To a Young Lady Who Had Been Reproached
For Taking Long Walks In The Country
To a Young Lady Who Had Been Reproached - meaning Summary
Nature Defends Domestic Life
Wordsworth addresses a woman criticized for walking in the country and defends a simple, nature-based domestic life. He depicts a rural home as a nourishing refuge where she will remain healthy, joyful, and morally influential as wife and mother. The poem promises that her feelings and vitality will endure into a serene, luminous old age, framing nature as the guarantor of lasting worth and dignity.
Read Complete AnalysesDEAR Child of Nature, let them rail! - There is a nest in a green dale, A harbour and a hold; Where thou, a Wife and Friend, shalt see Thy own heart-stirring days, and be A light to young and old. There, healthy as a shepherd boy, And treading among flowers of joy Which at no season fade, Thou, while thy babes around thee cling, Shalt show us how divine a thing A Woman may be made. Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die, Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh, A melancholy slave; But an old age serene and bright, And lovely as a Lapland night, Shall lead thee to thy grave.
Feel free to be first to leave comment.