, it does not illuminate any meaning to the poem. However, it does clarify the rhyme scheme. Given that the rhyme scheme is AABBCDEEED, the three sharp notes could match that of the three-peat rhyme capped off by the final rhyming line.

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Song Sparrow Calls and Songs (2025) - Have you heard this bird before?