Lines Written in Early Spring
I heard a thousand blended notes,While in a grove I sate reclined,In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughtsBring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did nature linkThe human soul that through me ran;And much it griev’d my heart to thinkWhat man has made of man.
Through primrose-tufts, in that sweet bower,The periwinkle trail’d its wreathes;And ’tis my faith that every flowerEnjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopp’d and play’d:Their thoughts I cannot measure,But the least motion which they made,It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,To catch the breezy air;And I must think, do all I can,That there was pleasure there.
If I these thoughts may not prevent,If such be of my creed the plan,Have I not reason to lamentWhat man has made of man?
Words in this poem
- sate v. t.
- To satisfy the desire or appetite of; to satiate; to glut; to surfeit. [Probably shortened fr. satiate: cf. L. satus full. See Satiate.]
- reclined a.
- Falling or turned downward; reclinate.
- breezy a.
- Characterized by, or having, breezes; airy.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lines Written in Early Spring is in the public domain. This text is taken from Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems (1798), Project Gutenberg ebook #9622; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Wordsworth, Lines Written in Early Spring, in Lyrical Ballads (1798), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9622, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lyrical-ballads/lines-written-in-early-spring.html, id L02855.
Form and metre
Lines Written in Early Spring is 24 lines in 6 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, complete in 4 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.5 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-A notes · reclinedA · thoughts · mindA
- 2 ABAB linkA · ranB · thinkA · manB
- 3 A-A- bowerA · wreathes · flowerA · breathes
- 4 ABAB play'dA · measureB · madeA · pleasureB
- 5 ABAB fanA · airB · canA · thereB
- 6 ABAB preventA · planB · lamentA · manB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I heard a thousand blended notes, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| While in a grove I sate reclined, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Bring sad thoughts to the mind. | 6 | ······ |
| To her fair works did nature link | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The human soul that through me ran; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And much it griev’d my heart to think | 8 | ········ |
| What man has made of man. | 6 | ······ |
| Through primrose-tufts, in that sweet bower, | 9 | ·/·····/˘ |
| The periwinkle trail’d its wreathes; | 7 | ·/˘˘··· |
| And ’tis my faith that every flower | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Enjoys the air it breathes. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| The birds around me hopp’d and play’d: | 8 | ········ |
| Their thoughts I cannot measure, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| But the least motion which they made, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| It seem’d a thrill of pleasure. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The budding twigs spread out their fan, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To catch the breezy air; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And I must think, do all I can, | 8 | ········ |
| That there was pleasure there. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| If I these thoughts may not prevent, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| If such be of my creed the plan, | 8 | ········ |
| Have I not reason to lament | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| What man has made of man? | 6 | ······ |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 1
Notes credited “[Hutchinson]” are Thomas Hutchinson’s, from his edition Lyrical Ballads 1798 (Duckworth, 3rd ed. 1920; Internet Archive lyricalballads00worduoft), keyed to his own line numbers within each poem (the Ancyent Marinere numbered continuously 1-658 across all seven Parts). Notes credited “[W. Wordsworth, 1798]” are the poet’s own five footnotes printed in the site’s own source text (Project Gutenberg #9622).
- Stanza 6, line 1 If this belief from Heaven is sent / ‘If such be Nature’s holy plan.’ The egoism of these lines disappears in 1820 (in 1827 ‘be’ is substituted for ‘is’). [Hutchinson]
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