I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

“Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth (1798)

This poem, published in the Lyrical Ballads, introduces a speaker contemplating the natural world. Like “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” it is written in iambic tetrameter, and describes a landscape that brings joy to the speaker. However, this poem demonstrates greater socio-political awareness, as it references “[w]hat man has made of man” (Line 8)—that is, how poorly human beings treat one another.

“Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour” by William Wordsworth (1798)

This poem was also published in the Lyrical Ballads and, like “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” describes a natural landscape that is later called to mind “in lonely rooms, and ‘mid the din / Of towns and cities” (Lines 25-26).

A long, reflective work written in blank verse, “Tintern Abbey” sees the speaker revisiting the banks of the river Wye, remembering how the landscape affected him in childhood. The poem takes the form of a monologue and appears to be addressed to the speaker’s sister at one point—from this, we can infer that Wordsworth was thinking of his sister Dorothy, and the many walks they took in nature.