Lines Written in Early Spring

William Wordsworth · 1798

Catalog grade guidance: 3–5 — Short nature lyric; accessible vocabulary.

25 content lines · 165 words · Est. recitation about 1 min 37 sec (approx.)

Public-domain text for reading and recitation practice. Source: Project Gutenberg #9622.Estimated time uses ~120 words/minute plus short pauses—not a contest rule.

LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING.


    I heard a thousand blended notes,
    While in a grove I sate reclined,
    In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
    Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

    To her fair works did nature link
    The human soul that through me ran;
    And much it griev’d my heart to think
    What man has made of man.

    Through primrose-tufts, in that sweet bower,
    The periwinkle trail’d its wreathes;
    And ’tis my faith that every flower
    Enjoys the air it breathes.

    The birds around me hopp’d and play’d:
    Their thoughts I cannot measure,
    But the least motion which they made,
    It seem’d a thrill of pleasure.

    The budding twigs spread out their fan,
    To catch the breezy air;
    And I must think, do all I can,
    That there was pleasure there.

    If I these thoughts may not prevent,
    If such be of my creed the plan,
    Have I not reason to lament
    What man has made of man?