Boy Of Winander Essay

Boy of Winander: How Nature Is Able to Guide Us

In early American literature, Nature was interpreted in varying ways. Poets such as John Keats, William Wordsworth, John Clare, and Robert Burns were all able to represent Nature differently in their works. These poets all depicted Nature as a strong force in our everyday lives. One of these poets was able to present Nature as a teacher for all humans; a guide for when all is lost. This was accomplished with Boy of Winander by William Wordsworth. In Wordsworth’s beloved poem, he speaks of a narrator who comes across a young boy’s grave and pays his respects. The narrator goes on to tell a story of the boy and how he was able to connect with Nature by allowing it to guide him. In this paper, I will argue

Wordsworth’s poem begins with the speaker telling the story of a boy who would “stand alone beneath the trees or by the glimmering lake” (5-6). The boy would then blow “mimic hootings to the silent owls” so that “they might answer him” (10-11). Consequently, the owls would answer the boy: “And they would shout across the watery vale, and shout again, responsive to his call,” (11-13). At first, this is the boy’s way of connecting with Nature. However, this is not the proper way to bond with Nature. When the owls respond to the boy, Wordsworth uses words such as “shout”, “screams”, “quivering peals”, and “loud” to describe the owl’s response. Words such as these are used to describe sounds that are much more human-like rather than the sounds of Nature. Wordsworth is showing that Nature cannot duplicate the sounds the boy makes. Additionally, by describing the noises of the birds so intently and repetitively, Wordsworth is putting an emphasis on these sounds (12,13,14,15). With this specific diction and repetition, Wordsworth is able to demonstrate that Nature is not actually connecting with the boy, it is attempting to mimic