Milton!
The most obvious, glaring literary device at play here is Wordsworth's address of John Milton, an English poet of the 17th century. Not just any English poet – like, the English poet of the 1...
The Natural World
Wordsworth was really into nature. You know, like, really into nature. We don't know if he actually went out and hugged trees and stuff, but he certainly got close to them whenever possible. Much o...
English Tradition
The big question here is very clear: what the heck is going on with England? Wordsworth is concerned about the country's loss of traditional values and strengths, and he really lays it all out here...
Poetry
This is going to sound ridiculously redundant, but here goes: poetry is important to poets. You're all probably shaking your heads out there, sarcastically muttering, "Gee thanks, Shmoop, you are s...
Celestial Bodies/The Heavens
Wordsworth invokes images of the heavens here to show us just how awesomely awesome Milton is (or rather, was). All of us mere un-poetic mortals are earth-bound and inferior in comparison to the se...