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Overview
“Intimations of Immortality” is a lyric poem by the British Romantic poet William Wordsworth
. Across eleven stanzas of uneven length, the speaker of this poem offers a nuanced meditation on the immortality of the human soul. Like much of Wordsworth’s work, this poem explores themes of childhood wonder, the beauty of nature, anxiety about death, and the consolation of memory. However, unlike many of his best-known poems, “Intimations of Immortality” features a significant amount of metaphysical speculation. What results is a work of unusual complexity that’s rooted as much in references to philosophy and theology as it is in the speaker’s experience of everyday life. The poem’s metaphysical aspect has perhaps made it less popular among casual readers. Even so, “Intimations of Immortality” offers a marvelous and moving meditation on the sadness and beauty of the fleeting nature of life.
