Poetry Analysis - "To Mary" by William Wordsworth

Poem:

Let the timeless trove of angels sing,

Let the speckless sun keep shining;

But there isn’t anything perfect in the world

So rejoice that there are not.

Don’t fear that none will state your beauty;

So Mary, please listen

I cannot compare loveliness

To what you mean to me.

True beauty doesn’t have to be in appearances

It can be hidden away, only to be revealed

When the hearts of the lovers beat in unison,

And until love is exchanged.


I discovered this particular poem and poet from a poetry study last year in Studio English 8. For an assignment, I was asked to create a sort of timeline concerning a chosen poet and their works, so I decided to study the life and works of William Wordsworth. While completing the work, I found that I had developed a great interest for this poet and his works in particular, so I chose this poem as a starting point for this blog, to in a way pay homage to this poem, one that I've grown fond of.

The speaker, most likely Wordsworth, is clearly speaking in an endearing, loving way towards the person named Mary, who we can assume to be his wife. The short yet powerful phrases are clearly stated in an affectionate way. the most powerful line that I can see is ‘If nought in loveliness compare With what thou art to me.’ , which can be interpreted as him saying that anything the speaker finds lovely pales in comparison to Mary. The theme of this poem is most definitely love. This whole poem is endearing, sweet, and overall made to convey the love felt by Wordsworth to Mary in a beautiful harmony of words.

I can relate to the emotions evoked in this poem. It conveys a simple yet heart-wrenchingly powerful emotion through the flow created by the words that Wordsworth has weaved. Even though I haven't fully experienced love in the sense of finding a partner one would stay with for life, I have experienced love towards my loving family, and I have expressed the emotions that are being shown in this poem.