s divine can be applied to all children. While childhood is regarded as a time of ignorance, where serious thoughts are seldom entertained, the Romantics also view childhood as a time of innocence. Wordsworth addresses both these views in It Is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free. By declaring that, eventhough his daughter is untouched by solemn thought, [she] is not therefore less divine(10-11), Wordsworth is saying that a childs ignorance is his or her innocence. As the poem continues, the child is portrayed as [lying] in Abrahams bosom all the year (12), suggesting that her soul is blessed by God. Wordsworths use of the image of the Temples inner shrine is perfect in illustrating a childs innocence and divinity. Normally reserved for the highest priest of the Israelites to visit but once a year, a mere child is portrayed as worshipping there, revealing her closeness to God. In fact, this union is so special that Wordsworth admits that God is with the child even when he knows it not.Upon close examination of It Is a Beauteous Evening, Calm and Free, it is apparent that Wordsworth views nature and childhood as two of the most divine states known to man. What is not so obvious, are his, as well as the rest of the Romantics, reasons for this belief. During the Romantic era, the French and Industrial Revolutions were causing great changes in the world. Several external supports, such as government and religion, were breaking down. Perhaps it is this turmoil that forced the Romantics to seek solace and inspiration in the stability of nature. However, despite discovering the sanctity of nature, the Romantics realized they were still being corrupted by the world around them. Purity could only be truly maintained in childhood, because of a childs ignorance towards the problems of the world. It is for this reason, poets such as Wordsworth, revered childhood as divine....
