Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

Wordsworth chose the last three lines from another poem (“My Heart Leaps Up”) as the epigraph to his “Ode,” which serves as an elaboration of the earlier poem. “Ode” clarifies the meaning of the famous line “The child is father of the man,” and the phrase “natural piety,” which appear in its epigraph. The title spells out the poem’s purpose: It describes the speaker’s sense that memories from early childhood provide intimations (hints) of immortality, or something beyond earthly life. The poem begins with the speaker’s recollection of the natural sights—such as “meadow, grove, and stream” (Line 1)—that he enjoyed “of yore” (Line 6). Back then, there was more to these sights than simple natural beauty. In his eyes, they were endowed with “celestial light” (Line 4); that is, he felt that there was something heavenly about them and they gave him an otherworldly sensation. Now, as an adult, he tries hard to recover that feeling, but is unsuccessful: “The things which I have seen I now can see no more” (Line 9).

The second stanza explains that the speaker is still able to perceive the beauty of nature, such as in the