"Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree" by William Wordsworth

The beginning line sets the reader up for what is going to occur throughout the entire poem, that is, the traveler is going to struggle with the speaker and reveal his own personality and discomfort through this struggle. It begins “—Nay, Traveler! Rest”. The dashes signify that words were exchanged. So Speaker is trying to convince Traveler to talk with him while he is refusing. After Speaker tells him that there may not be anything special or magical about this place, there is a long dash before Speaker starts up again. This implies that Traveler argues that he does not want to listen and waste time listening to him talk of plainness. After Speaker is allowed to continue, he says that he knew the man who built this seat. Sensing a long story coming about the speaker’s past and the history of a stranger he cares nothing for, another dash here in line 12 suggests Traveler argues, but is forced to listen further. The story then turns dismal as the speaker tells him the man became selfish and solitary and perhaps Traveler senses a moral coming. This ends with “--Stranger!” as Speaker dismisses Traveler’s discomfort with the story and calls his attention back. He then speaks of the beautiful scenery in order to keep Traveler’s attention. He turns his focus on the traveler: “If thou be one whose heart the holy forms of young imagination have kept pure, Stranger! henceforth be warned;” (Lines 44-46). Speaker had to interrupt himself to yell at Traveler to call his attention back. Traveler does not want to hear about himself or be warned from turning away from others, which is exactly what he seems to have been doing throughout the entire conversation! Perhaps his initial reluctance at sitting with a stranger is what made Speaker decide that this person needed to hear the moral of the story most of all and head the warning of turning selfishly from others.