World Literature 202

Detailed Information about his life and works

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most influential thinkers during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe. This website gives exceptional details on his life and accomplishments from his perspective as well as the preception of him by others.

It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads and cabbin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms. These mothers instead ofbeing able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in stroling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.

This is a helpful guide for interpretation of Wordsworth's poem.

This is the simple text of the poem.