UTTARAKHAND OPEN UNIVERSITY

NAME : ASHUTOSH LOHANI

PROGRAMME CODE : M.A. 17

COURSE TITLE : 19th & 20th Century British Poetry

COURSE CODE : MAEL 201

ENROLLMENT NO : 14056651

ROLL NO : 8504160012

STUDY CENTER CODE : 16042

 SECTION A

Q.1 Write a short note on the use of the Supernatural by Coleridge in

the poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”

Ans: Samuel Taylor Coleridge was born on October 21, 1772, at Ottery St Mary, Devon.
He was the youngest son of some thirteen children of John Coleridge, a minister. Cole-
ridge died on July 23, 1834. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is the longest major poem
by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98 and published in
1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. There are multiple signs giving evidence of
supernatural occurrence throughout the course of the poem. The first being the “Alba-
tross” bringing good omen with it as the ice breaks and the path is cleared for the mari-
ner's ship. After this when the mariner killed the albatross, stopping of the wind and the
unpleasant weather also brings a supernatural flavor to the poem's setting. Later the sight
of the ship with dead soldiers and the dropping dead of the mariner's crew adds to this.
Also, the fact that the mariner was the only one who survived the ship and he was cursed
with a wrathful life is another element which provides ample proof of some sort of super-
naturalism in the poem's theme.

The supernatural elements actually appear with the albatross, which has arrived in order
to help guide the Mariner's ship through a fog bank. When the Ancient Mariner kills the
albatross, he has not only violated concepts of gratitude and hospitality, he has, on a
whim, killed a living being that has come to same him and his ship. I believe we are
meant to see the albatross, in part, in a Christian context--like Christ, who came to earth
to save us, the albatross arrives to save the mariners and their ship, and the reward for this
generosity is his execution.

Nature itself becomes relentlessly supernatural after the killing of the albatross: the wind
stops, temperatures climb, drinking water runs out. These are not merely problems for a
ship at sea; they are all life-threatening. The crew, sensing its own complicity in the Mar-
iner's action, decide to hang the albatross around his neck, an allusion to the concept of
the Judeo-Christian scapegoat, who wears an amulet representing the sins of the people
and is sent into the desert to die for everyone's sins.
As we know, several horrific supernatural elements seal the fate of the ship and crew--
slimy snakes from the bottom of the ocean come to the ship; a ghost-ship, with the fig-
ures of Death and Death-in-Life, arrives and the entire crew dies (Death) but the Mariner
remains alive (Death-in-Life).
The Mariner's salvation comes when he, unconsciously and full of pity, blesses the slimy
sea snakes, and the albatross falls from his neck, an indication that Nature and/or God has
forgiven his original sin of killing the albatross. His penance, however, is not complete,
 for he has to keep telling his story, first to the hermit on the pilot boat and then to the
Wedding Guest. It's only after the repeated telling of this awful tale that the Ancient Mar-
iner achieves some peace. Unfortunately, the Wedding Guest is negatively affected by the
tale, avoids the wedding, and wakes up the next day "a sadder and wiser man."

Q.2 Write a brief note on sensuousness in Keats’ poetry.

Ans: John Keats(31 October 1795-23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He
was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord
Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only
four years before his death at 25 in the year 1821. Although his poem were not generally
well received by critics during his lifetime, his reputation grew after his death, and by the
end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He
had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Bor-
ges stated that his first encounter with Keats’ work was the most significant literary expe-
rience of his life.

The poetry of Keats is characterized by ‘sensuous’ uses of language. The sensuousness of

Keats is a striking characteristic of his entire poetry. All his poems including his great
odes contain rich sensuous appeal. The odes, which represent the highest poetic achieve-
ment of Keats, are replete with sensuous pictures.

“Ode to Nightingale” is one of the most remarkable poems of sensuousness. In the sec-
ond stanza of this ode, there is a description of the gustatory sensation of drinking wine.
There are references to the visual and auditory senses too. The poet also paints the picture
of a drunken whose mouth is purple stained because of the red wine he has drunk :

“ With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

And purple-stained mouth,”

The descriptions of the wine are so sensuous that we see the bubbling wine, we also hear
the dance and sun-burnt mirth; we also get an inkling of the taste of the long cooled wine.
In the 5th stanza the poet gives a highly sensuous description of the Nightingale world.

“ I cannot see what flowers are at my feet;

Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs
The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,
The murmurous haunt of flies onsummereve
 The description of the nature alludes to the sense of sight or its absence(one cannot see);
the sense of touch and of smell(soft incense) and by the end of the verse, with the evoca-
tion of “the coming musk-rose, full of dew wine”, the sense of taste and hearing have also
been incorporated.
 The “Ode on a Grecian Urn” contains a series of sensuous picture-passionate men
and Gods chasing reluctant maidens, the fair youth trying to kiss his beloved, the
happy branches of the tree enjoying an everlasting spring, etc. The ecstasy of the
passion of love and of youth is beautifully depicted in the following lines:
More happy love! More happy happy love!
Fore ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
For ever painting, and for ever young.
 In “The Eve of St. Agnes”, the description of the Gothic window is famous for its
rich sensuous appeal. Keats describes the rich colors of the window-panes of
‘quaint device”, on which were “ stains and splendid dyes as the tiger-mouth’s
deep damask’d wing”. The reference to the music of the instrument in the same
poem appeals to our sense of hearing:

“ The boisterous, mid-night, festive clarion,

The kettle-drum, and far heard clarionet.”

Q.3 Write a short note on Browning’s Optimism.

Ans: Browning was born on 7 May 1812 at Camberwell. His father was a clerk in the
Bank of England and his mother was of mixed German and Scotch descent-a musician
and an artist. Browning inherited his music and artistic tastes from her. He was familiar
with the classics from a very young age and was a sharp and highly imaginative child.
Robert Browning, a cherished poet of the Victorian era, has many of his poems filled
with unbridled optimism. “Browning is emphatically the poet-militant, and the prophet of
struggling manhood.

When Browning started writing, the attitude of the milieu was scientific and materialistic.
And this means, people had lost faith in religion, morality and spirituality. He was opti-
mistic about the existence of God and the notion of a perfect heaven. His poetry is a re-
flection of this, deviating from the scientific temperament typical of his age. Browning is
a very consistent thinker of optimistic philosophy of life. His optimism is based on life's
realities. Life is full of imperfection but in this very imperfection lies hope, according to
 Browning's philosophy. He does not challenge the old dogmas. He accepts the conven-
tional view of God, the immortality of the soul, and the Christian belief in incarnation.

He is hopeful about the struggle of human life. He says persistent struggle gives meaning
to life. The perfection of life resides not in accomplishment, but in the strife to accom-
plish. ‘In Last Ride Together’ Browning counsels to:
"Welcome each rebuff.
That turns earth's smoothness rough,
Each sting that ages not sit nor stand but go"
Browning's optimism is founded on the realities of life. It is not 'blind' as he does not shut
his eyes to the evil prevailing in daily life routine. He knows that human life is a mixture
of good and evil, of love and the ugliness, of despair and hopefulness, but he derives
hope from this very imperfection of life. Browning’s thorough-going optimism naturally
seems to imply a pantheistic view of the world.

Therefore, we can safely conclude that Browning speaks out the strongest words of opti-
mistic faith in his Victorian Age of scepticism and pessimism. As Moody comments:
“Browning's robust optimism in the face of all the unsettling and disturbing forces of the
age is thrown out in sharp relief.”
Of all English poets, no other is so completely, so consciously, so magnificently a teacher
of man as is Browning whose “poetry is intensely charged with moral purpose.

Q.4 Write a short note on the poetic style of Philip Larkin.

Ans: Philip Larkin, an eminent writer in postwar England, was a national favorite poet
who was commonly referred to as "England's other Poet Laureate" until his death in
1985. Indeed, when the position of laureate became vacant in 1984, many poets and crit-
ics favored Larkin's appointment, but the shy, provincial author preferred to avoid the
limelight. His first book of poetry, The North Ship, was published in 1945 and, though
not particularly strong on its own, is notable insofar as certain passages foreshadow the
unique sensibility and maturity that characterizes his later work.

Philip Larkin wanted only to show the stark, crude, blunt realities of life in his poems and
emerged as an extreme kind of all anti-heroes. He mocked at himself and also mocked at
the people as well as the conditions that surrounded him. Wherever he found any chances
of reinventing feature in social, economical and political life of the country he did not
close his eyes to it but he instead was even keener and gloomily much aware of the sor-
didness of the commercialized, commodified and consumerised society. Many of his po-
ems are based on self-awareness and most of them also contain also sharp criticisms on
the society encompassing him. The unwillingness to tell lies, accuracy and fidelity to the
actual state of affairs were the three most governing principles of Philip Larkin’s poetry.
His poetry is truthful, and he does not try to impart any glamour or glitter to life as he
saw it. He does not try to romanticize human relationships, not even the love relationship
between men and women. To conclude, he does not depict himself as main protagonist of
any sort and he does not depict any heroic individuals with codes of honor as seen in
Greek literatures. In his poetry,there are no ‘warriors’ and no knights-at-arms in his poet-
ry. There are also no Romeos and Juliets of Shakespeare in his poetry. There are no war-
like deed in his poetry, and there is no tendency at all forthe glorification of human be-
ings or human relationships. We observe much of stark and naked realities in his poetry.

Larkin achieved acclaim on the strength of an extremely small body of work—just over
one hundred pages of poetry in four slender volumes that appeared at almost decade-long
intervals. These collections, especially The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Wed-
dings (1964), and High Windows (1974), present “a poetry from which even people who
distrust poetry, most people, can take comfort and delight,” according to X.J. Kennedy in
the New Criterion. Larkin employed the traditional tools of poetry—rhyme, stanza, and
meter—to explore the often uncomfortable or terrifying experiences thrust upon common
people in the modern age. As Alan Brownjohn noted in Philip Larkin, the poet produced
without fanfare “the most technically brilliant and resonantly beautiful, profoundly dis-
turbing yet appealing and approachable, body of verse of any English poet in the last
twenty-five years.”
 SECTION B

Q.1 Critically examine the poem “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats.

Ans: John Keats was a Romantic poet. It is worth starting with such an obvious remark
because the word ‘Romantic’ has suffered a good deal of damage since it first appeared,
and we need to go to some lengths in order redefine and understand it. Of all the great
poets of the early nineteenth century, John Keats was the last born and the first to die. He
was the son of Thomas Keats, a West Country head ostler in a livery stable, and was born
prematurely on the 29th or 31th of October, 1795, at Finsbury, London. He was the eldest
of the five children of his father-four boys, one of whom died in infancy and a girl, the
youngest of all. His father, Thomas, was a shrewd, careful man of business, his mother a
lively young woman fond of enjoyment. He was brought up amid surrounding by no
means calculated to awaken poetic genius. Hereditary influences and family environment
seemed unpromising, and it is difficult to explain the birth of a genius in a family of rela-
tives, far or near, none of whom showed any taste for art. Keats must have been a born
genius, otherwise it is not easy to explain the birth of a great poet in the family of an or-
dinary stable-keeper.

“Ode to nightingale” is a very receptive poem, written by John Keats. Name of the poem
suggests that it is addressed to nightingale but it is not true. The poet, in this poem, has
compared a lot of things, which are related to life, art, literature and nature. The poet does
not directly addresses to nightingale nor he praises its beauty but extols its beautiful
voice. The poem is not entirely opposite to the title but it also is not only about nightin-
gale; the poem reveals the experience of poet, his problems, his thinking and his poetic
imagination. Two main issues, discussed in the poem, seek the attention of readers; first
one is the connection and difference between the pleasure and pain; secondly, the connec-
tion between the life and death. Some other things, which can be found in this poem are;
the comparison between mortality and immortality; sufferings and happiness; art and life;
nature and human beings etc. Thinking of the poet changes in every stanza. He moves
from real world to the imaginative world; the world of nightingale. He goes in trees,
where he finds peace and harmony but realizes that he is forlorn there too. After a while,
he returns from his conceptual world and becomes conscious that escape from hard reali-
ties of life is possible only with death.

The poem starts with a sense of dullness; the poet is falling asleep after hearing the song
of nightingale. Sleep has overpowered him and he is going to start his journey in his
dreams. These lines are evident that the romantic poets remain in their own conceptual
world. Their poetry is the poetry of dreams and imagination. Like other poets, John Keats
also talks about dreams and fancy; he creates his own planet, free from pains of life. In
next lines, we find the poet in the world of nightingale; he is hearing its sweet song. In
fact, he is enjoying it. Imagination has been started and the poet is in a dream, in which
he has no limit. The poet does not go beyond the physics like S. T. Coleridge but like a
pure poet, he expresses his desires. John Keats has been very much fascinated by nature
and its related objects. Nightingale, in this poem, has been targeted. Its voice has been
glorified. The poet starts his dream and finds himself among the trees, where nightingale
is present and its song has been heard uninterruptedly. Imagery of the poet is extraordi-
nary. Description of trees, their shadows, sun etc. is also wonderful. Indeed, starting lines
of the poem compels the readers to keep studying the poem.

As mentioned above, the fancy world has been created and the poet is present therein. To
some extent, he has forgotten the worries of life. He expresses his desires one by one.
Firstly, he wants high quality red wine. He wants it in order to forget the worries of life
completely. Keats when remembers his difficulties, he wants to forget them but his sensi-
tiveness creates hurdle in his way. He wants to take help of red wine, which will aid him
to forget his love and remind him of flowers; those flowers, which are source of wine.
Preferably, he wants wine from Provence, which is famous for fun and jollity or the wine,
which directly flows from the mountain of muses. The poet has been fed up from his rou-
tine life. Misfortunes of life have disturbed him. He describes life in a nutshell while indi-
rectly saying that “fever and frets” are synonyms of life; he thinks that life is very pain-
ful. He has chosen a topic, which is common for every poet and writer instead every artist
is interested in this topic. Many artists have tried to explain life but unable to do so. John
Keats, like them, says that the life is full of disasters. It seems that previous stanza is de-
pendent on this one. Here we can understand the reason behind red wine’s requirement.
Actually, the poet does not want the consciousness of mind. He favors unconsciousness
as it soothes him. A conscious mind can be effected by remembering disappointments
and misfortunes of life, therefore, unconsciousness can help the poet to forget these dis-
appointments for the time being. The poet does not talk only about his own anxieties; he
also talks about the people of world and their worries. The poet has spoken the truth. It
cannot be denied that men grows pale and die. Death is certain and everyone has to ac-
cept this fact. Death is a bitter truth. Even the lovers’ passion of love cannot save them
from death. For lovers, life is short and death can end their passion forever. Thought of
death saddens the mind of poet.

The poet changes his mind and the wine is no more required now. He will take help from
his mind in order to forget the worries of life. The “flawless wings of poesy” will help
him to go in the fancy world. Perhaps, he has realized that the wine is a temporary solu-
tion; although imagination is also not an everlasting solution yet it is better than the wine.
Moreover, imagination is a beautiful sentiment. Wine can never surpass the sensation of
utopian world, therefore, the poet seeks help from his poetic imagination instead of wine.
The poet has gone in deepest oblivion. Scenery, described in fourth, fifth and sixth stan-
zas of the poem, reveals the mastery of poet in painting natural images. The flowers,
bushes, moon, rays, trees, nightingale and the flowers have been illustrated minutely by
the poet. If an essay on natural images of John Keats is required, lines from these stanzas
can be referred. No explanation is required as the lines, written by the poet are self-
explanatory. Anyhow, these stanzas are about pictorial imagination of the poet. At the
end, the poet wants to accept death. He wants to die but leaves the idea of death as it will
deprive him from the beautiful voice of nightingale. He knows that after death he will no
more be able to hear the song of nightingale. It can only be enjoyed until he is alive,
therefore, he prefers to live until death captures him.

Seventh stanza is a comparison between mortality and immortality. The poet has put two
things in juxtaposition. First one is life and second one is the beautiful song of nightin-
gale. Life, on one hand, is mortal; escapism from death is not possible. Everything will be
ended one day. For instance, Helen of Troy may have been the most beautiful lady in the
world but she has expired; Shakespeare may have been a great writer but he has also
died; similarly, death has also approached John Keats. If something is alive then it is art.
But song of nightingale, on the other hand, is immortal. The poet says that many persons
have enjoyed it and it will be enjoyed even after his death. While exemplifying his con-
cept, he gives reference of a maiden, who has been captivated by a cruel king yet, he
says, she may have listened the song of nightingale. It has been heard by kings, by
knights, by warriors and by maidens. Thus, the poet proves that song of nightingale is
immortal, whereas life, on the other hand is mortal.

In last stanza of the poet, the poet’s mood is full of sadness. He has uses the word “for-
lorn”. Perhaps, he has returned from his imagination. Song, flowers, trees and his imagi-
nation have inspired him but he has to come back in the real world; he has no other op-
tion as he cannot stay in the imaginative world forever. He gives an example of fairy,
who transforms the real world into a utopian world for a while. The poet knows that the
world of imagination though gives peace yet it is a lie. He calls it a “deceiving elf”. At
the end, the song of nightingale fades and it grows dimmer. “Ode to Nightingale”, in a
nutshell, is the expression of feelings. It is a highly impressive poem of John Keats. The
poem is evident that he is a true romantic and a pure poet. It reveals strong imaginative
power of the poet. The poet has successfully managed to describe nature and its objects.
He has proved that song of nightingale is immortal. It has also been proved that imagina-
tion is pleasurable and the life is painful. After reading this poem, it can be adjudged that
John Keats is the best romantic poet and no one can surpass him.
Q.2 Write an essay on Wordsworth as a Nature poet with special refer-
ence to the poems prescribed for you.

Ans: Wordsworth was born on April 7, 1770 at Cockermouth, Cumberland, England.

His parents, John and Ann, died when Wordsworth was still a child. He lost his mother
when he was eight and father when he was thirteen. But he could continue his studies. In
1787, Wordsworth went to St. John’s College, Cambridge. Here he remained till 1791.
He did not have deep passion for intellectual pursuits. In fact he was attracted by the lazi-
ness and wilderness of student life, but later he was repelled by this too. Soon financial
difficulties also became a problem for him. He showed no liking for any other job except
for wandering and writing poetry. Wordsworth published his early poems in 1793. In
these poems we witness his love for Nature and also his powers of minute observation of
human experiences. He grew up in the company of mountains and rivers, in the company
of rustics and villagers. The mystical healing power of Nature on Man became a convic-
tion for Wordsworth from his childhood onwards, and this conviction remained with him
for the rest of his life. At this time he was also coming under the influence of French
Revolution. In 1790 he made his first visit to France. Again in 1791 he went to France for
the second time, and stayed there for longer time. During these years he developed strong
indignation against social injustices. He spoke against his own country when England de-
clared war against France. He was greatly influenced by the French Revolution, but his
enthusiasm was cooled down when the French Revolution turned violent. But the basic
tenets of French Revolution influenced the life of the poet forever. Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity, the three slogans of the Revolution, guided the thought and imagination of the
poet for the rest of his life.

Wordsworth is one of the leading poets of Romantic age. Romantic age in English Poetry
begins with the publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798), a collection of poems jointly pub-
lished by William Wordsworth and S.T. Coleridge. English poetry before Wordsworth
was the poetry of urban upper middle class people narrating the follies and foibles of city
life. Wordsworth attempted to bring poetry and common man closer by narrating the life
and experiences of rural landscape. In this unit you will read one of the most popular po-
ems of William Wordsworth, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”. This
poem is one of the masterpieces Wordsworth. The poem celebrates the power of human
mind and the magnificence of Nature. With the help of human memory and imagination,
the spiritual powers of the Nature can be invoked in times of crisis, when one becomes
tired of the materialistic life. In such times the mystical healing powers of Nature can
give comfort to human beings suffering from pain and pangs of life. The healing touch of
Nature, the mystical presence of Nature remains present with the lover of Nature even
when he is away from Nature. This theme runs through the entire poem. It celebrates the
relationship between Man and Nature. Before we read the poem it is better if we know
some historical and literary background of the age in which the poem was written.
William Wordsworth is considered as the High Priest of Nature. His works are character-
ized by his credo of reflecting a great admiration and love towards Nature. He launched
his poetic career with the publication of An Evening Walk and Descriptive Sketches. He
is also known for his collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the publication of
Lyrical Ballads which heralded the Dawn of Romanticism in the history of English Liter-
ature. William Wordsworth considers himself as a Poet of Nature or rather a pantheist.
His poem, Tintern Abbey which is an autobiographical work throws light on the poet's
love for Nature. He describes the plain beside the River Wye in Tintern Abbey as well as
his state of mind and perception about Nature. His devotion and love towards Nature is
expressed without any barrier or restraint coming in between.The poet considers himself
as a worshipper of nature in Tintern Abbey. It seems nature brings out the best that's in-
herent in the poet. The sight of the "sportive woods run wild" gives him a sense of free-
dom and sublimity. According to the poet, nature is an all engulfing entity, and he con-
siders himself as a follower of nature. Tintern Abbey gives a vivid sketch of his progress
for the love nature. The description which it gives convinces and impacts one profoundly.

The poet believes in the restorative power of nature and says that, nature can restore and
mend the sick with her 'soothing palm'. Amidst the 'dins' and noise of the 'hectic city' the
poet conjures up the image of the 'serene Wye' which always unfailingly revives his tired
limbs and soul. He feels the healing power of nature in his 'heart' and senses it flowing
through his blood. He is a part of nature and at one with her. Nature has a way of repair-
ing and restoring herself when damaged and bruised, and Wordsworth as a devoted fol-
lower of nature has succeeded in losing himself in perfect harmony with her.

In the poem, Tintern Abbey he also describes his growth and development along with
the forces of nature. Nature had played a dominant role during his growing years. Even
when still a young boy he had discovered the generously given joy and blessings of na-
ture. In the presence of nature, he became an untamed boy, full of energy and lightness.
There had been a time when he had 'like a roe' bounded over the hills and plains follow-
ing the path of nature "more like a man running from something he dreads". These expe-
riences of free-spiritedness and submission to the lure and beckons of nature gave him
immense enlightenment and relieve from the stress and burns of reality. His love for na-
ture during his youth went a notch higher. It was more like a man's love for his sweet-
heart. Nature was like a beautiful maiden and Wordsworth, no doubt, sported a healthy
blush on the cheeks whenever he is in the presence of nature. "The sounding cataract"
and the deep and dark woods haunted him "like a passion". This love for nature still went
another notch higher when he attained manhood. The love and interpretation of nature
grew more profound at this stage. He discovered nature as a living entity 'whose dwelling
is the light of the setting sun, the round ocean, and the living air'. Nature, he realized was
an omnipotent force. What he experienced during his youthful days was replaced by the
'serene mood' and the 'sublime feelings'. He began to see nature as his source for emanci-
pation and deliverance, 'knowing that, nature never did betray the heart that loved her'.
here the word, 'knowing' carries the full force of his conviction regarding the dependabil-
ity of nature. The word is enough to convince one about the nature of his love for nature,
and there is no argument in the authenticity of his views about nature..

Hence, in Tintern Abbey we see that, Wordsworth had the right knowledge about nature
which gave him enough reasons to become a pantheist or a "Worshipper of nature". There
is no doubt that, nature happened to be the force and inspiration in moulding and creation
of a legendary figure in the History of English Literature-William Wordsworth.

Tintern Abbey is a record of the evolution of the poet’s own outlook and attitude to na-
ture since he first visited the bank of the River Wye during a tour. Wordsworth creates
not merely a word- picture of a remembered scene, but a mythic paradise, in the poem.
For Wordsworth, Paradise is the world that can be completely unified and harmonized by
the mind, and harmony on the scene. As he looked again at the ‘steep woods and lofty
cliffs’ of the river, he saw the image of himself as he was in his boyhood. The recount of
the world as experienced by the young poet reveals the acceptance of disorder, violence
and even fear. The cottages orchards etc. are supplanted by the “Sounding contract, the
tall rock, the mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood.” All these suggest the terror of
the world, the awfulness of the unknown and the mysterious. As a boy, his love for nature
was an animalistic, pure, healthy gladness for open spaces. It was simply a healthy boy’s
delight in outdoor life. In his boyhood, he enjoyed nature only through the senses; the
sounding cataract haunted him like a passion, and his hungry soul fed itself on the beauti-
ful colors and lovely forms of the mountains and the woods. All this stage, his love for
nature had no philosophical or intellectual basis.

However, when he became more mature, his attitude to nature started undergoing a great
change. In his youth, his love for nature was characterized by, “dizzy raptures” and ach-
ing joys replacing the earlier, “coarser pleasures”, the love of nature at this stage is purely
sensuous, though deep and absorbing. The colors and shapes of mountains and woods
were an appetite for him. In youth, he was fascinated by the physical beauty of nature, the
sensuous charm of nature, but as he was growing more and more into maturity, nature in-
voked in him the consciousness of “. . . still sad music of humanity” which he developed
with a philosophical mind, looking at nature not with the painter’s eyes, but as an inter-
preter, trying to get the hidden meaning of nature. The sunset clouds no longer appeal to
him as a phenomenon of changing colors, but as a symbol of the rise and fall of the na-
tions and empires. At this stage, Wordsworth’s love for nature becomes spiritual as well
as intellectual.

At this stage, Wordsworth’s love for nature becomes spiritual as well as intellectual. To
him, the water of the brook, as well as the murmur of the water, suggests agonized cry of
the suffering human. The experience of the misery of the world makes him noble, more
gentle and serious. His love of nature kills his heart with love of humanity. He still appre-
ciates the external beauty of nature but the inner beauty appeals to him more. He discov-
ers in nature the existence of a living, all-embracing spirit that exists in the objects of na-
ture, including the mind of men. This concept of divine spirit existing in nature is called
pantheism. However, he still loves the objects of nature that appeal to his senses. He
firmly believes that his purest thoughts are stimulated by nature, acting as the nurse, the
guide, the guardian of his heart and the soul of all his moral being. Wordsworth maintains
that nature never betrays the heart that loves her; nature leads as from joy to joy, feeling
our mind’s wild greatness and beauty.

In Tintern Abbey, he recalls his feelings of joys on re-visiting a scene of nature. He has
gained “sweet sensations” from these objects of nature during the hour of wariness and
frustrations. He considers nature as healing influence on trouble minds, emphasizing the
moral function of nature. Regarding nature as a great moral teacher, he advocates that
there is a spiritual intercourse between men and Nature.