The Tables Turned

The Tables Turned - A Poem by William Wordsworth

The Tables Turned
(An Evening Scene on the Same Subject)

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! 'tis 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
Mis-shapes 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.

SPECS AND SLIMS

Subject matter

The subject matter of this poem is that Wordsworth is trying to convince either a split personality or a friend to go outside and experience the beauty of nature. His friend/personality is clearly someone who lives in books stated by “Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;” but Wordsworth is trying to convince him to put them down.

Purpose

The purpose of this poem is that Wordsworth is trying to convince his friend to go out and see the beauty of nature. I believe that this friend symbolises the human race and how they are destroying the earth with the industrial revolution.

Emotion

- excitement as he is trying to make going outside seem fun to his friend

- awe and amazement at the beauty of nature

Craftsmanship

- Structure

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- Language

Rhyming and the use of unusual words to create a sense of mystery and excitement. Almost mystical in his language choice. Refers to ‘Nature’ with a capital because he is referring to it as a deity.

- Imagery

Strong, lots of metaphors and lots of unusual adjectives. Such as “Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health, Truth breathed by cheerfulness.”

- Movement

Rhyming helps the flow. It flows well.

- Sound

Little assonance, every second line rhymes.

Summary

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