Written in London. September, 1802
Written in London. September, 1802 - context Summary
Composed in London, 1802
Wordsworth wrote this short, elegiac lyric while in London in 1802, lamenting social and moral change. He contrasts a lost domestic virtue — "plain living and high thinking" — with a new public life focused on display, wealth, and materialism. The poem mourns the erosion of simple piety, communal peace, and natural grandeur, presenting the city as a place where avarice and spectacle have replaced traditional household religion and innocence.
Read Complete AnalysesO Friend! I know not which way I must look For comfort, being, as I am, opprest, To think that now our life is only drest For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook, Or groom! -- We must run glittering like a brook In the open sunshine, or we are unblest: The wealthiest man among us is the best: No grandeur now in nature or in book Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense, This is idolatry; and these we adore: Plain living and high thinking are no more: The homely beauty of the good old cause Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence, And pure religion breathing household laws.
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