The second volume of my trilogy of books on C. S. Lewis' Top Ten will soon be in print. This volume will deal with Lewis' reading of George Herbert's The Temple, William Wordsworth's The Prelude, and Rudolf Otto's Idea of the Holy. It has been a challenge both to read and write intelligently about these three deep authors and their works, as well as researching Lewis' reading of them. But it has also been a joy to read so much good literature.
One of these authors has long been a favorite of mine: William Wordsworth. Here is one of my favorite poems of his....
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
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