Despite being published in 1798, “The Thorn” by William Wordsworth gracefully addresses many topics that are still controversial today in the 21st century. Themes such as out-of-wedlock pregnancy, murder, abortion and ghosts are presented and discussed. Wordsworth uses detailed settings as well as character ambiguity to make the reader believe that Martha Ray is just an apparition guarding the grave of her infant son. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The narrator sets up the poem by describing the horrible ugliness of a thorn not even as tall as his knees, growing on an extravagant mossy hillside. It illustrates the beautiful, eye-catching colors of: “This moss-covered heap of earth,/That approaches the thorn you see,/So fresh in all its lovely tinctures” (Wordsworth 104). In contrast to the spectacular scenery, he begins to mention and romanticize a small patch of land that seems perfectly suitable for a toddler. The narrator seems to have fallen in love not only with the tomb, but also with the story behind it. In stanza VII he says: “At all hours of the day and night this unhappy woman goes thither, and she is known to all the stars, and every wind that blows; » (Wordsworth 105). At this point in the poem, we do not know who this woman is sitting by the child's grave. We can infer, however, that there is something different about her, because the stars and the wind generally do not know individual human beings. The narrator of the poem goes on to say, “In rain, in storm, and in snow, So is this poor woman on the dreary mountain top? And why does she sit by the thorn When the blue light of day is in the sky, Or the whirlwind is on the hill, Or the frosty air is sharp and still” (Wordsworth 105). The irony of this passage is that mortals, or average human beings, would not be able to withstand these extreme weather conditions. The narrator continues to explain that the woman, who is dressed in a scarlet cloak, sits by the grave day and night, rain or shine. She cries: “Oh misery! oh misery!/Oh woe is me! oh misery! (Wordsworth 105). The narrator seems new to the village where he lives and immerses himself in the story of this woman named Martha Ray. We find out she was engaged to a man named Stephen Hill, got pregnant out of wedlock, and was then left at the altar. Due to the time period in which this play was written, Martha Ray would not have been allowed to have children when she was single and so retired to the hillside, far from the village. It is unclear whether or not she gave birth to the baby; however, according to the village tale, he is buried under the moss surrounding the thorn that Martha Ray clings to, and she actually murdered him after giving birth. In stanza XVI, the narrator mentions: "Of the cries coming from the mountain-top, some evidently living voices were, and others, I heard many swear, were the voices of the dead: I cannot think, whatever they said, They had to do with Martha Ray” (Wordsworth 108). This is the least ambiguous accusation Wordsworth makes about Martha Ray being an apparition or immortal. Likewise, the fact that the villagers made up stories about her, but did not dare to inquire about them, makes the character of Martha Ray suspect and lacks credibility. The moss she sits on is said to be scarlet with drops of her child's blood. She also always wears a scarlet coat, which could.