Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker wishes for a mythic worldview to find meaning and comfort instead of feeling isolated.
- In plain terms
- I wish I believed in old gods so I wouldn't feel so alone.
- What can you take from it?
- Belief systems can offer comfort against loneliness.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What beliefs comfort you?
- How does myth affect your view of nature?
Another view
It frames ancient belief as more comforting than modern thought.
More from William Wordsworth
The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts awa…
Permalink to quote #37 Where lies the Land to which yon Ship must go? Fresh as a lark mounting at break of day, Festively she puts forth in trim array.
Permalink to quote #39 In truth the prison, unto which we doom Ourselves, no prison is.
Permalink to quote #36
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