William Wordsworth wrote this poem immediately after he returned to London from France. I interpret this poem as a cry for help from Wordsworth to John Milton. By Wordsworth saying “ Oh! raise us up, return to us again.”(line 7) Leads me to believe that Milton is dead at the time that Wordsworth is writing this poem. He is wishing Milton was back in London because London is so corrupt and sad, it needs Milton to come back to bring them manners, virtue, freedom and power. He says, “England hath need of thee: she is a fen/ Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,/ Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,/ Hath forfeited their ancient English dower/ Of inward happiness.”(lines 2-5) I believe that he is saying the church (altar), state (sword), writers (pen), families and workmen (fireside) are corrupt and selfish. While Milton was alive, he was uncorruptable although he traveled “life’s common way”(line 10) and mingled with the common man while maintaining his “chearful godliness.”(line 13)
I think this poem is just as vital today as it was when it was first written. Our current society, by so many accounts, is in rapid decline. Our institutions like church and government are rocked by scandal almost daily. The media pumps out so much filth that our standards of propriety are blurred, if we still have any standard at all. I thought that Wordsworth was crying out for a return to a simpler, purer day when we knew who we were. I think the same is true for all of us today. How many people have referred to “the way things used to be” in glowing terms? I don’t know of many who say it in an appreciation for the way things are today. We have many “Wordsworths” around today. The song lyric from Simon and Garfunkel that asked, “Where have you gone, Joe Dimaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” touched on the same sentiment Wordsworth did when he cried out, “Oh! Raise us up, return to us again.”
In reading this poem it was clear to me that people for many years have noticed the decline of institutions and the people that form them. I don’t know if we’re worse off today but the sentiment remains the same. We all look for some noble savior to come back from a simpler time and return us to a time of manners, virtue, freedom and power. That savior for Wordsworth was Milton. I’m not sure I can name such a person for me although I agree that we need something and someone to point the way. I agree that the church, state and many of the institutions of our society are corrupt and lack a “cheerful godliness” as Wordsworth called it.
This poem not only shows that Wordsworth sees Milton as a great person (so great that Milton compares him to nature, one of Wordsworth’s most admired things), but it also shows his feelings about England’s society at this time. He once thought London was a happy place with virtue, but now he believes that all of that is lost and that Milton’s leadership is much needed to bring back the morale of London. I guess I could say the same thing about America today. It isn’t lacking good, moral people. I would say that it is, however, lacking good moral leadership from its church and state. I think a current reading of Wordsworth’s poem is not only a reminder that we have continued our corrupt, moral slide but that we have also ignored a call to change and apparently lack the desire to make that change.
Ashlei,
ReplyDeleteGood text to explore, and you do a good job of working your way through specific passages and engaging fully with them. A few things it might be helpful to know about John Milton: he had been dead for well over a century when Wordsworth wrote this poem; he was famous as a poet for writing Paradise Lost, among other poems; and he was active during the English Civil War as a Puritan and as an active opponent of the king, Charles I (in fact, he called for the execution of the king, which actually occurred). So, Wordsworth looks up to Milton as a poet, a moralist, and as a tireless opponent of tyranny. I think his saying that England needs Milton may refer to moral corruption, but it may also refer to more revolutionary sentiments of getting rid of the king!