England, 1802 I

William Wordsworth

O friend! I know not which way I must look
  For comfort, being, as I am, opprest,
  To think that now our life is only drest
For show; mean handy-work of craftsman, cook,
Or groom!—We must run glittering like a brook
  In the open sunshine, or we are unblest:
  The wealthiest man among us is the best:
No grandeur now in nature or in book
Delights us. Rapine, avarice, expense,
  This is idolatry; and these we adore:
  Plain living and high thinking are no more:
  The homely beauty of the good old cause
Is gone; our peace, our fearful innocence,
  And pure religion breathing household laws.

Next 10 Poems

• William Wordsworth : England, 1802 Ii
• William Wordsworth : England, 1802 Iii
• William Wordsworth : England, 1802 Iv
• William Wordsworth : England, 1802 V
• William Wordsworth : Evening On Calais Beach
• William Wordsworth : Expostulation And Reply
• William Wordsworth : Extempore Effusion Upon The Death Of James Hogg
• William Wordsworth : For The Spot Where The Hermitage Stood On St. Herbert's Island, Derwentwater.
• William Wordsworth : Forsaken, The
• William Wordsworth : Fountain, The: A Conversation

Previous 10 Poems

• William Wordsworth : Ellen Irwin
• William Wordsworth : Elegiac Stanzas Suggested By A Picture Of Peele Castle In A Storm, Painted By Sir George Beaumont
• William Wordsworth : Elegiac Stanzas
• William Wordsworth : Desideria
• William Wordsworth : Danish Boy, The: A Fragment
• William Wordsworth : Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
• William Wordsworth : Composed Upon Westminster Bridge
• William Wordsworth : Complaint Of A Forsaken Indian Woman, The
• William Wordsworth : Childless Father, The
• William Wordsworth : Character Of The Happy Warrior