Theme and message

The main theme of the poem “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth is education.

William Wordsworth does a very good job in explaining two different types of education is his poem. After reading “The Tables Turned”, it is clear that the poet prefers the latter:

• Traditional education
• Natural education

Several contrasts exemplify the poet’s view of education. The third stanza, for example, presents a clear contrast between the “dull and endless” (p. 205, l. 1) education provided by books and the “sweet” and full of “wisdom” (p. 205, ll. 3-4) education provided by a bird’s song.

The fourth stanza also contrasts a formal type of education provided by a “preacher” (p. 205, l. 7) with the “blithe” (p. 205, l. 6) way in which the throstle sings. The preacher is seen as “mean”, while the bird cannot be perverted by such...