"Lines Written in Early Spring" by William Wordsworth

“Lines Written in Early Spring” by William Wordsworth explores environmental and physical boundaries. The persona speaks in a worried and concerned tone, contemplating whether the man made influence is a boundary for nature and the surrounding environment;

"To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man." (5-8)

The persona feels linked to nature (pathetic fallacy) and believes that the effect of modernisation (factories and buildings) has destroyed that special connection with nature.

The persona also describes limitless boundaries, but speaks in a more enlightened tone;

"The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure: -
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure." (13-16)

The persona feels that the birds have no boundaries because they are free in their own environment.

Wordsworth has used vivid, visual imagery to describe spring in the poem;

"The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;" (17-18)

Even though the environment is changing, the persona still sees the beauty of nature, especially in spring, the time of new life and blossoming flora.

To end the poem, Wordsworth emphasizes the last two lines on his concerns for the future;

"Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?"