How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence
Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade
Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes, (3-5)
It's important to note that the speaker's natural surroundings are peaceful ("tranquil") (3). When the wind kicks up, it's just an act of the speaker's imagination. He's not really experiencing a storm. He's projecting one, based on his emotional turmoil.
Quote #2
And oh! that even now the gust were swelling,
And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!
Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed
And sent my soul abroad,
Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give,
Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live! (15-20)
Here the speaker is just wishing for a storm to come along. He's not actually experiencing one. The depth of his dejection is such that he wants a storm to shake him out of his doldrums, even if it's uncomfortable.
Quote #3
And those thin clouds above, in flakes and bars,
That give away their motion to the stars:
Those stars, that glide behind them or between,
Now sparkling, now bedimmed, but always seen;
Yon crescent Moon, as fixed as if it grew
In its own cloudless, starless lake of blue;
I see them all so excellently fair,
I see, not feel, how beautiful they are! (31-38)
Well this is sad. The speaker describes how he's separated from the natural world as a result of his dejection. He can only appreciate Nature intellectually, but he can't feel how beautiful it is. Having joy, in the Romantic ideal, means being connected to the natural world.
Quote #4
And in our life alone does Nature live;
Ours is her wedding-garment, ours her shroud! (48-49)
This is a key idea of the poem. Here the speaker is arguing that Nature only has "life" thanks to human perception. That actually strikes us as true in some ways. Don't we project our values and ideas onto the natural world? We see some animals as "mean" and others as "friendly," but at the end of the day, maybe they're just animals. The implication here, then, is that our moods have the power to influence the way we view the world around us.
Quote #5
Joy, Lady! is the spirit and the power,
Which wedding Nature to us gives in dower,
A new Earth and new Heaven, (67-69)
There's nothing like a good mood to put a whole new paint job on things. In this passage, the speaker points out how joy can both bring us closer to the natural world, as well as make it seem brand new to us. Good times.
Quote #6
For hope grew round me, like the twining vine,
And fruits, and foliage, not my own, seemed mine.
But now afflictions bow me down to earth: (80-82)
The speaker's metaphors all seem to be based in Nature. Here, hope is a vine that bears fruit—until the bad times come along and make the speaker droop like a wilted plant.
Quote #7
Hence, viper thoughts, that coil around my mind,
Reality's dark dream! (94-95)
Another Nature metaphor is coming at you. In this case, the speaker's disturbed thoughts are like poisonous snakes—yipes. They also turn his sense of reality into a "dark dream"—another reminder of the link between emotion and perception.
Quote #8
Thou Wind, that rav'st without,
Bare crag, or mountain-tairn, or blasted tree,
Or pine-grove whither woodman never clomb,
Or lonely house, long held the witches' home,
Methinks were fitter instruments for thee,
Mad Lutanist! who in this month of showers,
Of dark-brown gardens, and of peeping flowers,
Mak'st Devils' yule, with worse than wintry song,
The blossoms, buds, and timorous leaves among. (99-107)
Here, the speaker is off on a fantasy of sorts, albeit a nightmarish fantasy. In it, the wind is raging through some desolate and spooky parts of nature to underscore the disturbed nature of the speaker's mindset. He turns to the natural world in order to communicate the depths of this dejection.
Quote #9
And may this storm be but a mountain-birth,
May all the stars hang bright above her dwelling,
Silent as though they watched the sleeping Earth! (129-131)
Finally, when he wishes his "Lady" well, the speaker once again turns to Nature. In this case, he hopes the storm that he's endured (i.e., his dejection) is just a brief occurrence for his beloved. Isn't that sweet?