I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud [Daffodils]

                                                              

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 

And twinkle on the milky way, 

They stretched in never-ending line 

Along the margin of a bay: 

The thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they 

Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay, 

In such a jocund company: 

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought 

What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood, 

The flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils.         

                        --William Wordsworth, 1804                        

                   

                            

  This poem isn't Christian, per se, but Wordsworth had quite a journey of faith.  Before discussing that, ponder this Bible verse with a parallel thought: " [Jesus continued] 'Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not labor nor spin.  I say, however, that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.' "  (Matthew 6:28b-29a)

     Wordsworth was raised Anglican.  He later moved in circles of Anglo-Catholicism, meaning a movement that sought to emphasize the Roman Catholic history of the Anglican Church.  It also promoted high church, formal structure and worship.

     Wordworth fathered an illegitimate child. Though we consider this outside the bounds of Christian sexual morality, it is too common of an occurrence to say that this calls his faith into question.

     Wordsworth's religious beliefs are hard to clearly define.  He doesn't always express even religious-adjacent ideas in spiritual terms. This does not mean he never expresses his Christian faith.  Those that have referred to him as "atheist" are overlooking what his spiritual journey truly was.

Wordworth's Religion

Wordworth & Religion

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