William wordsworth michael12/14/2023 The unhewn stones were still sitting “beside the boisterous brook of Green-head Ghyll.” The land he so cherished ended up being sold to someone else after his wife’s death. Apparently, he visited the site of the sheepfold “And never lifted up a single stone.” (Line 166) Michael died with the work completely unfinished. ![]() It seems that the only time that Michael was truly “down” was when he knew that his son would not be returning. I could almost feel the joy of his love for everything in his life. Lines 385-386: “This was a work for us and now, my Son, / It is a work for me.” These stones become important at the end of the story when his son does not return to help complete the task. He wants his son to work with him and share his dream of completing the sheepfold. Beside the brook / appears a straggling heap of unhewn stones!” The stones symbolize a connection between Michael’s love for his son and nature: the land. Lines 15 and 16: “But for one object which you might pass by, / Might see and notice not. ![]() The poem also ends with a description of these same stones, a broken covenant between Michael and his son. At the beginning of the poem, there is a description of some stones these stones are meant to build a sheepfold, a work to be done by Michael and his son. Lines 129-131: “This light was famous in its neighbourhood, / And was a public symbol of the life / That thrifty Pair had lived.” Imagery is shown in the represented in areas of the land and also the descriptions of Michael’s life in general. This poem is written in blank verse and uses many poetic techniques: caesura, end-stops, enjambment, repetition and unrhymed lines. Wordsworth wanted readers to view these characteristics as traits worth striving for in life. Lines 448-450: “There is a comfort in the strength of love: / ‘Twill make a thing endurable, which else / Would overset the brain, or break the heart.” In today’s world, Michael would be considered a prominent person, such as the mayor of the town. Lines 42-44: “…strong of limb, / His bodily frame had been from youth to age / Of an unusual strength…” Michael endured any and everything because of his mental strength and an overwhelming capacity for love. Wordsworth makes examples of each of these characteristics throughout the poem. ![]() Michael and his family represented mental and physical strength, intelligence, and perseverance towards life. Many passages describe the love Michael had for his land: lines 74-77: “Those fields, those hills-what could they less? Had laid / Strong hold on his affections, were to him / A pleasurable feeling of blind love, / The pleasure which there is in life itself.” The love he had for the work he accomplished each day is line 122: “living a life of eager industry.” Line 177: “…I toiled and toiled God blessed me in my work.” And also line 94-95: “That they were as a proverb in the vale / For endless industry.” Regarding his son, lines 151: “Exceeding was the love he bare to him, / His hearts and his heart’s job!” Wordsworth mentioned a series of verses regarding how his love grew in the stages of his son’s life: from the time he was born until Luke had gone away into the city. Wordsworth also wrote about the power of nature and how it affects everyone differently. ![]() Although Wordsworth’s favorite topic was his love of nature that he usually depicts with picturesque descriptions, “the unhewn stones,” this poem’s central theme is love and the experiences in Michael’s humble life. This work is symbolic of the romantic period and the new style of the written and published works. My first impression of this poem was Wordsworth worked to complete his mission: to write about the common man in common language so that the common folk could read about people that shared their common lives. Michael loved his work as a shepherd, loved his inherited land and loved his wife and son.
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