He is walking alone in the nature, just looking around. He describes the nature, and how he sees it. 

 

1.     Stanza:  He walks around in the hills and suddenly he sees some daffodils. 

2.     Stanza: The daffodils shines like the stars in the milky way 

3.     Stanza: He loves the company of the nature

4.     Stanza: The nature brings him joy, even when he’s sad. 

 

 

The poem uses cross rhymes in the four first lines, but in the last two it is a couplet rhyme. 

 

 

Simile: 

 

·      I wandered lonely as a cloud

·      He compares the daffodils with the stars. 

 

Personification: 

 

·      Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

·      tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

·      And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils

 

·      He describes the nature 

·      The personifications in the poem are very typical for the romantic period. 

·      It is idyllic and romanticized described

 

The poet himself, and his thoughts about the nature, and what j 

-       1757-1827

-       English poet and painter 

-       Unrecognised during his lifetime 

-       An important figure in the British Romantic Age 

-       He was interested in the Bible – especially the Book of Job 

 

Analysis 

-       The poem “The echoing green” takes place in a park or a field – some green area in nature. It’s a spring day. It is very idyllic. 

-       The narrator – he ages during the poem. In the first stanza he is a child, in the second he is an old man who reminisces about his past – good memories. In last stanza he does not identify with any persons. 

-       Three stanzas with ten lines each 

-       There are end rhymes (aabb) throughout the poem. The rhythm of the poem is very metrical – the rhythm is regular throughout the poem 

-       A lot of personifications – for example “The sun does arise and make happy skies” 

-       Metaphor – for example “the sun does descend” – something ends 

-       Romantics characteristics– Nature (the life of simple rural people, tribute of childhood (they are pure and innocent and still uncorrupted by society), the season of spring 

-       The title – The echoing green – this happens every spring – celebrating spring and nature 

-       In the end spring and summer ends “the darkening green” “the sun does descend” 

The speaker tells his friend to quit reading his books. If he keeps on reading, he will “grow double” –> won’t be able to stand up, because the books weigh down on him.

He then asks his friend “Why all this toil and trouble”, which means that the speaker is asking why he is doing all this hard work, and why he is so serious when the nature is so beautiful.

The speaker then explains this beautiful nature. “The sun above the mountain’s head, a freshening lustre mellow, through all the long green fields has spread, his first sweet evening yellow.”

The speaker talks poorly about books “’tis a dull and endless strife” – instead of having to read boring and endless books, he should venture outside into the nature, where the linnet (small bird) sings a beautiful song. “Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music! On my life, there’s more wisdom in it.” The birds singing contains more wisdom than any book ever created.

The speaker then praises the linnet due to its cheerful way of singing. “He, too, is no mean preacher.” – the bird wishes no harm, and is a good teacher compared to teachers in schools for example.

The purpose and true message of the text is described in the next two lines. “Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” The speaker tells his friend that nature gives more wisdom and understanding that any book can teach. He should rather go outside and enjoy the nature than sit inside and read books.
 
 FIFTH + SIXTH STANZA

“She has a world of ready wealth, our minds are hearts to bless.” Mother Nature is full of wealth, and she welcome us and bless our minds and hearts. Wisdom comes from being happy and healthy in the nature. “Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, truth breathed by cheerfulness.”

The speaker also explains that nature will teach you more about humanity and the difference between good and evil than any sage can. (Sage = vismand).

Nature withholds a beautiful lore, which it gives to humans, but because we try to rationalize everything, and because we think we are above nature, we “Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things. We murder to dissect.” Instead of receiving the wisdom that nature withholds, we murder nature to dissect it for our own goods. We should distance ourselves from science and of art, close our “barren leaves” – which means pages of a book, and simply go out into nature and venture its goods with “a heart that watches and receives.”

Rhetorical devices: 

-       Inclusive language: uses “you”, “my friend”. 

-       It adds a personal angle to the poem, and it makes the poem more sympathetic. 

-       Word classes: The poet uses a lot of “nature elements” to describe some feelings. Furthermore, the poem contains a lot of personal references such as “she”, “he”. The use of word classes depicts a close connection between the poet and the nature; “How sweet his music!” 

-       Alliteration: “A vernal wood”, “you more of man”. It adds rhythm and makes the poem more “smooth” to read. 

-       Allusion: “The sun above the mountain’s head” – a reference to God, perhaps? And “And hark! How blithe the throstle sings! He, too, is no mean preacher” – a reference to God again? 

-       Anaphora: “Up! Up! My Friend”. It clears the message of the poem and really puts the message into remembrance. 

-       Personification: “Sweet is the lore/knowledge”, “Mountain’s head”, “Truth breathes by cheerfulness.” A typical Romantic feature, because the nature becomes alive and gets a personality and feelings, just like humans. 

-       Rhetorical question: “Why all this toil and trouble?” A symbol and reference to stop what you are doing and start to re-think your life and priorities – go get out to the nature.

Romantiske træk ”The tables turned” by William Wordsworth

 

o   In the poem we see, how the narrator (maybe William Wordsworth himself) is against the industrial revolution, which the poets were in that period – especially in the seventh stanza. “Our meddling intellect - Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things - We murder to dissect”

o   The seventh stanza shows that we murder the nature, the true beauty and the true knowledge by making room for ourselves with building factories etc. 

o   The whole poem through he wants the reader or the listener to understand that nature and the individual come first, and that capitalism and materialism close our eyes and make us ignorant and uninformed – characteristic for the poets in that period 

o   “The tables turned” praises the nature. “Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: - Come, hear the woodland linnet, - How sweet his music! on my life, - There's more of wisdom in it.”. This stanza shows the essential romantic values: The kind of intellect, we get from books, blocks true emotions and true happiness. It makes us blind. Furthermore it shows that what we learn from nature has a greater value, than what we learn from books. The nature is a better teacher. 

o   The poem focuses on feelings and senses as well. It is very important to the narrator that the reader will open his heart – hence be open minded to nature and its gifts (last stanza). The reader has to listen to the melodies of nature and watch its beauty. Wordsworth has almost made nature to this admirable, wise person who is a greater teacher than any book or any human can ever be.

Writer:
the founder of the romantic littarture with "Lyric ballads" + Samuel Taylor Coleridge
1798

in the poam it is important to notice that it seems like that it could be wordsworth which is the narrator. because of all the romatic statements. and because of the title
he is telling us not to read and leave the books in the start of the poam. this is also very comfusing. title "the tables turned" - refer to the mearning.

The way children are used as working capacity.

He defends the children of the working class.

Rhyme scheme 

Organized In 6 stanzas, four lines
Couplet:

1 +2 = rhyme
 3+4 = rhyme

First person voice
Third person voice

1. Stanza:

First person voice

The speaker tells his childhood story. A very sad story – his mother is dead, his father sold him before he could even speak.
 Pun = “Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
so your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep. weep, weep, weep, weep”

Changes to third person narrator. Tom Dacre is introduced. A friend of the speaker. They are both chimney sweepers. 

Description of how Tom looks: His lamb curls that are shaved of his head = a symbol of the loss of pureness and innocence. Originally, he had white hair à now the top of his head is covered with soot-spots à he is both physically and mentally being soiled.

3. Stanza:

One night Tom is dreaming: he is dreaming about other chimneysweepers. They are all locked up in black coffins. That might be some of his friends. They have died doing their job.

The coffins of black = black is a very negative, pessimistic colour.  Black is a reference to their job as chimneysweepers. When you are in a coffin, you are locked up = it is a symbol of the boys feeling depressed and locked up in a dumb place, they cannot escape. Injustice.

4. Stanza

Further description of his dream. He is dreaming of the idyllic, perfect world – or what happens when you die. An angel with a bright key is described. She opens the black coffins and sets the dead boys free àin the afterlife they live in harmony and are happy, joyful. He is dreaming about being saved too and hoping for this joyful afterlife. 

5. Stanza
The other boys rise upon the clouds. The angel is left behind with Tom – she promises Tom that if he continues being a good boy, he will go to heaven too, when he dies. She promises that God will be his father, and that is everything Tom is dreaming of, because he has been let down as a child. He has lost both his mom and dad and therefore he needs a replacement. He needs care and safety.

6. Stanza 

Tom is left behind, he is not death yet, but he has a little bit of hope because he knows that God watches him. With God in his mind, he is not afraid