4 quotations linked to The Tables Turned by or associated with William Wordsworth, with source notes, explanations and related topics.
Use these links when you want to inspect the wording in its wider work or edition.
“Sweet is the lore which Nature brings.”
Nature is presented as a source of knowledge that can complement formal study by training attention and receptiveness.
Source note: The Tables Turned; the line follows Wordsworth’s claim that a vernal wood can teach moral insight.
“Enough of Science and of Art; close up these barren leaves.”
Wordsworth provocatively contrasts formal study with direct experience, not because art or books are worthless but because second-hand learning can crowd out attention.
Source note: The Tables Turned, final stanza; the speaker urges his friend to close the books and bring a receptive heart outdoors.
“Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.”
Direct attention to the natural world is offered as a form of learning that complements books and abstract study.
Source note: Poem “The Tables Turned.”
“One impulse from a vernal wood may teach you more of man than all the sages can.”
Experience in nature is used as a counterweight to abstract instruction, encouraging observation alongside formal learning.
Source note: The Tables Turned; two adjacent lines are joined into one sentence.