 Hello learners, I am Chainika Rai from Padmanand Gohan Borua School of Humanities, Krishnakandar Hendrik State Upan University. This is the second part of the video lecture on the poem Simon Lee by William Wordsworth. In the previous video, we have reflected on the life and works of the poet William Wordsworth. We have come to know that lyrical ballads that was co-written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Colleridge is considered as the official manifesto of the romantic movement. And this is suggestive of the influence and the greatness of William Wordsworth's poetic creation. We have also come to know that the French Revolution impacted or triggered the romantic movement to a great extent. Like the other romantic poets, William Wordsworth was also very much influenced by the revolution. We have also noted that because of the bloodshed that was associated with the revolution and also because of the related political turmoil, William Wordsworth turned towards nature in his poetry to find solace. So in this video, we shall deal with the poem in details. And also try to comprehend what are the important themes or the issues that has been reflected by the poem. The poem Simon Lee has been included in the lyrical ballads that was published in 1798. Let us look what Wordsworth himself has to say about the Huntsman that is Simon Lee. This old man had been Huntsman to the Squires of Alphoxden, which at the time we occupied it belonged to a manor. The old man's cottage stood upon a common, a little way from the entrance to Alphoxden Park. But it had disappeared. Many other changes had taken place in the adjoining village, which I could not but notice with a regret more natural than well-considered improvements but rarely appear such to those who, after long intervals of time, revisit places they have had much pleasure in. It is unnecessary to add the fact was, as mentioned in the poem, and I have, after an interval of forty-five years, the image of the old man as fresh before my eyes as if I had seen him yesterday. The expression, when the hounds were out, I dearly loved their voice, was word for word from his own lips. Simon Lee was an old Huntsman from Cardiganshire, a county in Wales. The poet narrator tells us that he was once an active and strong man who was a fine Huntsman whom no one could arrive in. Hunting, that is, chasing and killing animals for sport, was a popular hobby among the John Tree and in Britain, hunting mostly referred to the sport of hunting foxes. And Simon Lee was not one to engage himself in farming or tilling. He would rather enjoy in the merrier pursuit of hunting. But as we read the poem, we realize that there is a change in the fortunes of this Huntsman as he stripped of health, strength, friends and kindred and has to live in poverty now where he still wears the uniform of his earlier days when he was an active Huntsman. As feudal master, the men and animals are all dead and he is the sole survivor. Simon himself is frail and weak now, his body distorted and afflicted with ailments. Impoverished and childless, the poet says, his wife is his sole companion with whom he resides in a hut. By the countryside, although he owns a piece of land, yet the irony is that he cannot till it because his afflictions do not allow him to do so. Although they involve themselves very hard, there is very little they can produce. The older Simon grows, the more his arthritis troubles him. So by now we must have understood that even though Simon Lee was very proud of being a Huntsman, yet there is a change in his fortune which compels him to live a life of poverty with his sole companion that is his wife. Interestingly, the poet reveals that one fine summer day, the poet happened to see old Simon Lee to sieve an old tree stumped with a pickaxe, but it was all in vain. His pains-taking efforts were not yielding any results, whereupon the poet offers to help him in his task and with a single fell-shocked splits apart the tangled root. So this reveals that Simon Lee was fragile and weak and his physical condition did not support him to do any kind of hard labour. However, Simon Lee was very much moved by this act of kindness shown towards him by the poet narrator and he bursted into tears, tears of gratitude and profoundly thanked the poet. This act of whipping reveals the innate honesty of the old man and in doing so the poet gives the readers the lesson that men in general have become very pitiless. The poem seems to justify the notion of gratitude against that of cold frustration, that is the belief that one's actions should be based on scientific thinking rather than emotions or religious beliefs. The poem emphasises the contrast between the emotion of gratitude and the idea of rationalism. The tragedy and the informity of old age are the essential theme of the poem. As we have seen, Simon in his old age has been discarded although he had devoted himself wholeheartedly to his duties during his heydays. His loyalty to his master was never repaid and he now lives a pitiful life. The poet draws our attention from the incidents themselves to the feelings which give importance to the action. Here however he includes not only of Simon Lee but also those of himself. The poem is very very thought provoking in the sense that it makes the readers or it makes us think as well as feel how even the humblest incidents of everyday life express the human condition. You are advised to go through the poem and read it carefully so as to grasp the meaning of the poem in a better way. I hope this video on the explanation of the poem shall help you in understanding and attempting the poem in a better way. In the next video we shall reflect on the poetic style and language employed by William Wordsworth in this poem. With this we have come to the end of our discussion. Thank you.