Get here the summary, questions, answers, textbook solutions, extras, and pdf of chapter 9 “Lines Written in Early Spring” of the Assam Board (AHSEC / SEBA) Class 11 (first year) Alternative English (Seasons) textbook. However, the given notes/solutions should only be used for references and should be modified/changed according to needs.
Summary: William Wordsworth writes in his ballad “Lines Written in Early Spring” that nature should be the focal point of human existence. In this poem, Wordsworth paints a picture of the beauty of nature, including roses, trees, birds, and all living things, united in their innate capacity for love and purity. Despite the idyllic setting, Wordsworth uses a variety of words, melodies, and syntax variations to convey his gloomy thoughts about where man stands in today’s world. Wordsworth uses this poem to examine how, as a result of the industrial revolution, modern man has turned inward, prioritising technology and urban life over rural simplicity.
The poet composed this piece while strolling through the countryside close to Alford. His observations of nature are recounted here. These times are bittersweet. He’s in the middle of a forest, where all the sounds of nature are mingling. He takes a closer look at the happy-looking birds and vegetation. All of the picturesque views have captivated him. His enjoyment of these scenes is tempered by a growing sense of melancholy and a growing sense of sadness for the human race. His spirit has become one with nature. Saddened, he thinks about what civilization has done to humanity. The poet begins the poem by lounging in a small forest, listening to the birds sing. Although the sound of birds singing can put one in a good mood, the poet says that humanity has messed up its relationships with other species.
The speaker has environmental concerns because of the connection between the state of nature and human actions. When he should be relaxing and taking in the natural scenery, instead, it throws his mind into turmoil. The second stanza explains how, despite living in modern society, people still feel a deep spiritual connection to nature and all the wonders she has created. The speaker implies that man can coexist with nature while also being a rational being who is able to influence his own fate. The speaker is a rational human being who has given much thought to life’s mysteries; he is even a philosopher of sorts; however, he has found a peace with nature that would surprise most people of his time.
That all people can give to and take from nature is a central tenet of the speaker’s argument, and he condemns those who harm it on the grounds that they risk damaging their own culture as a result In this account, nature plays a central role in people’s daily lives. The poet takes comfort in the beauty and silence of nature while lamenting the state of humanity.
I. Answer these questions in one or two words.
1. Where was the speaker on that spring day?
Answer: On that spring day, the narrator found himself in a grove, surrounded by the harmonious sounds of nature.
2. What was the speaker doing?
Answer: The narrator is lazily contemplating humankind’s plight while lying in a grove and listening to the birds.
3. What kinds of thoughts overpowered the sweet mood of the speaker?
Answer: The speaker is in a particularly sweet mood, but he says that his mind is filled with both happy and sad thoughts while he is sitting in a grove. Because he was in such a “sweet mood” he found himself pondering philosophical questions about the state of the human spirit and the origins of humanity’s moral decline.
4. What grieved the speaker’s heart?
Answer: The speaker’s heart breaks at the thought of the wrongs done to other people by their fellow humans.
5. What kind of sound did the speaker hear?
Answer: A thousand blended notes have been heard by the speaker. He believed that Nature and the human soul are inextricably linked. The poet appreciates the beauty and fragrance of the primrose and periwinkle flowers. He imagined the flowers and twigs breathing in the fresh air.
II. Answer these questions in a few words.
1. What is linked to the fair works of nature?
Answer: The poet’s human spirit is intertwined with nature’s beautiful creations. By endowing Nature with the agency through what he calls “her fair works”, the poet humanises her and establishes an intimate connection between Nature and the poet’s own soul and heart.
2. What is the speaker’s faith in the flowers?
Answer: The poet is sitting in his green bower among tufts of primrose and periwinkles, and the speaker is reiterating his conviction that every flower takes pleasure in the air they breathe.
3. What did the birds do around the poet while he sat reclined?
Answer: The poet was surrounded by birds that seemed genuinely delighted by their antics as they hopped and played around him.
4. What did the budding twigs do?
Answer: The budding twigs spread their leaves to catch the breeze, implying that the twigs were delighted by their contact with the breeze.
5. What is the significance of the primrose tufts and periwinkle in the poem?
Answer: Both the primrose tufts and the periwinkle, a creeper with blue, white, and pink flowers, have symbolic meaning in the poem because they represent natural harmony at its finest. The poet thinks that every flower enjoys the air it breathes, including the periwinkle that entwines itself with the primrose. Periwinkles entwined with primrose tufts convince the poet that everything in the universe shares in the joy of the natural world.
III. Answer these questions briefly.
1. What does Wordsworth mean when he says, “What man has made of man”?
Answer: When Wordsworth says, “What man has made of man,” he appears to be implying a standard of behaviour and responsibility on man’s part. With so much power for good and evil, man owes it to his fellow man and his environment to respect them. Nature’s holy plan, according to the poet, was to give man pleasure and connect his soul with nature. Nature, according to the poet, has linked all human souls. Man, like other natural creations, should live in joyful harmony and enjoy his existence. However, the poet bemoans “what man has made of man.” He contrasts man’s negative actions, such as wars, which bring sorrow, conflict, suffering, and unhappiness, with nature’s positive creations, such as flowers and birdsong, which bring beauty and happiness. As a result, the poet wishes to convey that man is unhappy because he is cruel to others and has no time to enjoy nature because he is always preoccupied with worldly matters.
2. What conclusion does the poet draw from the movement of the birds?
Answer: When the poet saw the birds hopping and playing around him, he couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but he deduced from their movements that they were enjoying the thrill of pleasure. He was overjoyed to hear the birds. But as time passed, his mood gradually changed. As he realised and pondered how nature had worked its way, sad and sorrowful thoughts began to dominate his mind. He began to consider what “man” had done to men. The poet was referring to man’s destruction of the earth. Man has destroyed the comfortable home that nature has provided for him. The poet looked around and noticed the birds enjoying themselves and having fun. He realised that their happiness was a result of their circumstances and how they valued the little things in their lives, unlike man.
3. What is Wordsworth’s belief regarding Nature’s holy plan?
Answer: The holy plan of nature is for all living things to coexist blissfully and appreciate the experience of being alive. The human race, on the other hand, is actively working against it because they fail to recognise the harmony that exists between nature and themselves and instead chooses to fight with one another, thereby upsetting this harmony. Separating ourselves from the harmonies and beauty of nature is what has led to the current state of chaos that humanity finds itself in. If the poet is correct in his assessment that the natural joy he is witnessing is a gift from above, then he has good reason to lament the state of humanity.
IV. Answer these questions in detail.
1. What is the reason behind Wordsworth’s lamentation?
Answer: William Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in Early Spring” is an exploration of the relationship between humans and the natural world. The poet uses the poem to express regret over the damage humans have done to the natural world. So, even though the setting was pleasant and joyful, his optimistic outlook led him to brood over things that made him sad. Nature was the connecting thread that bound the poet’s human spirit to the lovely things she had crafted. Thinking about what humanity has become saddened the poet deeply. When he considered where humanity had progressed to, it made him feel incredibly depressed. Through alienation from the natural world and its innate order and beauty, humanity has ushered in an era of disorder and chaos. The poet demonstrates how the splendour of nature can bring one happiness and tranquillity. He wishes that people could share in the beauty of nature. However, modern society has become increasingly estranged from the natural world to the point where people no longer experience the peace and clarity that can be found there.
2. What in nature made Wordsworth feel happy on that spring day?
Answer: The poem “Lines Written in Early Spring” is primarily concerned with the natural world, as befits its classification as a landscape poem. Nature, in Wordsworth’s opinion, is the life force that drives all organisms and gives life to everything, and he believes that nature and the human soul are inextricably linked. The poet appreciates the beauty and fragrance of the primrose and periwinkle flowers. He imagines that the flowers and twigs are enjoying the air they breathe, and even though he couldn’t understand the language of the hopping and playing birds around him, he knows that they are happy. The twigs spread out like fans to catch the cool breeze. There is joy all around him, and this makes him feel happy on that spring day. It is nature’s holy plan to give man pleasure and connect his soul with nature.
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