Sonnet Composed at Castle
Sonnet Composed at Castle - fact Summary
Protest Against Tree-felling
This sonnet condemns the Duke of Douglas for ordering the felling of an ancient stand of trees. Wordsworth angrily identifies the act as wanton destruction and socially shameful, mourning the loss felt by locals and travellers. Yet the poem ends by noting that natural features—the mountains, the Tweed, and the green pastures—still persist, suggesting resilience even after human outrage and impoverishment of an estate.
Read Complete AnalysesDEGENERATE Douglas! oh, the unworthy Lord! Whom mere despite of heart could so far please, And love of havoc, (for with such disease Fame taxes him,) that he could send forth word To level with the dust a noble horde, A brotherhood of venerable Trees, Leaving an ancient dome, and towers like these, Beggared and outraged!--Many hearts deplored The fate of those old Trees; and oft with pain The traveller, at this day, will stop and gaze On wrongs, which Nature scarcely seems to heed: For sheltered places, bosoms, nooks, and bays, And the pure mountains, and the gentle Tweed, And the green silent pastures, yet remain.
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