"This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison" begins with its speaker lamenting the fact that, while his friends have gone on a walk through the country, he has been left sitting in a bower. He compares the bower to a prison because of his confinement there, and bitterly imagines what his friends are seeing on their walk, speculating that he is missing out on memories that he might later have cherished in old age. He describes the various scenes they are visiting without him, dwelling at length on their (imagined) experience at a waterfall. He describes the liveliness and motion of the plants and water there, and then imagines the beauty his friends will see as they emerge from the forest and survey the surrounding landscape. Religious imagery comes to the fore: the speaker compares the hills his friends are seeing to steeples. As his imaginative trek through nature continues, the speaker's resentment gives way to vicarious passion and excitement.
The speaker soon hones in on a single friend, Charles—evidently the poet Charles Lamb, to whom the poem is dedicated. He imagines that Charles is taking an acute joy in the beauty of nature, since he has been living unhappily but uncomplainingly in a city, without access to the wonders described in the poem. After addressing Charles, the speaker addresses the sun, commanding it to set, and then, in a series of commands, tells various other objects in nature (such as flowers and the ocean) to shine in the light of the setting sun. He pictures Charles looking joyfully at the sunset. The speaker is overcome by such intense emotion that he compares the sunset's colors to those that "veil the Almighty Spirit."
Soon, the speaker isn't only happy for his friend. He actually feels happy in his own right, and, having exercised his sensory imagination so much, starts to notice and appreciate his own surroundings in the bower. He describes the leaves, the setting sun, and the animals surrounding him, using language as lively and evocative as that he used earlier to convey his friends' experiences. He notes that natural beauty can be found anywhere, provided that the viewer is open-minded and able to appreciate it. He also argues that occasional exclusion from pleasant experiences is a good thing, since it prompts the development of imaginative and contemplative sensibilities. Finally, the speaker turns his attention back to Charles, addressing his friend. He notes that a rook flying through the sky will soon fly over Charles too, connecting the two of them over a long distance. He expects that Charles will notice and appreciate the rook, because he has a deep love of the natural world and all living things.
