Read these lines from "It Sifts from Leaden Sieves.” It sifts from Leaden Sieves —
It powders all the Wood.
It fills with Alabaster Wool
The Wrinkles of the Road —

How do these lines develop the theme that nature has power over human efforts?

They suggest either snow or rain, but the deeper meaning of decay over time is clear, too.

They depict a lot of rain from a leaden (gray) sky that smooths the wrinkles in an old dirt road.

They compare snow to a natural substance (wool) and illustrate it covering the road, a symbol of human progress.

They suggest the madness that eventually overtook the author of the poem.

They compare snow to a natural substance (wool) and illustrate it covering the road, a symbol of human progress.

Explanation:

**The one highlighted in blue is the correct answer**

the correct answer is d.   to change the pace

explanation:

wordsworth tends to see nature as 'out there'; a presence which surrounds humans, and contributes to human life, but is different from humans. if you look at a typical wordsworth poem (there was a boy, ye knew him well ye rocks) - wordsworth talks about nature as something that needs to be learned about and understood, nature is different from us.  

if you look at a byron poem (the isles of greece is a good one) - byron looks at nature mainly for what it already means to man. wordsworth will look at a landscape and see the mountains, trees, valleys, and rivers as almost spiritual presences - wordsworth wants to get to know nature.  

byron will look at the same landscape and he will want to know who lives there, what are the villages? are there any farms or mines, is there some history?  

wordsworth looks at nature for what it is; byron is forever asking what it means.  

wordsworth thinks that humans are part of nature; byron thinks that nature is part of being human