public life was stained with one great crime, so that though many passages of these lines were suggested by what was generally known as excellent in his conduct, I have not been able to connect his name with the poem as I could wish, or even to think of him with satisfaction in reference to the idea of what a warrior ought to be." 1 He further states that he found in his sailor brother, Captain John Wordsworth, many of the qualities portrayed in the poem. Wordsworth very seldom takes one who is conspicuous in the public eye, or exalted in position, as the object or hero of his poems. Lord Nelson constitutes one of the few exceptions to the rule, and even here the noble poem could not be completely devoted to him. The Poet, true to his habit of mind, falls back upon a modest and more or less obscure character as the exemplar of many of the noblest qualities which the poem portrays. Even here he seems to find the best elements of our humanity illustrated in one of humble nature and station. The poem is a "manual of greatness," as Mr. Myers suggests, and an analysis will reveal what qualities are included in it:

Who is the happy warrior, according to Wordsworth? He is the man of generosity, whose high endeavors guide him; who is diligent to learn; who makes his moral being his prime care; who turns suffering to gain; who is compassionate and placable, pure and tender, and makes Reason his law; who rises to high position by open means, and will stand there honorably or retire; who understands his trust, and stands faithful to it; whose powers shed a gracious influence about him; who meets tremendous issues with the joyousness of a lover; who abides by the law in the midst of conflict, and proves equal to the need of any call. Who is the happy warrior? He who, though fitted for great and turbulent things, is predisposed to quiet and peace; who, whether in high or low station, conspicuous or obscure in life, plays the game under favorable or unfavorable circumstances, "where what he most doth value must be won"; who surmounts fear of danger, nor is betrayed by tender happiness. The happy warrior is the optimist, who confidently 1 Poetical Works, edited by William Knight, IV, 7 n.

looks ahead, ever pressing forward from good to better, making daily progress; who, whether he be destined to earthly applause, or to sink into his grave unknown, finds comfort in himself and in his cause, and in the hour of death confidently awaits the applause of Heaven.

The "Character of the Happy Warrior" should be read in connection with Wordsworth's " Poems dedicated to National Independence and Liberty," in which he often points out what the character of a nation's public servants should be. All of these poems breathe an earnest patriotism, and many of them illustrate the Poet's deep devotion to the best interests of the State, and therefore to Man, as well as his lofty conception of the ideals which ought to control those who govern. Man existing under Government seems to be an engaging theme with Wordsworth, and the political conditions of his time impel him to song. Occasionally we have poems of denunciation, as in the sonnets on Napoleon, and the traitorous Elector of Saxony. Again, there are songs of praise, as in the case of the poems on Charles James Fox, the leader of Parliament, and Lord Nelson, the hero of Trafalgar. Sometimes his song is one of lament over prevailing conditions, and there are notes of anxious fear because of the trend of events; and again, there are songs of hope, with a trumpet call to the brave to stand fast for liberty, and courageously do the duty of the hour. Sometimes he beholds the persistent triumph of wrong, and his faith in God almost gives way, as is evident in the sonnet "October, 1803"; again, faith looks through the clouds and darkness and gains a vision of the ultimate victory of right. Our Poet, despite the beauty of Grasmere Vale, which so persistently enchants him, is not, during these stirring years, merely the poet of Nature, but also the poet of Man, in close touch with him in the humble walks of life, and keeping his eye fixed upon the great social and political issues of the time, solicitous for his well-being-an ardent patriot, guarding with zealous interests the liberties of his own country, and continuing, as of old, "a patriot of the world."

CHAPTER XIII

GRASMERE (CONCLUDED). "ODE. INTIMATIONS OF
IMMORTALITY "

From the preceding chapters relating to Wordsworth's life in the delightful Vale of Grasmere it is evident that with him it was a period of great mental activity. It witnessed the composition of a large number of poems, many of which may be regarded as among the finest products of his imagination. Most of them have already been considered. However, one remains which, in the judgment of some critics, more than any other poem of the numerous creations of his genius, entitles him to a seat among the Immortals. This is the celebrated "Ode. Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood," composed 1803-1806. It is, in some respects, one of his most important works, whether viewed from the standpoint of mere art, or from that of poetic insight. Professor Knight says: "Mr. Aubrey De Vere has urged me to take it out of its chronological place, and let it conclude the whole series of Wordsworth's poems, as the greatest, and that to which all others lead up. Mr. De Vere's wish is based on conversations which he had with the poet himself."1 We have in the ode a description of the trance to which he was subject, with its revelation, and, in a measure, the history of the growth and development of his own mind up to a certain period in his life-in all of which he appears to think his own experience to be representative of that of men in general. The personal psychology and philosophy of mind presented, with their epistemological and ontological implications, are exceedingly interesting. Special attention must be given to these features of the poem, because of their bearing on the Poet's conception of corporeal things, and of the ultimate 1 Poetical Works, edited by William Knight, VIII, 199 n.

nature of Reality. There is presented, also, Wordsworth's apparent belief in the soul's preëxistence, as well as significant intimations of its immortality. This great ode is a poem which, in the final analysis, deals with Nature and Man.

In an interesting note to Miss Fenwick the Poet says: "This was composed during my residence at Town-end, Grasmere. Two years at least passed between the writing of the four first stanzas and the remaining part. To the attentive and competent reader the whole sufficiently explains itself; but there may be no harm in adverting here to particular feelings or experiences of my own mind on which the structure of the poem partly rests. Nothing was more difficult for me in childhood than to admit the notion of death as a state applicable to my own being. I have said elsewhere— A simple child,

That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,

What should it know of death!

But it was not so much from feelings of animal vivacity that my difficulty came as from a sense of the indomitableness of the Spirit within me. I used to brood over the stories of Enoch and Elijah, and almost to persuade myself that, whatever might become of others, I should be translated, in something of the same way, to heaven. With a feeling congenial to this, I was often unable to think of external things as having external existence, and I communed with all that I saw as something not apart from, but inherent in, my own immaterial nature. Many times while going to school have I grasped at a wall or tree to recall myself from this abyss of idealism to the reality. At that time I was afraid of such processes. In later periods of life I have deplored, as we have all reason to do, a subjugation of an opposite character, and have rejoiced over the remembrances, as is expressed in the lines

Obstinate questionings

Of sense and outward things,

Fallings from us, vanishings, etc.

To that dream-like vividness and splendour which invest objects of sight in childhood, every one, I believe, if he would look back, could bear testimony, and I need not dwell upon it here; but having in the poem regarded it as presumptive evidence of a prior state of existence, I think it right to protest against a conclusion, which has given pain to some good and pious persons, that I meant to inculcate such a belief. It is far too shadowy a notion to be recommended to faith, as more than an element in our instincts of immortality. But let us bear in mind that, though the idea is not advanced in revelation, there is nothing there to contradict it, and the fall of man presents an analogy in its favour. Accordingly, a pre-existent state has entered into the popular creeds of many nations; and, among all people acquainted with classic literature, is known as an ingredient in Platonic philosophy. Archimedes said that he could move the world if he had a point whereon to rest his machine. Who has not felt the same aspirations as regards the world of his own mind? Having to wield some of its elements when I was impelled to write this poem on the 'Immortality of the Soul,' I took hold of the notion of pre-existence as having sufficient foundation in humanity for authorizing me to make for my the best use of it I could as a poet." purpose Wordsworth, although he says that he did not mean to inculcate the doctrine of preëxistence as an article of faith, seems strongly to incline to it as a personal conviction. It appears elsewhere in his poetry, and constitutes the very basis of the ode on immortality. It receives a quasi-indorsement in his conception of childhood, as brought out in "The Prelude," in which he says:

"1

Our childhood sits,

Our simple childhood, sits upon a throne
That hath more power than all the elements.
I guess not what this tells of Being past,

Nor what it augurs of the life to come."

1 Poetical Works, edited by William Knight, VIII, 189–190 n.

2 The Prelude, V, 507–511.