wordsworth and hardy compare

Hardy’s poem ‘Childhood among ferns’ shows six different sides to nature which are: Beauty (“ferns spread out luxuriantly”), power (“The rain gained strength”); it acts like a: parent (“tall ferns sheltered me”) and friend (“brought forth a sweet breath”), and also he is at one with nature. William and hardy use a wide range of punctuation and description for effect and also for description of their wonderful nature. This is a very strong quote showing the beautiful side of nature “The sun then burst, and brought forth a sweet breath…” this quote is a personification of a human breathing and usually its friends that are sweet to you so it is also showing 2 faces to nature the other side is power “burst” this is a very strong word to use to explain the power of nature which gives a dramatic effect clearly shown to the reader as in Wordsworth poem he also shows the power of nature in his words “with voluntary power instinct” as if using a lot of its own power is sounds like a lot of power is being used by nature on its own.

Childhood is also exposed by both poets but in individual ways such a Hardy wishes to go back to his childhood whereas William just has memories on his childhood “A schoolboy traveller at the holidays” and Hardy’s quote showing the point is “making pretence I was not rained upon”. This is showing Hardy’s childish acts for example when a child is having fun in the rain he does not want to go in the house just the same Thomas is pretending that there is no rain because he is refusing to take cover. In the prelude the childish act that the schoolboy does is he finds a boat on his way and immediately starts to own the boat and call it his possession. “A skiff that to a willow tree was tied within a rocky cave, its usual home…discovered thus by unexpected chance,” and soon after “my little boat mov’d on”.

The personification used in ‘The Prelude’ is the boat which he says “surely I was led by her”, the her is the boat and it also shows the relationship of nature, well usually at one glance her could be a mother which usually would be first thoughts, because a boy is usually only led one women; his mother.

After Thomas Hardy expresses his feelings at the end he also wants to stay in his childhood and live with nature for the rest of his living life “Why should I have to grow to man's estate, And this afar-noises World perambulate?”. This quote shapes the writer telling us that he still hasn’t left his childhood he wants old memories back and he still has as much love for nature as he did as a child. Thomas also ha a view that he is at one with nature, the last side of nature where quoted “I sat on” which also compare William Wordsworth where he is also at one with nature when “went heaving through the water like a swan”. William calls himself a swan, the way he pushed his boat with difficulty through the water on his journey.