William Wordswoth ” Simon Lee”
This poem is relating to how compassion people could be if they just took the time out of their own lives to look around and see what was going happening around them. In this poem a poor old man and his wife as decrepit as they were lived alone and never asked for a helping hand; but the moment a stranger came to their aid it was heart felt and well appreciated.
“Your overtasked, good Simon Lee,
Give me your tool” to him I said,
And at the word right gladly he
Received my proffer’d aid.
I stuck, and with a single blow
The tangled root I sever’d,
At which the poor old man so long
And vainly had endeavour’d.
The tears into his eyes were brought,
And thanks and praises seemed to run
So fast out of his heart, I thought
They never would be done.
-I’ve heard of hearts unkind, kind deeds
With coldness still returning.
Alas! the gratitude of men
Has oftner left me mourning.
This just goes to show that no matter how awful the things are that people might do, a single good deed that takes place just overwhelms your heart and expectations, just to know that someone is there and that they care, when many others have just looked down on you. This type of behavior has taken place since the beginning of times, and is still seen everyday in our society and it is up to our generation to change the perception of us being unconscionable. Though people are not often kind and compassionate, we need to give a helping hand to those who need it, and we would be cold and heartless if we didn’t.
Trenae are discussing. 
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Trenae 9:08 pm on June 28, 2010 Permalink |
Enjoyed the post. I think that Wordsworth was talented in the fact that he could spark a lot of emotion in his readers. The moral behind this story about always being willing to offer a helping hand was something so simple, yet so important, and he was able to show his compassion in the matter and catch the attention of those who read it.
glancejc 6:02 pm on June 29, 2010 Permalink |
Kenisha,
Good poem to discuss, and a well-chosen quotation to analyze. You need to discuss that quoted passage in more depth and detail, though, particularly the statement that old Simon Lee’s gratitude leaves the speaker sad (rather than the more expected cause of ingratitude). Your commentary seems to ignore this component of the poem.
Kel Pippin 1:05 am on July 16, 2010 Permalink |
I enjoyed this piece of work and thought it was interesting because even though is mom died when he waws 8 and then his dad died 5 years later he was able to write this. I would have thought that his works would have centered around mourning and sad stories but I guess what he takes from his childhood, is that there was always someone there to help. But I do agree that the moral behind this is that you should always want to help someone because, and this may not be what he thought but I think that it is important too, you might need the help one day too.