Wordsworth poetry derives its strength
from the passion with which he views nature. Wordsworth has grown tired of the
world mankind has created, and turns to nature for contentment. In his poems,
Wordsworth associates freedom of emotions with natural things. Each aspect of
nature holds a different meaning for Wordsworth. 'The beauty of morning;
silent, bare' (5:WB*)
A main source of interest for Wordsworth
is the absence of an unnatural presence, such as a city. In his sonnet,
'Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802', Wordsworth views London
at the break of dawn, admiring the serenity and artistic impact of the scenery.
'A sight so touching in its majesty;' (4:WB) He finds it an almost spiritual
experience by simply observing the stillness of morning. 'Dear God! the very
houses seem asleep;' (13:WB)
Just as Wordsworth finds fulfillment in
nature, he also finds disgust in the world's neglect of nature. His sonnet,
'The World Is Too Much with Us' deals primarily with his dissatisfaction with
the world.Wordsworth criticizes mankind for misdirecting its abilities.
'Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers' (2:TW) Wordsworth also hopes
that the world would find more of itself in nature, similar to his desire for
his sister in his poem, 'Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey', to
gain an interest in nature. 'For this, for everything, we are out of tune;'
(8:TW) Wordsworth also makes reference to the Greek gods of the sea in this
sonnet, who are associated with the pristine nature of the world. The gods
represent a time when people were more vulnerable and exposed to nature, and
through adversity have learned to respect nature. 'I'd rather be / A Pagan
suckled in a creed outworn;' (10:TW) In the sonnet, he contrasts nature with
the world of materialism. He implies that we are insensitive to the richness of
nature, and that we may be forfeiting our souls. 'We have given our hearts
away, a sordid boon!' (4:TW)
Like many other Romantic writers,
Wordsworth sees in nature an emblem of God or the divine and his poetry often
celebrates the beauty and spiritual values of the natural world. He seeks to
break the pattern of artificial situations of eighteenth-century poetry, which
had been written for the upper classes, and to write in simple, straightforward
language for the comman man. Wordsworth takes apparently insignificant moments
and, by observation and contemplation, raises them to illumanations of
experience. Wordsworth once defined poetry as the 'spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings,' and intense 'emotion recollected in tranquillity.'
* Abbreviations: WB - Composed upon Westminster Bridge,
September 3, 1802
TW - The World is Too Much with Us
TA - Lines Composed a Few Miles
Above Tintern Abbey
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