Light
Light often symbolizes truth and knowledge. In “The Tables
Turned” (1798), Wordsworth contrasts the
barren light of reason available in books with the “sweet” (11)
and “freshening” (6) light of the knowledge
nature brings. Sunlight literally helps people see, and sunlight
also helps speakers and characters begin to glimpse the wonders
of the world. In “Expostulation and Reply” (1798),
the presence of light, or knowledge, within an individual prevents
dullness and helps the individual to see, or experience. Generally,
the light in Wordsworth’s poems represents immortal truths that
can’t be entirely grasped by human reason. In “Ode: Imitations of
Immortality,” the speaker remembers looking at a meadow as a child
and imagining it gleaming in “celestial light” (4).
As the speaker grows and matures, the light of his youth fades into
the “light of common day” (78) of adulthood.
But the speaker also imagines his remembrances of the past as a
kind of light, which illuminate his soul and give him the strength
to live.
The Leech Gatherer
In “Resolution and Independence,” the ancient leech gatherer
who spends his days wandering the moors looking for leeches represents
the strong-minded poet who perseveres in the face of poverty, obscurity,
and solitude. As the poem begins, a wanderer travels along a moor,
feeling elated and taking great pleasure in the sights of nature
around him but also remembering that despair is the twin of happiness.
Eventually he comes upon an old man looking for leeches, even though
the work is dangerous and the leeches have become increasingly hard
to find. As the speaker chats with the old man, he realizes the
similarities between leech gathering and writing poetry. Like a
leech gather, a poet continues to search his or her mind and the
landscape of the natural world for poems, even though such intense
emotions can damage one’s psyche, the work pays poorly and poverty
is dangerous to one’s health, and inspiration sometimes seems increasingly
hard to find. The speaker resolves to think of the leech gatherer
whenever his enthusiasm for poetry or belief in himself begins to
wane.
