The poem is an account of the poet's struggle to find a middle path between the sanguine radicalism of the French revolutionary movement and the timidity, hesitancy, and slowness of liberal reform in England. The government and senate appear ineffective, but Wordsworth places his hope in the people. He scoffs at what he sees as British conservatives' futile attempts to stem the tide of progress and reform. He refers to them as delusory because they predict disaster wherever the Republican cause is not turned back, bent over backwards, and endorsed unsound notions simply because conservatives denounced them. France's strategy shifted from self-defense to aggression and oppression. There was hope for the reawakening of the passions through reason and the construction by humanity of "social upon personal Liberty." It is expected that man will achieve great things without sacrificing his basic nature. Law and custom, as well as their aristocratic defenders, had fallen into disgrace. Ordinary people's eyes were being opened. Old prejudices were eroding the race. Ordinary people's eyes were being opened. This new calm served France well, as it was unable to rouse the people to present patriotism.