Wordsworth essay
William Wordsworth is a Romantic poet. His poetry responds to a time when other poets used metaphysical images to convey their ideas as part of the Enlightenment era. Being a Romantic, Wordsworth believed that “poetry is the spontaneous over-flow of powerful feelings”. This means that the feelings inspired by certain things, shown in his poetry, can be experienced not only in its first heat, but also later in its refinement. He also believed that “it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity”, this means that Wordsworth is able to write his poetry based on these “powerful feelings” which he recalls at a later, more peaceful time. Wordsworth is describing his irresistible urge to write poetry whilst recollecting emotions experienced earlier. In his poetry Wordsworth wished to draw upon his memories of Nature and write in the vernacular of rural people in order to allow his “powerful feelings” to “over-flow” onto the page in verse.
Poetry and Nature are undoubtedly bonded strongly together in the eyes of Wordsworth. Throughout the poem “Tintern Abbey” there is a sense of there being a symbiosis between poetry and Nature. Nature inspired Wordsworth to write poetry which expressed his love for Nature as well as at the same time, writing this poetry enabled him to reflect deeply and meaningfully upon Nature; something which he loves dearly. Wordsworth had a somewhat idyllic view of the countryside, this is demonstrated in the line “These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines/Of sportive wood run wild”. Wordsworth does not just see the hedge-row, his love for Nature is such that he sees it as something greater, and this is shown in his poetry. When the poem reads, “Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods”, one observes the affect that Nature has on Wordsworth’s imagination, Nature inspires his imagination and therefore inspires him towards great poetry. Wordsworth uses Nature to convey potent images to the reader, in this poem he uses the image of the River Wye because it is the same yet constantly changing. Wordsworth believes Nature makes one feel in harmony with oneself and makes one a better person; this is exemplified in the line, “His little, nameless, unremembered, acts/Of kindness and of love”. Wordsworth perceives Nature as his “God”, as shown when he writes “and this prayer I make, /Knowing that Nature never did betray/The heart that loved her. Here Nature is personified, emphasising the fact that Wordsworth envisages Nature as the essence of all life. Wordsworth is a “worshipper of Nature”; Nature is like a religion to him. Wordsworth values the soul and the impact that Nature has upon it and since the soul can be considered as being the essence of one’s being this has a profound effect upon his poetry. “That in this moment there is life and food/for future years”, we see here that Wordsworth views his memories of Nature as essential to him as “food” as they provide his poetry with sustenance. Wordsworth claims that Nature is “An appetite: a feeling and a love,” which shows that he has hunger for the powerful feelings induced by Nature. Wordsworth believes that Nature is the driving force behind everything, this is illustrated when Wordsworth describes that Nature “impels/All thinking things”. Nature pushes everything onwards and to Wordsworth Nature is the driving force behind his poetry. The idea of Nature evoking poetry inspiring thoughts is again exemplified in the phrase, “for she can so inform/The mind”, here we see how Nature evokes Wordsworth’s greatest thoughts, which enables him to write such fine poetry.
