London, 1802

William Wordsworth

London, 1802

Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour;England hath need of thee: she is a fenOf stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,Have forfeited their ancient English dowerOf inward happiness. We are selfish men;Oh! raise us up, return to us again;And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart;Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,So didst thou travel on life's common way,In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heartThe lowliest duties on herself did lay.

Apostrophe Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour;

England hath need of thee: she is a fen

John Milton wrote Paradise Lost (1667), an epic poem about both Satan and Adam and Eve’s fall from Heaven and Eden. He thought it was his job to explain the “ways of God to man.” Romantic poets idolized him.

London, 1802  Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour;

England hath need of thee: she is a fenOf stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,Have forfeited their ancient English dowerOf inward happiness. We are selfish men;

Metonymy substitutes something related to the whole (“Suit” for businessman; “skirt” for girls)

London, 1802 Oh! raise us up, return to us again;

And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.

Emotional interjectionLaments the virtues that England lacks

London, 1802 Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart;

Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,So didst thou travel on life's common way,In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heartThe lowliest duties on herself did lay.

Similes – praising Milton

Romantic Themes Wordsworth longs for the past when Milton,

his hero, what writing about epic matters such as God’s work.

Wordsworth claims that England has gone “down the toilet” filled with greedy men who have lost their souls.

Wordsworth calls on Milton to return to England and raise the morals and morale with his heavenly self.

Wordsworth rejects the state of affairs in 1802

Task Create a shared Google document Copy and paste the poem to a slide or

two Explain the meaning of the piece Explain the effect of at least two

rhetorical devices Discuss the themes, especially the

Romantic themes