William Wordsworth, "Tables Turned; An Evening Scene on the Same Subject"

William Wordsworth, "Tables Turned; An Evening Scene on the Same Subject"

Quote

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.

This is the first poem in The Lyrical Ballads, and the speaker of the poem is telling his friend just how wonderful nature is.

Thematic Analysis

Yes, the Romantics love nature that much. The speaker of this poem is telling his friend, "Dude, just leave your books and go out and enjoy the sun and the birds and the grass. You'll learn way more that way than from any studying."

Translation: nature is our teacher, and there's more wisdom in the music of a bird than in any book. In fact, the speaker's suggesting that reading and studying dumbs us down, by taking us away from the true source of knowledge: the outdoors.

Don't we all wish that instead of cramming for an exam, we could just go for a walk the morning before and ace it? We wish.

Stylistic Analysis

This poem rhymes, and the language is very simple.

"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?" It's almost like a nursery rhyme.

And that's intentional on Wordsworth's part. Remember that Wordsworth wanted to simplify poetic language, making it more accessible and conversational. We can see him doing just that in this poem.