Wordsworth's Poetical Works Lesson Plan

In "Lines Written in Early Spring," what is meant by "what man has made of man"?

The first time the idea comes up, it is in the context of Wordsworth, a man, being linked to Nature. The line expresses a sadness at what man has lost, through his own doing, by not heeding nature. Though the Industrial Revolution was not in full swing yet and cities were still fairly small, this sentiment is picked up by many later poets lamenting the loss of man's connection to nature in modern times.

The second time the phrase comes up, at the end of the poem, it has more force because it is a lingering question. This time, the problem is not just that man is not...