The early 19th century was a morbid and dark time: death was a common visitor, as were plagues and disease decreased children, and the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars decreased the overall population. In response to that loss, humans were relegated to numbers in a new and practical population management system, as government officials went door to door, asking about family size. Idealism and a child's view of nature and one's place in the universe were seen as radical and liberal ideas in this age of pragmatism and rigid logic. Furthermore, this era of industrialization left no room for childhood passion and appreciation for nature. In the midst of this culture, William Wordsworth stepped forward, using poetry to propose an alternative lens for seeing the world. According to Wordsworth, in his famous essay that began the Romantic era of literature, “the passions of men are embodied in the beautiful and permanent forms of nature” (Wordsworth “Preface” 174). These visions of nature as the key to seeing beauty in an imperfect world were reminiscent of childhood, as Wordsworth felt that children possessed the ability to see the world in this romantic way that he idolized. Therefore, children are the main players in Wordsworth's poetry as a tool to explain the world in this romanticized way that he thinks it should be perceived. Two of his poems in particular, "We Are Seven" and "Ode to Intimations of Immortality," provide a strong juxtaposition between the grim reality of the early 19th century and Wordsworth's aforementioned romantic illusions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before the Romantic period, children were viewed as having much less emotional attachment by their parents than what is considered normal today, a perspective that is largely due to the infant mortality rate. As Wordsworth knew from personal experience, by the end of the 18th century, “on average, one in four children died within a decade of birth, fewer than in previous generations but still a harsh reality; rare was the family that had not lost a child” (Rovee 2). Because of this reality, parents rarely allowed themselves to become too attached to their children, as they accepted that they would inevitably have to bury one or more young children. Wordsworth, employing emotional rhetoric in his poetry, attempted to arouse feelings of love for children, describing them as charming embodiments of innocence. This is especially seen in the poem “We Are Seven,” which describes a disagreement between a child and a census taker. The little girl, originally one of five siblings, has two brothers who now “lie in the churchyard, / [her] sister and [her] brother” (Wordsworth l. 21-22). Despite the speaker's insistence that dead siblings no longer count toward family size, the little girl adamantly repeats that "no, [they] are seven" (l. 59), while continuing to describe the time that has passed every day with her siblings while she plays and eats her meals next to their graves in the church courtyard. Through this narrative, Wordsworth is creating a child who "embodies innocence, immediacy, and uncultivated vision...an idealized construction that offers a model for the male poet who seeks to redeem the dying light and joy" (Rovee 1). The little girl in this poem provides a new perception: the joy of the little girl, despite the death that surrounds her, and the love she has for her siblingsseparated, suggests that children have an understanding of love that overcomes the pessimism brought by a culture infiltrated with death. Indeed, the lack of attachment and appreciation towards children was a cultural norm that Wordsworth found problematic, as he continually challenges this status quo in his poetry. The Romantic poet's “preoccupation with childhood” is not strictly psychological. On the contrary, [he] conceives of it as a period of communion with Nature, a time of sensory preparation and spiritual awareness” (Gatti-Taylor 250). Wordsworth's “Ode to Intimations of Immortality” then uses a child to exhort the audience to find joy despite the pain brought by death and suffering. This poem is thought to be Wordsworth remembering his childhood, and begins with the poet appearing “hopeless and possessing a sense of longing, for he is no longer a child. Therefore, he cannot enjoy nature as a child does” (Rowhanimanesh 181). Wordsworth then praises childhood for its innocence and ability to recognize beauty despite being surrounded by dark realities. The speaker of this poem refers to “delight and freedom, the simple creed / of childhood, both busy and at rest, / with a new hope still fluttering in its breast” (Wordsworth l. 141-143). By stating that the “creed” of childhood is “joy and freedom,” Wordsworth changes his mood and “becomes full of hope. Though those days [of childhood] are gone, joy shall never die”: Wordsworth came to the conclusion that “joy and love give meaning to life” (Rowhanimanesth 181). It is also worth noting in this poem Wordsworth's image of a child “grilled by his mother's kisses / with the light on him from his father's eyes” (Wordsworth l. 89, 90). This affectionate scene between child and parent illustrated by Wordsworth is contrary to the detachment of children from their parents that was the most common dynamic in parent-child relationships during this period, largely due to the frequency of infant deaths. It is obvious that the close relationship between parents and children, which is normal today, as well as the view of children as untouchable innocents, is attributed to Wordsworth's lasting and romantic influence. The pre-romantic view of children also revolved around their functionality: children were miniature adults, therefore capable of working in factories as soon as they were physically capable. Children's small size was not considered glamorous but purely practical in this industrialized era, as they were able to clean more easily inside small crevices such as chimneys, a task that resulted in a higher infant mortality rate at causing complications such as asthma, stunted growth, accidents, and “chimney sweep cancer” (Mayhew 351). The acceptance of this practice was an example of how industrialization dominated the culture of thought in the early 19th century: children were not raised or protected as if they had intrinsic value, but treated simply as workers. Wordsworth opposed this mentality, believing instead that children are intrinsically “embedded in the beautiful and permanent forms of Nature” (Wordsworth “Preface” 174). Therefore, instead of representing children in the context of work, it focuses on the free spirit of children existing in communion with nature. In “We Are Seven,” the little girl is shown playing freely around her sister's grave (line 55) and running and sliding in the snow (line 57, 58). Not only is this ideology shown through the child's actions, but also “poets who referred to this theory sometimes treated it in the form of images” (Gatti-Taylor 255). This may explain why Wordsworth, in line 9 of the poem, describes the childas having “a rustic woodland air”. Wordsworth is creating a profound connection between nature and the beauty of childhood, further establishing his ideology that children are not designed to be workers destined to further industrialization; rather, they are sacred representations of nature's divinity. Indeed, Wordsworth was strongly against the negative effects of commercialization on a society, and thus “central to Wordsworth's romanticism is the role of poetry in combating the evils of industrialization” (Brennan 38). Therefore, “Hymn to the Intimation of Immortality” similarly depicts childhood in the context of unity with nature, separated from modern industrialization. Instead of referring to the child's short stature in terms of functionality in the world of work, the speaker romantically describes the child as a “six-year-old darling of the size of pygmies” (Wordsworth l. 87). The speaker continues to describe the child's vocation not as a worker but as an imaginative actor who creates a "humorous stage" (l. 104) that is filled "with all the people / ...that life brings with it in its crew" (1. 105, 106). The speaker suggests that it is as if “the whole vocation / Were an infinite imitation” (l. 107, 108). In other words, the child's purpose, instead of immersing itself in labor, is intended to embrace creativity in which "the child's creative spirit can be summarized thus: it abandons itself to external objects, penetrates them, contemplates itself through objects, and discovers with naive wonder the qualities Nature has partly imparted to him” (Gatti-Taylor 255). Indeed, this poem romanticizes childhood as a time not for the burden of work or industrialization, but as an Ambrosian season of life meant for play and freedom. With the demands of factory work and the low life expectancy as a result of the conditions therein came a degree of pragmatism contrary to Wordsworth's romantic idealism. Part of this took shape in the wave of a census in 1798, where before “there had never been a complete and accurate count of the British population” (Robbins 202). In response to a goal proposed by Parliament, government officials would visit each home to inquire about “the number and circumstances of the [family]”; families who refused to respond would be given “horse pond discipline” (Robbins 202). This attempt to regulate the population is undoubtedly practical, but it leaves no room for idyllic illusions, instead reducing individual subjectivities to numbers and categories” (Robbins 204). "We Are Seven" provides a clear example of these conflicting ideologies, as the poem is believed to be representative of the first census of Britain. The census taker asks the young woman how many people live in her house and she insists on including her deceased siblings. This response offends the rational sensibilities of the speaker, who insists that “they are dead; those two are dead! / Their spirits are in heaven!” (Wordsworth l. 55, 56). The little girl does not let herself be discouraged by this attempt to reason, on the contrary she behaves "as if she were a philosopher... she says they are seven years old. She believes that the dead are still alive…the girl's imagination helps her come to this conclusion” (Rowhanimanesh 181). In this regard the young girl serves as a symbol of the Romantic period and how the principles of Romanticism were seen as radical and irrational in the eyes of the devout pragmatists of the time. Wordsworth continues to use children as a symbol of Romantic ideas in "Ode to Intimations of Immortality," in which he recalls childhood when "meadow, grove, and stream, / The earth and every common sight, / To [him] they seemed / Clothed Ofcelestial light" (Wordsworth l. 1 -4). This description of childhood is one in which the ordinary aspects of nature appear extraordinary, as if "children possess powers that enable them to enjoy the beauty of nature in a way in which adults will not be able to do so" (Rowhanimanesh 183). To the child, meadows, streams, and other common features of nature are not mere accidents of evolution but divine instruments containing a supernatural presence. Wordsworth further empowers the symbol of the child stating that it is “glorious in the power / Of heaven-born freedom to the height of your being” (Wordsworth l. 126, 127); the implication is that the child is granted inherent innocence and freedom by nature itself idea would be considered absurd to believers in pragmatism who saw nature, like children, as merely functional rather than divine. Accompanying the value of reason was the vision of one's life. The presence in the universe must be exclusively space physical, literal, busy. Wordsworth and his fellow Romantics subscribed to an idea of ​​transcendental presence that transcended the boundaries of physical space. In this invisible world, “the glory of the soul becomes visible when sense impressions are forcibly usurped by a surge of power” (Davidson 1994). This idea of ​​spiritual presence is particularly evident in “We Are Seven,” as the census taker attempts to gather information about the physical occupants of the child's home. The little girl not only insists that her deceased brothers are still part of the family, describing them as part of the seven who simply "lie in the churchyard" (Wordsworth l. 31), but also includes the other two brothers who have "gone to the sea ” (l. 20). The child does not care that his siblings are not physically present in the house, and it is the task of the adult in the poem "to evoke within himself a childish sensitivity, to project it once again onto himself." thoughts about the outside world, the attitude of wonder that transforms an ordinary sight into a vision” (Gatti-Taylor 259). It is this childlike wonder that allows her to see her siblings as truly present and active participants in her family, even if they are no longer physically present. This contrast between physical presence and sense of transcendental presence is representative of the contrast between radical Romantic ideas and reason. Perhaps one of the most gruesome realities of the early 19th century from which the Romantic era of literature arose was the Napoleonic Wars, in which the French army carried out a series of invasions on the British front. One of the most notable threats of this era was “the Great Terror of 1803-1804,” in which “all of Britain went into a state of high alert as the threat of an ambitious French invasion loomed” (Matlak 21). It is said, therefore, that “Wordsworth's poetry of the spring of 1804 seems inspired by the political climate and its testimony to patriotism” (25). Wordsworth published “Ode to Intimations of Immortality” in 1804, which can therefore be considered a response to the aforementioned political climate and fear that reigned over Britain. In this poem, Wordsworth laments being an adult aware of the surrounding horrors brought by war and destruction, rather than a child capable of “undergoing such infantile experiences” of nature. (Rowhananesh 181). This nostalgia is felt in the following lines: A single field I have looked at, Both speak of something that is gone; The pansy at my feet Repeats the same story: Where has the visionary glimmer fled? Where is it now, the glory and the dream? (51-57) Later in the poem, however, Wordsworth has an epiphany in which he is able to "expand the concept of the special powers.. 179-184.