October, 1803
October, 1803 - context Summary
Composed Amid Invasion Fears
This sonnet, written in 1803 and later published in 1807 in Sonnets Dedicated to Liberty, responds to the contemporary threat of Napoleonic invasion. Wordsworth contrasts anxious, moneyed men with the confident, contented common people, arguing that true noble qualities—virtue, hope, moral faculties—remain vital in crisis. The poem asserts a patriotic faith that inner goods endure while riches are associated with fear, change, and decay.
Read Complete AnalysesThese times strike monied worldlings with dismay: Even rich men, brave by nature, taint the air With words of apprehension and despair: While tens of thousands, thinking on the affray, Men unto whom sufficient for the day And minds not stinted or untilled are given, Sound, healthy, children of the God of heaven, Are cheerful as the rising sun in May. What do we gather hence but firmer faith That every gift of noble origin Is breathed upon by Hope's perpetual breath; That virtue and the faculties within Are vital,--and that riches are akin To fear, to change, to cowardice, and death?
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