William Wordsworth: The Green Poet Introduction - Poets of the Romantic Period were widely known for their interests in nature. - Their poems express their discomfort with the Industrial Revolution emphasizing its corruption on society and the immoral environment it prescribes in which Nature and the appreciation of its beauty is ignored. - Wordsworth stresses three main things in his nature poems: man and nature are one and are connected to a higher being, nature can be used as a way to understand one’s own personal identity, and nature can be utilized as an escape from the burdens of modernity. Poem: “Tintern Abbey” - Wordsworth states that nature and man have a familial relationship (mother nature). Nature fertilizes, protects, and provides for man just as a mother and father do for their child. - Nature provides nourishment for man, as well as materials for shelter. Nature gives life to all. - Stresses the necessary cohesive bond between man and nature. - Temperance when utilizing nature (i.e. for homes, buildings, etc.) is very important. He advocates letting nature flourish to its full potential. - Theme of nostalgia emphasizes the need to escape from modernity to the calm “seclusion” of the mind. Preface to Lyrical Ballads - Through the tranquil and uncorrupted aspects that nature provides, man has the tools to understand the truth of human life, as well as understanding God’s closeness to man. - The beauty that nature provides gives man the intensity and feeling he needs to produce great works of art (i.e. poetry, paintings, etc). - He encourages the use of the senses in order to understand the world around him. - He advocates living in the country as opposed to the fast-paced urban areas due to blindness of nature’s aestheticism. - Nature allows us to come closer to God and enlightens us to the sublime beauty of the world. Conclusion - The Romantic Period is one of the most memorable times for nature poetry, and Wordsworth was a leading advocate. - I call him “the green poet” because his passion for nature is infused in every word he writes. - He detested what modernity had done to nature and survived the burden of modernity by his memories and revisiting his childhood experiences with nature (i.e. “Tintern Abbey”). - Wordsworth’s views on nature give a quintessential understanding the Romantic Period, as well as understanding the important influence the environment has on a human being. Poem: “Daffodils” - Similar to “Tintern Abbey,” he strongly emphasizes the internal escape from the struggles of modernity. - He conveys nature’s ability to illuminate the spiritual side of the human intellect amid the corruption of modernity. - Highlights the importance of one’s own individuality via nature. - He utilizes intense imagery to convey the scene and draw the reader into the moment with the speaker. - This proves that he can also find nature within modernity, which can also be seen in “It is a Beauteous Evening,” which eases the fretful mind of anti- modernists.