Wordsworth's The Thorn

When I first read this poem it was difficult to grasp everything that had happened within it. The poem has many suggestions as to what the answers might be but never gives the reader a solid explanation. Was the baby born? What does the thorn symbolize? Did the baby make her go crazy or was it being left at the alter? Or did the baby make her sane? The emphasis put on the hill and it's description caught my attention because it changes from a scene of beauty to one of tragedy with the character of Martha Ray. As I mentioned, the poem left me with questions unanswered and in my first read, made me wonder if I had just missed the underlying message. I think though, that this is what Wordsworth may have intended. He implies rather than coming straight forward with the answers and that creates and even more haunting tone to his poem. It shows the reader that beauty and tragedy (pain) go together like a rose and it's thorn.