William Wordsworth’s love of Nature is so passionate. From a cuckoo, skylark, butterflies and more. Reading his poems, images scents and sounds come to the fore. Wordsworth has always been a favourite.
‘To a Skylark’ describing such freedom. It matters not how many times it is read, it warms the heart. To describe such a bird as an ‘ethereal minstrel’ who is a pilgrim of the sky. Such words. Such beautiful descriptions. A cuckoo, heard not seen.
‘O blithe New-comer!
I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering voice.’
Perhaps Wordsworth most famous poem is ‘I Wandered Lonely as A Cloud’. (1804) Again, such a vivid description. After witnessing a most beautiful sight of daffodils, ‘beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.’ Wordsworth’s own feeling?
‘For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon my inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.’
Daffodils are indeed special for it is as though they turn their heads towards a passerby.
Wordsworth has a unique way of describing the natural environment. He makes it come to life.
