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Climbs to a soul, etc.: In his intimate sympathy with nature, by James Russell Lowell

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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This piece is a brief critical essay-poem that explores James Russell Lowell's tendency to depict nature as if it were alive and could feel—similar to what Wordsworth famously did.

Poet
James Russell Lowell
Themes
faith, identity, memory
The PoemFull text

Climbs to a soul, etc.: In his intimate sympathy with nature,

James Russell Lowell

Lowell endows her forms with conscious life, as Wordsworth did, who says in _Lines Written in Early Spring_: "And 't is my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes." So Lowell in _The Cathedral_ says: "And I believe the brown earth takes delight, In the new snow-drop looking back at her, To think that by some vernal alchemy It could transmute her darkness into pearl." So again he says in _Under the Willows_: "I in June am midway to believe A tree among my far progenitors, Such sympathy is mine with all the race, Such mutual recognition vaguely sweet There is between us." It must be remembered that this humanizing of nature is an attitude toward natural objects characteristic only of modern poetry, being practically unknown in English poetry before the period of Burns and Wordsworth.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This piece is a brief critical essay-poem that explores James Russell Lowell's tendency to depict nature as if it were alive and could feel—similar to what Wordsworth famously did. It weaves together three quoted passages from Lowell's longer poems to illustrate his belief that flowers, soil, and trees have a genuine connection with human beings. The concluding note highlights that this perspective on nature was a novel concept in English poetry, emerging only with Burns and Wordsworth in the late 1700s.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Lowell endows her forms with conscious life, as Wordsworth did, who says in Lines Written in Early Spring...

    Editor's note

    The opening establishes the main argument: Lowell, similar to Wordsworth, views nature not merely as a setting but as a vibrant, sentient entity. The word *endows* carries significant weight here—it suggests that Lowell bestows an inner life upon nature rather than just depicting its surface features. Wordsworth's couplet from *Lines Written in Early Spring* serves as a key example: asserting that a flower literally *enjoys* the air it breathes is groundbreaking, as it grants a plant an emotional experience.

  2. "And I believe the brown earth takes delight, / In the new snow-drop looking back at her..."

    Editor's note

    This excerpt from Lowell's *The Cathedral* enhances the concept. The earth isn't merely alive — it experiences *delight*, a warm, almost nurturing joy, when a snowdrop breaks through its surface. The phrase "looking back at her" gives the flower the persona of a child glancing up at its mother. "Vernal alchemy" is a lovely way to express the idea: spring is portrayed as a magical force that changes the earth's dark soil into the white pearl of a snowdrop blossom.

  3. "I in June am midway to believe / A tree among my far progenitors..."

    Editor's note

    This passage from *Under the Willows* is the most personal and bold of the three. Lowell says, half-joking and half-serious, that he suspects a tree is part of his family tree. The phrase "midway to believe" is sincere — he’s not making a scientific assertion, but rather sharing a feeling that’s so intense it borders on conviction. "Mutual recognition vaguely sweet" perfectly conveys that wordless sense of connection you experience while standing in a forest, as if the trees recognize you as well.

  4. It must be remembered that this humanizing of nature is an attitude toward natural objects characteristic only of modern poetry...

    Editor's note

    The closing paragraph steps back to provide some historical context. The critic notes that the idea of viewing nature as conscious and emotional was largely absent in English poetry prior to Burns and Wordsworth — indicating that it's a Romantic innovation rather than an age-old poetic practice. This is significant because it reminds us not to take this notion for granted: it required someone to conceive it, and that person emerged during a specific cultural moment at the close of the eighteenth century.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is warm and genuinely enthusiastic—it's clear that the writer has a deep love for these lines and hopes you do too. There's nothing cold or distant about it. The critical framing feels confident without being rigid, and the quoted passages radiate a sense of wonder and quiet joy. The overall impression is one of discovery: here’s something beautiful, here’s why it matters, and here’s its origin.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The snowdrop
The snowdrop is the first flower to emerge in late winter, breaking through the dark soil. It symbolizes the moment when life pushes back against the cold and darkness. Its bright white petals against the brown earth make the "alchemy" metaphor resonate — it truly appears as if something has been transformed.
The brown earth
The earth isn't merely the ground beneath our feet; it's like a nurturing figure that oversees everything that grows from it and delights in the outcome. It embodies nature as a mindful, caring parent instead of just being a lifeless resource.
The tree as ancestor
When Lowell envisions a tree among his "far progenitors," it symbolizes the profound connection between humans and the natural world — suggesting that we aren't separate from nature but are part of it, sharing a common origin.
Vernal alchemy
Alchemy was the ancient pursuit of transforming base metals into gold. The image of spring turning dark soil into a white flower implies that nature works miracles just as remarkable as anything a medieval alchemist could envision — transformation, renewal, and the emergence of beauty from darkness.

§06Historical context

Historical context

James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) was a leading figure among American writers in the nineteenth century — a poet, critic, editor of *The Atlantic Monthly*, and later a diplomat. He came into his own during the height of American Romanticism, heavily influenced by the English Romantics, particularly Wordsworth. His poem *The Cathedral* (1869) is a long meditation inspired by a visit to Chartres, while *Under the Willows* (1868) is a more personal and informal collection. Both works reveal Lowell's struggles with faith, nature, and the challenges of modern life. The critical passage included here reflects a tradition of comparative literary analysis that gained popularity in the late nineteenth century, as writers and speakers would connect ideas across poets to illustrate the flow of literary history. The central historical assertion — that the "humanizing of nature" was a Romantic innovation — captures the prevailing view of Lowell's time and continues to be widely accepted today.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

It means treating natural things—flowers, trees, soil—as if they have feelings, intentions, or inner lives like humans do. Rather than merely calling a flower a pretty object, a poet who humanizes nature might say the flower *enjoys* the air or *looks back* at the earth. It’s the difference between a nature documentary and a fairy tale.

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Themes in this poem

Poems about faithPoems about identityPoems about memoryPoems about nature