It is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquility;4 The gentleness of heaven broods o'er the Sea:
Listen! the mighty Being is awake,
And doth with his eternal motion make
A sound like thunder--everlastingly!8 Dear child! Dear girl! that walkest with me here,
If thou appear untouched by solemn thought,
Thy nature is not therefore less divine:
Thou liest in Abraham's bosom* all the year;12 And worship'st at the temple's inner shrine,
God being with thee when we know it not.
Vocabulary:
Abraham's bosom--" a metaphor for heaven (Luke 16:22). In other words her spirit is at peace" (Keach, 487).
Questions:
- Identify the rhyme scheme of the poem.
- Why does the narrator call the evening "beauteous" (full of beauty)?
- This poem contrasts two different reactions to the natural world, the adult's point of view against the child's.
- How is the speaker's reaction different than that of the little girl who accompanies him?
- Does the speaker believe that his reactions are deeper (or more spiritual) than the little girl's? What does the speaker conclude about the way the little girl apprehends the world around her?
- YOUR OPINION: Of the two, which perspective do you think is the deepest, is the closest to God? Explain.
- Wordsworth makes ample use of religious diction in this sonnet. Identify three examples of language tinged with spiritual connotation.
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