Wordsworth is considered the supreme poet of nature. He had a deep love and spiritual connection with nature, viewing it as a living personality with a divine spirit. He believed that interacting with nature brings joy and can heal sorrow, and that nature serves as a great moral teacher. Wordsworth's childhood spent in nature's embrace helped plant seeds of understanding in his mind. As he grew older, his love for nature developed from a sensuous appreciation of beauty to a profound spiritual and intellectual relationship, with nature educating his mind and senses. His poems reflect his sensitivity to nature and ability to find spiritual meaning beneath its surface manifestations.

1. Umm-e-Rooman Yaqoob
Roll # 3
B.S (English) 5th
Semester
“William Wordsworth Poet of Nature”
As a poetof Nature,Wordsworthstandssupreme.He isa worshipperof Nature,Nature’sdevotee or
high-priest.Hislove of Nature wasprobablytruer,andmore tender,thanthatof any otherEnglishpoet,
before orsince.Nature comestooccupy inhispoema separate orindependentstatusandisnot
treatedina casual or passingmannerasby poetsbefore him.Wordsworthhadafull-fledged
philosophy,anewandoriginal viewof Nature.
Three pointsinhiscreedof Nature may be noted:
(a) He conceivedof Nature asa livingPersonality.He believedthatthere isadivine spiritpervadingall
the objectsof Nature.Thisbelief inadivine spiritpervadingall the objectsof Nature maybe termedas
mystical Pantheismandisfullyexpressedin Tintern Abbey andinseveral passagesinBookIIof The
Prelude.
(b) Wordsworthbelievedthatthe companyof Nature givesjoytothe human heartand he lookedupon
Nature as exercisingahealinginfluence onsorrow-strickenhearts.
(c) Above all,Wordsworthemphasizedthe moral influenceof Nature.He spiritualisedNature and
regardedheras a great moral teacher,as the bestmother,guardianand nurse of man,and as an
elevatinginfluence.He believedthatbetweenmanandNature there ismutual consciousness,spiritual
communionor‘mysticintercourse’.He initiateshisreadersintothe secretof the soul’scommunionwith
Nature.Accordingtohim,humanbeingswhogrow up inthe lapof Nature are perfectineveryrespect.
Wordsworthbelievedthatwe canlearnmore of man and of moral evil andgoodfromNature than from
all the philosophies.Inhiseyes,“Nature isateacherwhose wisdomwe canlearn,andwithoutwhich
any humanlife isvainandincomplete.”He believedinthe educationof manbyNature.Inthishe was
somewhatinfluencedbyRousseau.Thisinter-relationof Nature andmanisveryimportantin
consideringWordsworth’sviewof both.
Cazamiansaysthat “To Wordsworth,Nature appearsasa formative influence superiortoanyother,the
educatorof sensesandmindalike,the sowerinourheartsof the deep-ladenseedsof ourfeelingsand
beliefs.Itspeakstothe childinthe fleetingemotionsof earlyyears,andstirsthe youngpoetto an
ecstasy,the glowof whichilluminatesall hisworkanddiesof hislife.”.
Development of His Love for Nature:

2. Wordsworth’schildhoodhadbeenspentinNature’slap.A nurse bothsternandkindly,she hadplanted
seedsof sympathy andunder-standinginthatgrowingmind.Natural sceneslike the grassyDerwent
riverbankor the monstershape of the night-shroudedmountainplayeda“needful part”inthe
developmentof hismind.In The Prelude, he recordsdozensof these natural scenes,notforthemselves
but forwhat hismindcouldlearnthrough.
Nature was“both lawand impulse”;andinearthand heaven,inglade andbower,Wordsworthwas
consciousof a spiritwhichkindledandrestrained.Inavarietyof excitingways,whichhe didnot
understand,Nature intrudeduponhisescapadesandpastimes,evenwhenhe wasindoors,speaking
“memorable things”.He hadnotsoughther; neitherwashe intellectuallyaware of herpresence.She
rivetedhisattentionbystirringupsensationsof fearorjoywhichwere “organic”,affectinghimbodilyas
well asemotionally.Withtime the sensationswere fixedindeliblyinhismemory.All the instancesin
BookI ofThe Preludeshowa kindof primitive animismatwork”;the emotionsandpsychological
disturbancesaffectexternal scenesinsuchaway that Nature seemstonurture “bybeautyand by fear”.
In Tintern Abbey,Wordsworthtracesthe developmentof hislove forNature.InhisboyhoodNature was
simplyaplaygroundforhim.Atthe secondstage he beganto love andseekNature buthe was attracted
purelybyitssensuousoraestheticappeal.Finallyhislove forNature acquiredaspiritual andintellectual
character, andhe realizedNature’srole asa teacherandeducator.
In the ImmortalityOdehe tellsusthat as a boy hislove forNature wasa thoughtlesspassionbutthat
whenhe grewup,the objectsof Nature tooka sobercolouringfromhiseyesandgave rise to profound
thoughtsinhismindbecause he hadwitnessedthe sufferingsof humanity:
To me the meanestflowerthatblowscangive
Thoughtsthat do oftenlie toodeepfortears.
Spiritual Meaning inNatural Objects:
ComptonRickettrightlyobservesthatWordsworthisfarlessconcernedwiththe sensuous
manifestationsthanwiththe spiritualsignificance thathe findsunderlyingthese manifestations.Tohim
the primrose andthe daffodil are symbolstohimof Nature’smessage toman.A sunrise forhimisnota
pageantof colour; itis a momentof spiritual consecration:
My heartwasfull;I made novows,but vows
Were thenmade for me;boundunknowntome
Was given,thatI shouldbe,else sinninggreatly,
A dedicatedSpirit.
To combine hisspiritual ecstasywithapoeticpresentmentof Nature isthe constantaimof
Wordsworth.Itis the source of some of hisgreatestpieces,grandrhapsodiessuchas Tintern Abbey.
Nature Descriptions:

3. Wordsworthissensitivetoeverysubtle change inthe worldabouthim.He can give delicate andsubtle
expressiontothe sheersensuousdelightof the world of Nature.He can feel the elementaljoyof Spring:
It wasan April morning,fresh and clear
The rivulet, delighting in its strength,
Ran with a young man’sspeed,and yetthevoice
Of waterswhich the river had supplied
Was softened down into a vernaltone.
He can take an equallykeenpleasure inthe tranquil lake:
The calm
And dead still waterlay upon my mind
Even witha weightof pleasure
A brief studyof hispicturesof Nature revealshispeculiarpowerinactualisingsoundanditsconverse,
silence.
Beingthe poetof the earand of the eye,he isexquisitelyfelicitious.Nootherpoetcouldhave written:
A voice so thrilling ne’erwasheard
In springtimefromthecuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of theseas
Among thefarthest Hebrides.
Unlike mostdescriptivepoetswhoare satisfiedif theyachieve astaticpictorial effect,Wordsworthcan
directhiseye andear and touch toconveyingasense of the energyandmovementbehindthe workings
of the natural world.“Goingson”was a favourite wordhe appliedtoNature.Buthe isnot interestedin
mere Nature description.
Conclusion:
Wordsworth’sattitude toNature canbe clearlydifferentiatedfromthatof the othergreat poetsof
Nature.He didnot preferthe wildandstormyaspectsof Nature like Byron,or the shiftingandchangeful
aspectsof Nature and the sceneryof the sea and skylike Shelley,orthe purelysensuousinNature like
Keats.It washisspecial characteristictoconcernhimself,notwiththe strange andremote aspectsof
the earth,and sky,but Nature inherordinary,familiar,everydaymoods.He didnotrecognize the ugly
side of Nature ‘redintooth andclaw’as Tennysondid.Wordsworthstresseduponthe moral influence
of Nature andthe needof man’sspiritual discourse withher.