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Much more important than the form, however, is the subject- 

 matter of all poetry. It has been affirmed that its essence consists 

 in its form alone, — the form given to thought by language. This 

 is one of the delusions against which Wordsworth's whole vocation 

 and achievements are a protest. You hear it sometimes said 

 vaguely, that the movement which in England began with Cowper, 

 which Burns carried out so fully in one direction, and which 

 Wordsworth developed to such magnificent results, was a return to 

 nature, to the simplicity and truth of nature, from the artificiality 

 and mannerism of the past. This is undoubtedly true ; but it is 

 too indefinite a statement to be of much value. The precise 

 significance of the ' return to nature ' must be ascertained. Now, 

 you will not only find a clear natural note struck by Wordsworth, 

 in the simple way in which he described what he saw, and was not 

 ashamed to speak of it as he saw it — calling the sun, the sun, and 

 not 'bright Phoebus,' as the eighteenth century men vvouldhave done. 

 But, in addition to this, in selecting the subjects on which to write, 

 he found that his predecessors had departed so far from nature, 

 into artificial regions, and dealt so largely with conventional topics, 

 that he had, in the first instance, to go back, in the homeliest 

 fashion, to the most obvious facts of every-day experience. The 

 idea of writing a poem about sheep, or daisies, seemed to the 

 magnificent men of the Pope and Johnson era to indicate some 

 incipient lunacy. They thought that the man was moonstruck who 

 could write serious verses about 'daffodils,' or 'pedlars,' or 'boats,' 

 or 'waggoners." Now one element in the greatness of Wordsworth 

 was that, by " the power of a peculiar eye," he saw a meaning in 

 the lowliest things of earth, and in the apparently forlorn specimens 

 of humanity, which few other eyes in his time perceived. He did 

 not roam over the broad earth, seeking materials for romantic 

 narrative, and thrilling story. He asked, What is to be found at 

 hand, if we open our eyes to see it? what meaning in nature? 

 what significance in life ? Can we not get beneath the surface of 

 both? and apprehend, in a real and verifiable manner the truth of 

 that which is unfolding itself around us every day, instead of 

 floating down the stream, chasing the shadows of excitement, or 



