Wordsworth brings nature to life by personifying it as gentle, gracious and kind. Nature is all around him; speaking to him. Giving nature human characteristics, such as a voice, creates the impression that the narrator has an intimate relationship with nature – almost like that of a lover; ‘murmuring’ like lovers whispering sweet nothings to one another. He is ‘fearless of a rival’; no one else could have the special relationship with nature that he feels he has. The repetition of the word ‘flowers’, with which the narrator played, and ‘murmur’, emphasises the sublime feelings he has towards nature. He elevates himself above ordinary man by creating the impression that he can communicate directly with nature. The pureness and tranquillity of the woods being explored is illustrated through the metaphorical ‘virgin scene’, which describes a pure and ‘unvisited’ place. He reaches it ‘o’er the pathless rocks’ where no other man has been, once more showing the intimate encounter the poet has with nature. This is a very Romantic characteristic; exploring an untrodden path through nature in order to find oneself.
The powerful imagery employed by the poet further illustrates the concept of nature’s beauty. Wordsworth’s use of the metaphor ‘fairy water-breaks’, to describe the stream with its ‘sparkling foam’, paints a perfect magical picture; like something out of a fairy story. He also uses the metaphor ‘fleec’d with moss’ as if the fleece is that of a sheep, soft and warm, thus allowing the reader to picture a comforting, cosy scene; a harmonious, perfect, peaceful place, which emphasises Wordsworth’s idealised view of nature. However, in reality, nature is not so idyllic – moss, often feeling damp and cold, would not be soft and warm like a sheep’s wool; water would not sparkle or resemble the perfect images found in fairytales, but in the speaker’s idyllic remembrance any negative thoughts or feelings he may have towards nature are left out.
The use of imagery is heightened by the poet’s use of sounds: the poet, who has used these images to make nature feel kind, gentle and unthreatening, intensifies their effect by deploying longer vowel and soft ‘s’ and ‘f’ sounds, such as those found in, ‘fleec’d with moss, beneath the shady trees Lay around me scattered like a flock of sheep…’ The natural sounds conjure up a tranquil, rural environment where nature is benign, caring and protecting. This is also enhanced by the sibilant sounds in the words ‘sense of pain’, ‘silent trees’ and ‘intruding sky’ near the end of the first stanza. The reader is able to sense the silence and feel the anguish and guilt felt by the narrator for the destruction he has caused to such beauty. Wordsworth’s use of sibilance creates a hushing noise, as if the trees are shushing and calming the narrator down and in some way protecting him; forgiving him, while the personified ‘sky’ looks on, ‘intruding’ into his thoughts.
In contrast, Wordsworth utilises harsh sounds and words to show the destruction caused by the youth to the trees as they are pulled apart in order for him to collect the nuts. The poet’s use of caesura after ‘And on the vacant air.—’, is used to draw attention to the change in tone and deliberately stops the reader by interrupting the flow of the poem. Up until this point in the poem, the mood has been calm, pleasant and joyous with soft sounding words. These are replaced with hard, sharp sounds, such as, ‘dragg’d’, ‘ravage’ and the onomatopoeic verb ‘crash’, which help the reader to picture the scene and imagine the destruction that has been caused; a scene that was previously idyllic and harmonious is now ruined and destroyed. The disturbance of the rhythm and previously harmonious tone is further intensified by poetic inversion: Wordsworth manipulates the word order changing then I rose up, to ‘Then up I rose’, immediately after the caesura in line 41. The effect of this is firstly to break up the previously conversational tone of the poem and secondly to create a feeling of anticipation that the mood is about to change.
The effect of this is heightened by the poet’s use of alliteration. The image of the ‘deform’d’ scene becomes more effective as the speaker recalls how he ‘dragg’d to earth both branch and bough…’ The alliteration deliberately slows down the flow of the poem so that each word is emphasised; almost as if we are seeing the process of destruction and that each word is a blow to the ‘sullied’ tree which ‘patiently gave up’ causing guilt and ‘a sense of pain’ to the speaker.
Compared to the very long first stanza the second and final three line one stands out and immediately draws attention. The significance of this is to show the reader the shift from childhood memories to present day. Wordsworth’s choice of language; ‘In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand Touch,—for there is a Spirit in the woods’, portrays the belief that this is how human kind should treat the beauty of nature. The capital ‘S’ in ‘Spirit’ brings about a pantheistic feeling; the Romantic belief that nature is greater than humanity – we are merely passing through. Nature has a ‘spirit like humans have a soul; God resides in nature.
Wordsworth has linked the poetic techniques in Nutting to create a poem that represents a youth’s awakening in the presence of nature, which is personified as ‘voluptuous’ and virginal. The structure of the poem initially reflects the natural rhythm of nature and is altered to show his destruction. When employed with imagery and other techniques, such as alliteration, tone and the contrasting soft and harsh sounds, the poetic effects and meaning of the poem are further intensified. The reader is drawn into the beauty that surrounds nature; the devastation that mankind can cause to such beauty and the poet’s idealised perception of how precious, pure and perfect it is.
Bibliography
Ashby, S. (2001) Approaching Poetry, Kent: Thanet Press Ltd
Bygrave, S. (1996) Romantic Writings, London: Routledge
Owens, W.R., and Johnson, H. (1998) Romantic Writings: An Anthology, Amersham: Halston & Co. Ltd
