Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE TABLES TURNED, by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE TABLES TURNED, by             Poem Explanation     Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Up! Up! My friend, and clear your looks
Last Line: That watches and receives.
Subject(s): Country Life; Environment; Nature; Religion; Trees; Environmental Protection; Ecology; Conservation; Theology


UP! up, my friend! and quit your books,
Or surely you'll grow double;
Up! up, my friend! and clear your looks!
Why all this toil and trouble?
The sun, above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.
Books! 't is a dull and endless strife;
Come, hear the woodland linnet --
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it!
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher;
Come forth into the light of things --
Let Nature be your teacher.
She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless, --
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Sweet is the lore which nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Misshapes the beauteous forms of things --
We murder to dissect.
Enough of science and of art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.




Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net