Summary
Stanza 1: The poem begins with the speaker describing his travels. He explains that he once travelled among men unknown to others—in other words, among people in foreign lands. He travelled extensively, as the places he visited were beyond the sea of his homeland. The speaker concludes the stanza by stating that he did not realize his love for England until he travelled to other places.
Stanza 2: The speaker goes on to describe his voyage as a melancholy dream, marking an abrupt shift in tone. He claims that his travels occurred in the past, and he does not intend to leave the shores of England a second time. He does not wish to leave again as he still feels he loves England more and more as time goes by.
Stanza 3: The speaker details how he enjoyed being in England in the past. He specifies that he was happy in the mountains of the country where he felt the joy of his “desire.” In the second half of the stanza, it becomes clear that the object of his desire was a woman who would turn a wheel—perhaps a spinning wheel—beside the fireplace. The poem’s tone becomes nostalgic once again.
Stanza 4: The speaker continues to address England directly, describing the passage of time. He explains how the morning light revealed Lucy’s cottage, while the nights concealed it. He emphasizes that Lucy played there, evoking a sense of joy in her life. He concludes the stanza and the poem by saying that England’s green fields are also the last place that Lucy saw, insinuating that she passed away there.
Analysis
The speaker has a somewhat nostalgic tone in the first stanza. With the mention of “unknown men,” the reader understands that the speaker travelled beyond his homeland to a foreign place where men are unknown—presumably, to English people. In the second half of the stanza, the speaker addresses England directly as if it were a person. He claims that he did not know how much he loved this country—his presumed homeland—until he travelled abroad. The use of the word “bore” implies a certain heaviness—a heart that is full of love for England.
In the second stanza, the shift in tone builds a sense of foreboding, implying that the travels abroad are somehow linked to a sadness the speaker carries. Indeed, “melancholy dream” is a kind of oxymoron as the word “dream” often has a positive connotation. For reasons unknown, the speaker’s travels were tinged with sadness. The speaker uses a convincing, firm tone when stating that he will not leave England again because he feels he loves the country more and more. Curiously, he uses the word “still” when describing this sentiment. The diction implies that there might be a reason why he shouldn’t love England as he did before, yet he still does.
In the third stanza, the speaker’s reference to nature is typical of Romantic poetry. Nature is described as a safe haven where he was once happy living in the mountains. This implies that being away from city life is partly what brought him calm. He then elaborates on his joy by describing a “desire” which is revealed to be a woman. He uses affectionate language when he explains how he not only loved her, but truly cherished her. The mention of a wheel may be considered both literal and figurative. She may have used a spinning wheel while seated by the warmth of the fire—a calm image of a woman living a simple domestic life. Figuratively speaking, the wheel may represent the circle of life, when considered within the context of the poems as a cycle. It was revealed in “She dwelt among the untrodden ways” that the speaker’s beloved Lucy is now dead. Thus, if the woman sitting before the fire is Lucy—which the reader presumes her to be—the wheel may represent the circle of her life.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker romanticizes both nature and England itself. The depiction of time as described through the mention of morning and night once again makes a reference to the life cycle—the sun rises and the sun sets, just as people live and die. The idea of sunlight revealing the place where Lucy spent her days gives her life a bit of hope and joy—in stark contrast with the otherwise solitary life described in earlier poems of the cycle. The speaker says that she “played” in her “bowers,” suggesting that in spite of her solitude, she still managed to feel some happiness during her life. However, when the sun set, her home was concealed from view, casting her existence into darkness. The speaker ends the poem on this somber note, stating in a bittersweet tone that England’s green field—a symbol of life and beauty—was the last sight Lucy surveyed. His beloved therefore died looking at the vibrant countryside around her that ironically symbolized vitality.
