Anne Bronte (1820-1849) was an English novelist and poet who wrote under the pen-name Action Bell, She and her sisters, Emily and Charlotte, wrote books and poems that are considered classics today. Anne Bronte's best known work is the novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
The poet was inspired to write this poem after she took a walk in the countryside on a windy day. The poem describes her love for wild weather, the countryside and the sea.
My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing,
The bare trees are tossing their branches on high;
The dead leaves beneath them are merrily dancing,
The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky
I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing
The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray;
I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing,
And hear the wild roar of their thunder to-day!
Complete the sentences in your own words.
Why are the clouds moving quickly across the sky?
And hear the wild roar of their thunder to-day. Whose 'wild roar' does the speaker want to hear?
Where is the speaker? Is she enjoying the 'windy day'? What makes you think so?
Where does she want to be? Why do you think she wants to be there?
Describe the poet's feeling in the first paragraph of the poem.