Would poet - and birdwatcher - William Wordsworth have appreciated living close to a kebab shop?

                                                   

Dove Cottage - home of Wordsworth between 1799 and 1808 (photo: Christine Hasman via Wikimedia Commons

A RUMPUS over whether a kebab shop should be allowed to open in the scenic Lakeland village of Grasmere has put its most famous resident, William Wordsworth, in the spotlight.

Would he have disapproved such a business opening close to Dove Cottage where he lived? Or, by contrast, would he have become a regular and appreciative customer?

These questions are being explored in current media reports.

Of incidental ornithological interest, it could be noted that Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an important chronicler of the birdlife of the Lake District and his huge output of verse includes references, sometimes frequent, to the species he used to encounter on his walks.

All told, there are reckoned to be more than 50 of them including Nightjar (Dor-hawk), Corncrake (Land-rail), Snipe and Stonechat.

His various poetic tributes to the Skylark are less admired than a corresponding work by Shelley, but one is particularly impressive.

It reads:

Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky!

Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound?

Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye

Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground?

Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will,

Those quivering wings composed, that music still!

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood;

A privacy of glorious light is thine;

Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood

Of harmony, with instinct more divine;

Type of the wise who soar, but never roam;

True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home!

In his Book, Wordsworth's Birds (1985), Stanley Finch describes Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, as "life-long bird lovers".

He writes: "Birds were their everyday companions - as much a part of surrounding life as mountains and lakes, trees and flowers, and equally loved."

According to the author, the Robin was the poet's favourite just ahead of the Wren.

Kindred spirit - poet always cherished seeing a Robin

                                     

Deep in reflection - William Wordsworth (photo: Benjamin Haydon via Wikimedia Commons)