England! the Time Is Come When Thou Should'st Wean
England! the Time Is Come When Thou Should'st Wean - context Summary
During the Napoleonic Era
Written amid worries about Britain’s global role, the poem addresses England directly and urges moral maturation. Wordsworth warns that past wrongs have disrupted prospects for a better future and that Britain interposes itself in affairs of Greece, Egypt, India and Africa. The speaker registers a collective judgment and laments that the world’s hopes rest on a nation burdened by offences, prompting a sorrowful, corrective prayer.
Read Complete AnalysesENGLAND! the time is come when thou should'st wean Thy heart from its emasculating food; The truth should now be better understood; Old things have been unsettled; we have seen Fair seed-time, better harvest might have been But for thy trespasses; and, at this day, If for Greece, Egypt, India, Africa, Aught good were destined, thou would'st step between. England! all nations in this charge agree: But worse, more ignorant in love and hate, Far--far more abject, is thine Enemy: Therefore the wise pray for thee, though the freight Of thy offences be a heavy weight: Oh grief that Earth's best hopes rest all with Thee!
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