How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
Be loved like Nature! But 'twill not be so;
And youths and maidens most poetical,
Who lose the deepening twilights of the spring
In ball-rooms and hot theatres, (34-37)
Sigh. We guess that whole "mutually beneficial" relationship with nature is not meant to be. The speaker figures that young people and poets will always prefer to sit inside theaters or go dancing instead of spending time outside. They'll miss out on all the good stuff, he figures, like the "deepening twilights" of spring.
Quote #5
Glistening, while many a glow-worm in the shade
Lights up her love-torch. (68-69)
Ever see a glow worm? They give off a bright, neon, colorful glow. It's a marvelous sight, but Coleridge doesn't include it just to be pretty. He mentions the actual function of the "glow": it attracts mates. So, while most humans might think it is some magical phenomena, he reminds the readers that nature has its own reasons, and they aren't the same as the ones we assign based on how nature makes us feel.
Quote #6
And he beheld the moon, and, hushed at once,
Suspends his sobs, and laughs most silently, (102-103)
The speaker's son woke up crying with a nightmare and was comforted by the sight of the moon. He's not old enough to be afraid of nighttime. In fact, he seems to find it delightful. Is the speaker trying to say that children learn to be afraid of the dark, and that we don't naturally associate it with all things spooky and scary?