Admonition
Admonition - meaning Summary
Admiration, Not Possession
Wordsworth cautions against coveting a picturesque cottage. The speaker urges admiration without possessiveness, arguing that making the cottage one’s own would alter its simple charm and dissolve the natural delights that now enchant the observer. The poem values humble, communal ties to place—flowers and porches are described as sacred to the poor—and suggests that ownership often corrupts the very beauty it seeks to possess.
Read Complete AnalysesWell may'st thou halt-and gaze with brightening eye! The lovely Cottage in the guardian nook Hath stirred thee deeply; with its own dear brook, Its own small pasture, almost its own sky! But covet not the Abode;-forbear to sigh, As many do, repining while they look; Intruders-who would tear from Nature's book This precious leaf, with harsh impiety. Think what the home must be if it were thine, Even thine, though few thy wants!-Roof, window, door, The very flowers are sacred to the Poor, The roses to the porch which they entwine: Yea, all, that now enchants thee, from the day On which it should be touched, would melt away.
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