B. Wordsworth

The unnamed boy is the narrator and protagonist of “B. Wordsworth.” At the beginning of the story, he is an unremarkable young man who lives with his mother in a house on Miguel Street in Trinidad. The boy describes his mother and the way she helps the poor people in their community, but he never mentions his father, nor does he mention siblings or friends. The boy’s life is somewhat lonely; he lives in deference to his mother and never expresses sadness or regret about his absent father or his solitary life. He is a generic young man who is in danger of slipping into the mundane routine of modern life.

The meeting with Wordsworth changes the boy. The poet is a shock to his system, jolting him from the slow, dreary slide toward the drudgery and routine of adulthood. The boy learns to identify and appreciate the poetry of life. The bees function as the gateway to this new perspective. At first, the boy describes the bees as uninvited guests in his family home. After he sits and watches them with Wordsworth, however, he gains an appreciation for their intricate beauty.