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0:05 Report to Wordsworth by the Singaporean poet Bowie Kim Cheng appeared in his collection Another Place in 1992. In this poem Bowie explores the interconnected themes of our loss of a reverence for and a connection to nature, human greed and environmental crisis. Bowie addresses the long dead romantic poet William Wordsworth begging him for help as he laments that the natural world which Wordsworth revered and exalted in his poetry is in its death throes due to the insatiable greed of mankind. Pollution in the form of smog has suffocated the earth to the extent that nature can no longer communicate with us.
0:51 Flowers and birds are vulnerable to extinction while our oceans are choked with toxic industrial waste. Even the ancient and immortal sea gods of Greek and Roman mythology are no longer venerated and have instead been brought to their knees. The poem ends on a note of despair as Bowie conveying the irreversible damage inflicted on nature mourns humanity's disconnection from its teachings and harmony. The English poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge played a pivotal role in establishing romanticism in English literature. through their joint publication of lyrical ballads in 1798. This collection of poems is often considered the starting point of the Romantic movement as
1:40 it introduced themes such as the beauty and power of nature and the importance of individual emotion and imagination. The Romantic movement was in part a response to the Industrial Revolution which had brought widespread urbanisation mechanisation and environmental degradation to the country. Many Romantic poets were deeply troubled by the destruction of rural landscapes, the rise of factories and the alienation of individuals from nature. Romanticism emphasised emotion, imagination and individuality in contrast to the mechanistic, world view and materialistic values that industrialisation seemed to promote.
2:27 In one of Wordsworth's poems from the collection, The Tables Turned, he urges the reader to observe the sun's light on the green fields and to listen to birdsong as he argues that instead of learning from books, we should let nature be our teacher. Report to Wordsworth is a variation of a Shakespearean or English sonnet. It has 14 lines which can be divided into three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. It has a rhyme scheme of A, B, A, B, C, D, C, D, E, F, E, F, G, G, although a couple of these rhymes can be considered half or slant rhymes, i.e. smog and clock and dazed and waste.
3:15 Note the very nearly but not quite quality of these rhymes. Og and ok, where both of the final consonant sounds, even though not identical, can be described as guttural. In a'sd and a'sd, the z and s are made in the same place in the mouth, but the former is voiced, while the latter is unvoiced, while the d and the t are both plosive. This slight dissonance in the rhyme is picked up and amplified by the lack of a regular bass meter. Sonnets usually have a bass meter of iambic pentameter, d-dum, d-dum, While nine of the 14 lines do contain 10 syllables, with the other five varying
4:02 between nine and 12, only two of these can be scanned as iambic pentameter, i.e. his famous horns are choked, his eyes are dazed, and as nature's mighty heart is lying still. This lack of regularity in both rhyme and metre could symbolise the collapse of harmony in the environment. The disrupted sonnet form seems to parallel the poem's apocalyptic vision of a world where both balance and beauty are lost. Shakespearean sonnets contain a volta, which typically occurs at line nine, i.e. at the start of the third quatrain. This is the point where the tone or argument of the poem shifts. The first
4:51 eight lines, the first two quatrains, usually set up a problem, question or theme, and the Volta marks the turn toward a solution, resolution or new perspective. The Volta in report to Wordsworth, however, can be identified at line 11 or midway through the third quatrain. Poetry and piety have begun to fail. which indicates the beginning of a deeper reflection on humanity's moral and spiritual failure. This deliberate disruption of the traditional structure can be seen as another reflection of the poem's theme of disorder and the breakdown of natural and societal systems. Most lines are end-stopped, which means that they feature punctuation, such as a comma or
5:39 a full stop. Bowie also makes extensive use of caesura in the first half of the poem, but relatively little of enchantment throughout, which results in a poem that is characterised by frequent pauses. The enforced slowness caused by these rhythmic devices adds to the solemnity and despair of the poem's tone and mirrors the slowing of the sky as Bowie imagines humanity's clock sluggishly coming to a stop. The poem is rich with figurative language, such as personification, e.g. she, i.e. nature, has been laid waste. Metaphor, e.g. oh see the wound widening in the sky.
6:26 And simile, e.g. in a sky slowing like a dying clock. Bowie also employs sound patterning techniques, such as sibilance, e.g. smothered by the smog. Alliteration, e.g. wound, widening and assonance, e.g. sunk and dump. All of these literary devices serve to heighten the poem's emotional intensity and emphasise the damage inflicted on the natural world. Not only does Bowie invoke the spirit of the literary giant William Wordsworth, but he also refers to figures from ancient Greek and Roman mythology, such as Proteus, Triton and Neptune. By
7:14 drawing on these mythological figures, Bowie highlights the universality and timelessness of nature's struggle. These gods associated with the sea and natural forces are powerful symbols of nature's vitality and change and were once venerated and worshiped. Bowie's inclusion of them emphasizes his belief in the gravity of the environmental crisis, suggesting that even these mighty mythic and immortal figures who represent the forces of nature, are powerless in the face of humanity's destructive self-interest. The title Report to Wordsworth is significant because it immediately establishes the poem as a response to the romantic poet William Wordsworth, inviting a dialogue between the past and the
8:03 present. By using the word report, Bowie implies that the speaker is delivering urgent news or feedback to Wordsworth. a figure who championed the beauty and wisdom of nature. The title suggests that in contrast to Wordsworth's idealised vision of nature, Bowie's report reveals the devastating consequences of humanity's disregard for the natural world, making the title both an address and a critique. The poem begins with the plaintiff, you should be here, nature has need of you. which is enhanced by the trochaic rhythm of the first three feet. You should be here. Nature has need of
8:50 you. The second person pronoun you to whom Bowie's speaker is addressing himself is the eponymous Wordsworth. When a speaker speaks directly to an absent person, a thing or an abstract idea, this is known as an apostrophe. By directly addressing a long dead figure like Wordsworth, Bowie creates a sense of intimacy, as if sharing an urgent, sorrowful revelation with a kindred spirit. This personal appeal to Wordsworth underscores the profound sense of loss, as if speaking to someone who would have been deeply affected by the current devastation. Note also how Bowie personifies nature as a female figure. Nature is often
9:40 personified as mother nature in mythology, art and literature, as a symbol of fertility, growth, nurturing and life. Bowie's use of this traditional personification is poignant as it highlights the vulnerability of the natural world which has been laid waste or ravaged and ruined by human greed. The short sentence and matter of fact tone here is uncompromisingly grim. He continues, smothered by smog, the flowers are mute. The sibilant and nasal alliteration of smothered and smog can be described as idiophonic as these sounds evoke the suffocating effects of pollution. The repeated
10:26 sound imitates the sensation of being stifled by combined smoke and fog and effectively draws the reader into the poem's oppressive atmosphere. The flowers which are mute have been silenced and can no longer communicate with us, while the birds are few in a sky slowing like a dying clock. This simile, which portrays time as mortal rather than infinite, creates a bleak image of species becoming extinct as time slowly comes to a standstill. The final lines of T.S. Eliot's 1925 poem, The Hollow Men, are... This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.
11:13 Similarly, Bowie suggests that, rather than some dramatic catastrophe, time and life with it will just ebb away as it is starved of the oxygen it needs for its survival. He continues, All hopes of Proteus rising from the sea have sunk. He is entombed in the waste we dump. Proteus is a sea god from Greek mythology known for his ability to change shape at will, which symbolises fluidity and adaptability. In the context of this poem, invoking Proteus can highlight the extent of environmental destruction as even a god who embodies change and fluidity is powerless in the face of the damage inflicted on nature by human activity. Note the two
12:03 instances of enjambment here. In the first, Bowie exploits the visual separation to enhance his pessimistic tone by initially suggesting that there may be a sense of hope before dashing it at the beginning of the next line. The sibilant alliteration of sea and sunk perhaps evokes a sigh of despair. In the second, the enjambment effectively separates the formal entombed from the informal dump. highlighting the stark contrast between the two words. This juxtaposition is striking as the informality of dump emphasises the careless and disrespectful attitude humanity has towards the environment as we treat it like a rubbish
12:51 tip, making the image even more shocking and impactful. Note also the assonance of sunk and dump, which links these two ideas together. and suggest that our downfall is inextricably linked to our selfish and greedy actions. He continues, Triton's notes struggle to be free. His famous horns are choked, his eyes are dazed. Triton is another Greek sea god who was the ruler of the depths of the sea. Depicted with his lower half as a fish and his upper half as a human, he was known for possessing a conch shell, which he blew like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves. Here, Bowie is asserting that
13:38 Triton is no longer able to control the seas as these shells are choked with toxic waste. Suffocated by the pollution, his eyes are dazed as he seems on the verge of unconsciousness. Likewise, the once mighty Neptune, Roman god of the sea, lies helpless as beached as a whale. The simile suggests an image of a once all-powerful deity now rendered powerless and vulnerable, much like the whale stranded on land, unable to return to the sea. This evokes the sense that even the greatest forces of nature are no longer immune to the destructive impact of human activity. Meanwhile,
14:23 insatiate man moves in for the kill, which suggests that Bowie sees humanity's actions as deliberate and predatory. The adjective insatiate means never satisfied and conveys an unrelenting greedy drive while moves in for the kill evokes the image of a predator closing in on its prey. This characterizes humanity as a force of destruction, intentionally exploiting and killing off nature for its own gain with no regard for the consequences. With these references to Proteus, Triton and Neptune, who are symbolic of our civilization being incapacitated and killed, Bowie suggests that if nature perishes, humanity's achievements will
15:11 ultimately collapse alongside it. This implies that we are, in a way, victims of our own success. Our relentless pursuit of progress and dominance over the natural world has led to its destruction, jeopardizing our own survival in the process. We now reach the vaulter of the poem, which is two lines later than is customary in a Shakespearean sonnet. The line poetry and piety have begun to fail, marks a significant shift in the poem. Up until this point, Bowie has lamented the devastation of nature with vivid imagery and mythological references. However, this line introduces a deeper reflection on humanity's moral and spiritual failure.
15:58 It suggests that even the forces traditionally seen as capable of uplifting and preserving humanity, poetry representing art and creativity and piety representing reverence and respect are no longer sufficient to counteract the damage. Note the plosive alliteration of poetry and piety, which inextricably links the pair. This turning point intensifies the poem's tone of despair as it implies that not only is nature dying but that humanity's guiding values are crumbling too. The line as nature's mighty heart is lying still is a reference to one of William Wordsworth's most famous poems, the sonnet composed upon Westminster Bridge.
16:46 This is uncharacteristically for Wordsworth a poem of lyrical beauty describing the view of the city of London seen from a carriage crossing Westminster Bridge very early one morning. In the poem, Wordsworth marvels at the beauty of the golden sunlight reflecting off a glittering cityscape which is silent and bare because everyone is asleep and the chimneys are not producing smoke. The poem ends with the exclamation, and all that mighty heart is lying still. Here this line is meant in a positive sense. The mighty heart of the country, which is London, is lying still momentarily at peace and at rest. Bowie, however, takes this line and alters it as
17:32 nature's mighty heart is lying still. Well, Wordsworth's line evokes a moment of tranquility and awe as he sees London at peace during the early morning. Bowie transforms it into a more alarming image. Nature's heart is not simply still, but is in cardiac arrest. This change implies that what Wordsworth saw as a peaceful moment is, in Bowie's view, a symptom of something much more dire and irreversible. It is possible that Bowie is criticising Wordsworth's idealised vision of nature, perhaps suggesting that his perspective was too idealistic or complacent. Wordsworth in his time celebrated the untouched beauty of nature, but Bowie's more
18:22 apocalyptic tone implies that humanity's disregard for nature has pushed it to the brink of death. By changing the line, Bowie could be signaling that while Wordsworth saw nature as eternal and unthreatened, the reality today is that we are witnessing its collapse, something Wordsworth could not have anticipated in his own context. The poem ends on the rhyming couplet, oh, see the wound widening in the sky, God is labouring to utter his last cry. The use of oh here is archaic in tone and functions as a sound of lamentation and mourning, emphasising the depth of sorrow and loss that Bowie feels for the destruction of nature.
19:10 Romantic poets often used such expressions to convey emotional intensity and connection to the natural world. By using this archaic form, Bowie not only aligns himself with the romantic tradition, but simultaneously signals the tragedy of what has been lost. The metaphor of a wound widening in the sky, enhanced by the alliterated whut sounds, is suggestive of the hole in the ozone layer due to air pollutants which became a major environmental concern in the 1980s and 1990s the imagery of a wound conveys the idea of something once intact now being torn or damaged and the notion of it widening emphasizes the growing scale of this
19:57 environmental crisis Bowie presents a profoundly apocalyptic vision where humanity's destructive actions have not only ravaged the natural world, but have even brought God, once omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, to the brink of collapse. In this vision, God, who is traditionally seen as beyond mortality, is now depicted as labouring to utter his last cry, suggesting that the divine too has been made vulnerable by human greed and neglect. This imagery conveys a loss of transcendence and power, portraying a world where even the divine is not immune to the catastrophic consequences of human actions.
20:45 In this sense, Bowie's poem suggests the ultimate unraveling of both the natural world and the very fabric of existence, marking the end not only of the earth, but of everything that once seemed eternal. for watching. If you have any questions please let me know in the comments section below and I'll do my best to answer them. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel for more videos on English language topics and exam techniques and English literature texts.
