Wordworth’s “Hart-Leap Well” reveals the domineering nature of mankind’s ego. In his attempts to cherish his joy and pleasure, the Knight pompously proclaims, “Till the foundations of the mountains fail / My mansion with its arbour shall endure”. The Knight’s statement exemplifies his wish to overcome nature. In his lofty headed ignorance, he feels that his monuments will outlast and overcome nature, thus eternalizing his pride and glory. At the end of the poem, the Shepherd divulges the central lesson to the story: “Never to blend our pleasure or our pride / With sorrow of the meanest thing that feels”. Wordsworth communicates the idea that our longing to dominate nature, whether it be our environment, lesser animals or fellow man only leads to decadence and death. By having a Knight serves as the protagonist, Wordsworth communicates how our conception of chivalry and the traits that we revere (or otherwise impress us) are fundamentally skewed. He invites us to take a humbler perspective on life and realize a more “ecological” existence.
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