Nature Explored in the Poems of William Wordsworth

As time passes it is said that the human race becomes less aware of nature around them and more consumed with the things produced by man. The romantic poet William Wordsworth saw the cultural decline and as the literary critic Harold Bloom stated, “The fear of mortality haunts much of Wordsworth’s best poetry, especially in regard to the premature mortality of the imagination and the loss of creative joy.” This statement greatly reflects the views of Wordsworth, whose poetry conveys the warning of a man asking those enveloped in the world to step back and recognize the beauty and miracles of nature. A few of the texts in which this warning of Wordsworth’s is very potent include Tinturn Abbey, The Prelude, The World Is Too Much With Us, and London, 1802. These works all include a reference to the fall or the cultural decline of the people in the world, especially those he sees around himself. The amazing gift of nature is the blessing Wordsworth sees and wishes for those around him to recognize the issue is often the plain, everyday miracles of the world are overlooked because of the material things human possess more and more of each day. The statement made by Bloom is a very accurate one as Wordsworth does wish to push the world back into a respect for the beauty and blessing of nature.

The application of Wordsworth’s call back to nature is seen in his poem Tinturn Abbey, as he recalls the happiness brought to him in his youth by the peace and beauty of the area. Throughout the entire poem Wordsworth never once mentions the actual Abbey or the architecture of the building, instead he speaks of the loveliness of the scenery surrounding the place in which he was sitting and the peaceful feeling being separate from the world. Words...

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...tion of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep.”(Thoreau) The wisdom of Thoreau can cause each to think of the life they lead and how often technology is involved in the different aspects of their day to day routine and make people wonder what life would be like should they find a way to return to the simplicity and peacefulness of a world where nature is seen, admired, praised, and no longer ignored.

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