Nature as God

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Nature as God

God is considered a friend, parent, protector and guide. Book 1 of The Prelude, by William Wordsworth, doesn't directly mention God but Wordsworth does talk about Nature. Nature is all around him and becomes very significant in his past and present. Wordsworth is so enamored with nature it's obvious that Nature is a religion to him.

Parents often make others feel safe and protected and God often plays the role of a parent figure. Wordsworth shows that he feels at ``home'' with Nature, regardless of where he is. He questions, "In what Vale/ Shall be my harbour? Underneath what grove/ shall I take up my home, and what sweet stream/ shall with its murmurs lull me to rest? (Lines 11-14)." He considers all of Nature a home and looks forward to finding out what will sing him to sleep. Nature gives Wordsworth a great feeling of safety, just as God often does for others.

While he allows it be a safety net to fall back on, he also lets the same Nature be a path to the future. Most would think God guides the path but Wordsworth believes that Nature guides his path. Wordsworth says, "The earth is all before me: with a heart/ Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty,/ I look about, and should the guide I chuse/ be nothing better than a wandering cloud,/ I cannot miss my way (lines15-19)." He

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puts his trust and faith into Nature. This is how Wordsworth comes to know that whatever road he is led to he can't be wrong because all roads in Nature are divine. He has blind faith because whatever path nature makes he will follow. Wordsworth takes on a very pantheistic view and sees the universe and nature as divine.

To describe this divinity of nature Wordsworth uses vocabulary...

... middle of paper ...

...ar to religious praise songs meant for God. Again Wordsworth sounds grateful for the fact that nature is

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everywhere. This is another characteristic of nature that sounds similar to how many would characterize God, omnipotent.

Throughout this poem, we see Nature portraying many different roles. We see Nature as a guide, a parent, a friend and a protector. These are the same characteristics that are attributed to God. No, Wordsworth never mentions God. Nature is in fact his god as it contains all the qualities necessary to play the role of a god. The passages from Book 1 of The Prelude show that this theme of Nature as Wordsworth's god pops up time and time again.

Works Cited

Wordsworth, William. William Wordsworth The Major Works. Ed. Stephen Gill. New

York: Oxford University Press, 1984.

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