Sem-1, BA-English, English Literature, Unit-3, The Education of Nature- William Wordsworth, 14.06.2021

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2 Education of Nature Dr. Mosam Sinha www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

3 William Wordsworth’s poems have long comforted the sorrowful soul. His tone is not that of the typical tortured soul poet, yet he was not without immense suffering. His ability to infuse comfort into his pain through his poetry has offered peace and understanding to people for generations. Wordsworth experienced some of the deepest pain any human being has ever known- the loss of a child. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Wordsworth’s Philosophy of Nature 4 •Wordsworth was a lover of nature. He worshipped Nature in all its moods. •He believed that Nature has a great influence on man’s life. • It can make a person’s life perfect. •Those who grow up in the lap of nature are the best persons. •The poet says that Nature is the best teacher. •Nature promises to act both as ‘impulse’ and as ‘law’ to the rustic child and, thus, educate her in her righteous ways and noble desires. •Thus, educated by nature she would naturally learn to restrain herself from excesses of thought and conduct. •All-natural objects such as rock, plains, earth, heaven, glades and bowers would exercise a very healthy influence on Lucy’s physical and moral growth. •She would learn the happiness of a sportive fawn, the stateliness of the floating clouds, humility of the bending willow, grace of motions of the storm, the beauty of the stars of midnight, and the sweetness of the murmuring sound of flowing rivulets. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Wordsworth’s Philosophy of Nature 5 •This is how all the objects and forces of nature would contribute to the physical and moral development of Lucy. •Lucy will in this way, grow into a beautiful woman. Nature thus accomplished her self-appointed task; but unfortunately, the girl suddenly died, leaving the poet in utter desolation. •Thus nature imparts education to Lucy and moulds her mind as well as her body. •This poem is a fine example of Wordsworth’s cardinal belief in the moral value of a life of simplicity and the shaping power of nature. •Written in stanzas of six lines each, with rhyme scheme aab ccb, the poem belongs to the category of a lyrical ballad. •The loftiness of the theme, the simplicity of poetic diction, a pathetic touch at the end, a colouring of imagination are the main strengths of the poem. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-1 6 Three years she grew in sun and shower, Then nature said, “a lovelier flower on earth was never sown; This Child I to myself will take; she shall be mine, and I will make A Lady of my own In the first stanza, the speaker let’s the reader identify with Lucy. It is not hard to imagine a lively young three year old, playing in the sun or in the rain. But she was too lovely for earth, or so Nature decided. The speaker suggests that Nature has taken the child for herself because she was too beautiful for the earth. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-2 7 Myself will to my darling be both law and impulse: and with me The girl, in rock and plain, In earth and heaven, in glade and bower Shall feel an overseeing power To kindle or restrain. The speaker shifts to thoughts of himself. He can easily see how Nature wanted this little girl for herself, lovely as she was, but he himself would need to respond to this loss. When he says that he will be “both law and impulse”, he implies that he will react in the way he is expected to react, and do the things he is expected to do, but he would not react without impulse. He would give way to his feelings and allow grief to have its way in his heart. He implies that as he walks the earth, and as he looks into the heavens, he will feel her presence as “an overseeing power” and he reveals that he will either kindle that feeling or restrain it, probably depending upon the time and circumstances in which this feeling arises. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-3 8 She shall be sportive as the fawn That wild with glee across the lawn Or up the mountain springs; And hers shall be the breathing balm, And hers the silence and the calm Of mute insensate things. The speaker shifts tones once again in order to focus on her- Lucy. He has explained what this loss means to Nature, and to himself, but what does it mean for Lucy? He finds his comfort in this. Lucy is symbolic of Wordsworth’s daughter, Catherine, who died of Polio. The speaker believes that Lucy will be “sportive as the fawn” and able to run “across the lawn” as she was “wild with glee”. He believes that contrary to her limited physical ability on earth, in her new place, she would be able to enjoy running wild as a fawn. She would also enjoy “the silence and the calm”. The speaker finds comfort in this idea. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-4 9 The floating clouds their state shall lend To her;for her the willow bend Nor shall she fail to see Even in the motions of the storm Grace that shall mould the Maiden’s form By silent sympathy. In this stanza of Education of Nature, the speaker continues to imagine what Lucy is now doing. He imagines her floating on clouds, and watching those on earth. He imagines that she should never “fail to see” the “silent sympathy” he feels for her. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-5 10 To stars of midnight shall be dear To her; and she shall lean her ear In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round And beauty born of murmuring sound shall pass into her face. The speaker imagines that Lucy “shall be dear” even “to stars”. He imagines that she is enjoying her existence as she moves about in the night, being loved by the stars and all the heavenly beings. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-6 11 And vital feelings of delight shall rear her form to stately height her virgin bosom swell; such thoughts to Lucy I will give While she and I together live Here in this happy dell. In this stanza, the speaker reveals his belief that although Lucy is no longer alive in earthly terms, she will still experience “vital feelings of delight” as she grows up into her “stately height” and into maturity. The imagery of her rearing her form “to stately height” and of “her virgin bosom swell[ing]” reveal his belief that wherever she is, wherever Nature has taken her, she will continue to grow up there, with all feelings of life and vitality. He vows to give these thoughts to Lucy daily, so that even though she exists in a different realm than he, they would still “together live here in this happy dell”. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Stanza-7 Thus Nature spake- the work was done 12 How soon my Lucy’s race was run! She died, and left to me This heath, this calm, and quiet scene; The memory of what has been, And never more will be. In this final stanza of Education of Nature, the speaker refers back to Nature. Nature is the authority in this situation, and she has said that “the work was done” and Lucy was no longer needed on earth. The speaker mourns over this, but he doesn’t resent it. He exclaims, “How soon my Lucy’s race was run!” and he is clearly grieving when he said, “she died and left to me this heath, this calm, and quiet scene”. This reveals that Lucy’s absence in his life is felt deeply. The absence of her laugh is painfully noticeable, and he is left only with memories of the past. Although the stanzas leading up to this final one speak of Lucy living a vital and fulfilling eternity, the speaker chooses to end Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower with the grief that he feels in knowing that “what has been…never more will be”. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

Role of Nature in the Poem 13 This is one of ‘Lucy Poems’, where the nurturing spirit of nature is highlighted. The poem is the delineation of Wordsworth’s belief that Nature is ‘the nurse’, ‘the guide’, and ‘the guardian’ of man. Here in this poem nature is personified as mother who resolves to adopt, rear, and educate her child, Lucy, in her ‘own’ natural way as opposed to the artificial life of society. Nature both impels man to do good deeds and restrains him from evil. She would inspire noble thoughts in Lucy. At the same time, she would keep her away from evil thoughts and actions. Nature promises to supervise and guide Lucy’s education. Nature acts as the sources of both encouragement and discipline to Lucy. Nature felt that Lucy would get a soothing effect from the silent objects of nature. She would learn playfulness form the deer. The floating clouds, the willow tree and the motions of the storm will add to her beauty. She would love the stars and would listen to the music of the streams. In this way, the poet is referring to Lucy’s complete development, i.e. physical as well as spiritual development, and emphasizes the role of nature in the growth of human beings. It is significant to note the Wordsworth is not content with only the physical delight at the sight of natural objects like Cowper and Burns but from this physical delight, he delves deep into the spirituality of nature. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

. 14 Imagery in the Poem The poet uses several images in this poem. Lucy is called the loveliest flower. Here the comparison is made between Lucy and the most beautiful flower. She evokes in mind an image of beauty and freshness. In other words, the stress is on the purity and innocence of Lucy which shows her affinity and oneness with nature. Then she has been compared to the wild deer. She creates an image of wild deer jumping sportingly across the lawn or on the mountains. Wordsworth, through the romantic imagery of ‘a sportive fawn’, presents Lucy as an unusual phenomenon of extreme happiness that frolics gleefully in valleys and mountains. The kindling power makes Lucy glad and joyous as a playful fawn; the restraining power gives her the calmness and serenity of the mountains among which she lives. The images of the floating clouds and the running stream convey the openness of nature. There is an image of the secret places of nature where small streams flow and create a murmuring sound. Here the pictorial beauty of the expression is beautifully portrayed. Since it is a gentle murmuring sound, she must lean towards it to catch the sound. It is the beauty of Nature’s act of purifying the emotions of man through melodious music. There is also the image of beautiful stars at midnight. Thus the poet uses several beautiful images in this poem. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

. 15 Features of Romantic Poetry in the Poem Wordsworth was the best and the greatest romantic poet of this age. It was his famous work ‘Lyrical Ballads’ which he published in collaboration with S.T. Coleridge in 1798 and marked the beginning of the Romantic Movement in England, ushering in a new age of poetry of feeling and imagination. The chief characteristic of Wordsworth’s poetry is its sharp departure from both conventional themes and forms of the neoclassical poetry of the eighteenth century. His objections to an over stylised poetic diction, his attitude to Nature, his choice of simple incidents and humble people as subjects for his poetry characterise his unique achievement. He brought a completely new approach to the writing of poetry, which for Wordsworth is ‘the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings’ taking its origin form ’emotion recollected its tranquillity.’ With this view of poetry, he made ‘the incidents of common life interesting’ his theory of poetic diction draws on ‘a selection from the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation’. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

. 16 Features of Romantic Poetry in the Poem But is not just physical pleasure that Wordsworth finds in Nature; he believes that Nature nourishes the emotional and spiritual life of man also. The call of high mountains, the sudden sight of daffodils by the dale, the sloping pastures, the deep and gloomy wood, all these uplift him from the mere plane of an ordinary, world of physical delight to a higher plane where he receives Nature’s moral and mystical messages. All these features of Romantic poetry are found in this poem. In this poem, nature itself is the narrator. Nature adopts Lucy and teaches her to take interest in her. This poem delineates his faith that man in constant and close communion with nature can lead a happy and peaceful life. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

. Features of Romantic Poetry in the Poem 17 This poem dramatically tells a verse story about an imaginary or unidentified girl. There is nothing to suggest that a girl named Lucy, who is the subject of the poem, ever existed, although she has been taken to be a real person. She lives in nature. She is wild like a deer. She roams about in the wild and silent spaces of nature. There are softly running streams, storms, night skies full of stars and other wild aspects of nature. There is a great bond between human beings and nature. In this poem, Lucy has a perfect bond with nature. She is a child adopted by Nature for moulding her into a perfect human being. Along with all these qualities, the language of the poem is simple which can easily be understood by a common reader. In this way, we can see all the characteristic features of Romantic poetry are there in this poem. www.cuidol.in Unit-1(MAP-607) All right are reserved with CU-IDOL

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