Composed By The Side Of Grasmere Lake 1806

Clouds, lingering yet, extend in solid barsThrough the grey west; and lo! these waters, steeledBy breezeless air to smoothest polish, yieldA vivid repetition of the stars;Jove, Venus, and the ruddy crest of MarsAmid his fellows beauteously revealedAt happy distance from earth’s groaning field,Where ruthless mortals wage incessant wars.Is it a mirror?—or the nether SphereOpening to view the abyss in which she feeds 10Her own calm fires?—But list! a voice is near;Great Pan himself low-whispering through the reeds,“Be thankful, thou; for, if unholy deedsRavage the world, tranquillity is here!”

This sonnet was written in 1806. It is componed of an octet and a sestet. It (l. 9): the syntax is not clear. Does “it” refer to Herat or heavens? Steeled: to make hard, resemble steel, unbending; the presence of a treta or negative force is suggested. Incessant wars: Britain had been at war since 1793, Napoleon defeated English in 1805 at Trafalgar Here (l. 14): is the deictic “here” stressed or not? If it is stressed then it refers to a particular location, Grassmere, as opposed to the world