"The Sparrows Nest" is a lyric poem written by William Wordsworth at Town End, Grasmere, in 1801. It was first published in the collection ''

Poems in Two Volumes Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

'' in 1807. The poem is a moving tribute to Wordsworth's sister

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

, recalling their early childhood together in Cockermouth before they were separated following their mother's death in 1778 when he was barely eight years old.

History

The 'Emmeline' of the poem is his sister Dorothy. The poem itself was placed in a section of ''Poems in Two Volumes'' entitled ''Moods of my Mind'', in which he grouped together his most deeply felt lyrics. Others included "

To a Butterfly "To a Butterfly" is a lyric poem written by William Wordsworth at Town End, Grasmere, in 1802. It was first published in the collection ''Poems, in Two Volumes'' in 1807. Wordsworth wrote two poems addressing a butterfly, of which this is th ...

", a childhood recollection of chasing butterflies with Dorothy, and "

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" (also commonly known as "Daffodils") is a lyric poem by William Wordsworth. It is one of his most popular, and was inspired by a forest encounter on 15 April 1802 between he, his younger sister Dorothy and a "lon ...

", closely based on an entry in Dorothy's journal following a walk together and an example of the line "She gave me eyes, she gave me ears" in the poem.Moorman (1965) pp. 96–7

Sources

Bibliography

* Davies, Hunter. ''William Wordsworth'', Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1980 * Gill, Stephen. ''William Wordsworth: A Life'', Oxford University Press 1989 * Gill, Stephen. "William Wordsworth: The Major Works including ''The Prelude'', Oxford University Press 1984 * Moorman, Mary. ''William Wordsworth, A Biography: The Early Years, 1770–1803 v. 1'', Oxford University Press 1957 * Moorman, Mary. ''William Wordsworth: A Biography: The Later Years, 1803–50 v. 2'', Oxford University Press 1965 * Wordsworth, Dorothy (ed. Pamela Woof). ''The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals.'', Oxford University Press 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrows Nest Poetry by William Wordsworth 1801 poems