William Wordsworths A Character

I marvel how Nature could ever find spaceFor so many strange contrasts in one human face:Theres thought and no thought, and theres paleness and bloomAnd bustle and sluggishness, pleasure and gloom.

Theres weakness, and strength both redundant and vain;Such strength as, if ever affliction and painCould pierce through a temper thats soft to disease,Would be rational peacea philosophers ease.

Theres indifference, alike when he fails or succeeds,And attention full ten times as much as there needs;Pride where theres no envy, theres so much of joy;And mildness, and spirit both forward and coy.

Theres freedom, and sometimes a diffident stareOf shame scarcely seeming to know that shes there,Theres virtue, the title it surely may claim,Yet wants heaven knows what to be worthy the name.

This picture from nature may seem to depart,Yet the Man would at once run away with your heart;And I for five centuries right gladly would beSuch an odd such a kind happy creature as he.

This poem describes the dynamics of both society and the human character. When he talks about the contrasts of the human face, he is referring to both the faces we make in certain moods and the face of our personalities. He is fascinated with human personalities in that we can be happy one minute and depressed the next. He describes the ups and the downs, the full and the empty. When he marvel(s) how nature could ever find space for all the contrasts, he is thinking of the obvious dynamic variety in humans that is less obvious in nature. Of all the natural occurrences he has seen and been moved by, he now focuses on humans.

Does this relate to yin and yang? Well absolutely! Yin and Yang represents that opposites are not only able to coexist, they must exist together in the same world. This picture effectively demonstrates that by blending the yin yang symbol over the earth, demonstrating that on (although not limited to) Earth, opposites must exist; every yin has its yang. But there is also part of yang in yin and part of yin in yang. Wordsworth says: There is thought and no thought One does not exist without the other, but there can never fully be a lack of thought and never be just thought. The two complete each other. He sees humans and both beautiful and flawed. There are flaws to beauty, and sometimes even flaws can be beautiful.

In the opposites, Wordsworth goes on to describe opposites within opposites like when he talks about weakness and strength. Strength can be over used like in any movie where the superhero accidentally breaks something. Too much strength can lead to disaster; sometimes there is strength in restraint. When there is strength, but it is left unused or used correctly, it can be just as bad as when it is over used. Balance is necessary for everything.

In the last stanza, Wordsworth seems to be relating this to and experience from his own life. There was a woman who he loved, but she had another lover. Wordsworth thinks hes better for her. He says the man would ran away and leave her to continue to love him and grieve his absence. In the fourth stanza, he talks about how her lover not noticing her and the shame in not realizing what you have. He also talks about how his own virtue will come back and benefit him in the end (although, he probably hopes shell notice it). So pretty much, Wordsworth wrote this for the woman so she could realize she has made the wrong choice.