Discussion Questions for
William Wordsworth

The Baker's Cart/pg. 1

What kind of hope had the woman in the poem been denied?
What do the last three lines mean?

Old Man Travelling/pg. 2

What does it mean to move with thought?
Does this man possess peace or is he preoccupied? Explain.
What, if anything, does the poem say about how to obtain peace?

Lines Left Upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree/pg. 3

What is a common soul?(12-13)
What does it mean to own "no common soul"?
How does neglect dampen this man's spirit?(19)
In lines 27-29 what is a morbid pleasure? Why is it one?
Is this man's death a tragedy? Why or why not?(38-43)
What does it mean to suspect and revere oneself?(last 4 lines)
Why is it true dignity to do so?

Goody Blake and Harry Gill/pg. 30

What is the moral of this poem?

Lines Written at a Small Distance from My House/pg. 34

What does it mean to give one day to idleness?
Is idleness laziness? If not, what's the difference?
Can one moment give us more than 50 years of reason? Explain(25-28)
What are silent laws?(29)

"A whirl-blast from behind the hill"/pg. 45

What is a "heart at ease"?(24)
How can a natural event such as this nourish the mind?

Anecdote for Fathers/pg. 62

How does the father teach the art of lying(see subtitle)?
Is the boy's answer a good one? Why or why not?(39)
Why did the father ask five times?(47-48)
Should the father have kept asking? Why or why not?
What did the father learn from his boy?(last two lines)

Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey/pg. 76

How can "unremembered pleasure" influence a good man's life?(32-34)
What are "nameless, unremembered acts"?(35-36)
What is the "burthen(burden) of the mystery"?(39)
What does the poem say lightens that burden?
Do you agree(above)? Why or why not?
What does it mean to "see into the life of things"?
What is Wordsworth saying in lines 50-58?
How can a moment contain life and food for future years?(65-66)
How has age changed the poet?(89-94)
How can elevated thoughts be both disturbing and joyful?(95-96)
What is this "motion" & "spirit"?(101-102)
What does it mean that eye and ear both "half-create and perceive"(107-108)?
Can nature do all that Wordsworth says she can? Why or why not?(123-135)
What is sober pleasure?(140)
How does Wordsworth worship nature?(154)

"My heart leaps up when I behold"/pg. 172

How can a child be father to a man?
What does the last line mean? Why does the poet wish this?

To the Daisy("In youth")/pg. 176

What does it mean to be "pleased when most uneasy"?(4)
How do you make your own delights?(5)
What does it mean to heed the common life?(53-54)
What are hearts "at leisure"?(56)

"These chairs they have no words to utter"/pg. 180

Why is the poet "Happy and alone"?
Why does a half hour change his mood?
What is the poet saying about death? About life? About peace?

"I grieved for Buonaparte"/pg. 192

What is vain and unthinking grief?
How does the poet define wisdom?
How does true power grow?

"The world is too much with us"/pg. 194

What does the first line mean?
How are our powers wasted by getting and spending?
What does it mean to be out of tune?
What does line 10 mean?

"The Sun has long been set"/pg. 195

What is parading and masquerading?
Why can't the poet understand such actions on this June night?

Composed upon Westminster Bridge/pg. 199

What is a dull soul?(2)
What is a deep calm?(11)
What does it mean to glide at your own sweet will?(12)

"Great Men have been among us"/pg. 200

How does the poet define great men?
What is the poet's criticism of France?

London, 1802/pg. 200

What is wrong with England according to Wordsworth?
What is life's "common way"?(12)

"Nuns fret not at their Convent's narrow room"/pg. 201

How can a prison not be a prison?
In this sonnet Wordsworth refers to being bound within the sonnet. He likens it to a prison. Why?

Ode to Duty/pg. 205

Why does the poet call duty God's stern daughter?(1-2)
How can duty set us free from vain temptations?
What are vain temptations?
What kind of person does not require duty?(9-16) Why not?
When does the above person need duty? Why?
What is the creed referred to in line 24?
Why does the poet want the control of duty?(35)
What are "'precepts over dignified'"?(46)
When will the poet not prize "denial and restraint"?(47-46) Why?
What New Testament writer makes a similar plea to line 60?

Ode("Intimations of Immortality")/pg. 207

Why is Wordsworth lamenting the things he can see no more?(9)
What utterance rids him of his grief?(24) Explain.
What is a "visionary gleam"?(56)
What does line 58 mean?
What does the poet mean by God is our home?(65)
What happens to the infant and the youth?(66-76) Why does this happen?
Who is the "homely Nurse"?(81) What does she make us forget?
What and/or where is the imperial palace?(84)
Who is "Thou" in line 108 and following? Explain.
What is "earthly freight" in line 129?
How does custom lie upon us like a weight?(130)
For what does Wordsworth raise a song of "thanks and praise"?(143) Why?
What are "obstinate questionings"?(144)
Why will the poet not grieve about past joys?(180-189)
What do the last two lines of the poem mean?

"I wandered lonely as a cloud"/pg. 214

What does the first line mean?
What is the bliss of solitude?

November, 1806/pg. 249

What kind of man does Wordsworth want to rule the land?

"Surprized by Joy"/pg. 253

How did the narrator forget his great loss?
What causes him to remember?

The River Duddon. Conclusion/pg. 264

What is the poet's stance toward death? Is this good? Why or why not?
What is "Enough" in line 10?
What does it mean to feel that we are greater than we know?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Can nature do all that Wordsworth says it can? Why or why not?

Why is nature so important for Wordsworth?

These poems are in chronological order. Do you see any difference between the early Wordsworth and the late? If so, what?

Do you like Wordsworth? Why or why not?

Discussion Questions for William Wordsworth