There was a time when meadow, grove, and stream,/the earth, and every common sight,/to me did seem/apparelled in celestial light,/the glory and freshness of a dream.
-- The Speaker

Importance: These first lines are significant because they establish the value that the speaker places on their relationship with nature and their view of the natural world. The beginning of the first line also signals to the reader that the poem is in part a retrospective, and suggests that the speaker has undergone some sort of change in perspective or personality.

The things which I have seen I now can see no more.
-- The Speaker

Importance: This line is important in that it encapsulates the main problem in the poem. In a very succinct way, the speaker tells us that the wonder they used to see in the natural world they are no longer able to see anymore. This establishes the conflict and sets...