Lyric Poem · Nature

Lines Written In Early Spring

by William Wordsworth

Reading room

1I heard a thousand blended notes,

2While in a grove I sate reclined,

3In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

4Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

5To her fair works did Nature link

6The human soul that through me ran;

7And much it grieved my heart to think

8What man has made of man.

9Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

10The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

11And 'tis my faith that every flower

12Enjoys the air it breathes.

13The birds around me hopped and played,

14Their thoughts I cannot measure: —

15But the least motion which they made

16It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

17The budding twigs spread out their fan,

18To catch the breezy air;

19And I must think, do all I can,

20That there was pleasure there.

21If this belief from heaven be sent,

22If such be Nature's holy plan,

23Have I not reason to lament

24What man has made of man?

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“Lines Written In Early Spring” by William Wordsworth — quilloak.com/poems/lines-written-in-early-spring

Quick facts

Poem: Lines Written In Early Spring
Poet: William Wordsworth
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Peace, Spring

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 24 lines · 6 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 6-9 syllables (median 8), consistent with tetrameter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
Refrains: “What man has made of man.”“What man has made of man?”Repeated lines act as the poem's hinge or drumbeat.

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Author record: William Wordsworth1770–1850
Source record: PoetryDBLines Written In Early Spring by william-wordsworth, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 c4964ae1ad42c091…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Peace Spring

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