William Wordsworth was a trailblazer of the Romantic movement in English poetry. He wrote about nature, mysticism, and rustic life in his poems. Nature served as a teacher for Wordsworth, and he believed people living close to nature were better suited for his poetry. His poems explored mystical revelations and pantheism, the idea that God is present in all things in the universe. Wordsworth received both praise and criticism from other poets and critics for his focus on simple, rustic themes and subjects found in nature.

1. ~: Treatment of Nature, Mysticism, and Rustic Life in Wordsworth’s Poems :~
 Paper N/o., Subject Code, Name : 103 :
22394 : Literature of the Romantics
Prepared By : Nirav Amreliya
Batch : 2021-2023 (M.A. Sem. 1)
Enrollment Number : 4069206420210002
Ro. N/o. : 30
Submitted To : Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English,
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University,
Vidhyanagar, Bhavnagar – 364001
(Dated On : 8th Dec., 2021)

2. o Index :
 William Wordsworth : A Trailblazer of Romantic Movement
 Nature as a Teacher :
 Mystical Revelation & Pantheism :
 Critical Appreciation :
 Conclusion :
 References :

3. William Wordsworth : A
Trailblazer of Romantic
Movement
 William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
 Co-author of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ (1798)
along with Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
 Poet Laureate of England from 1843
to his death in 1850.
 Subjects of his poems were Nature,
Love, Mysticism, Events of
Human Life.
 “The sage of Rydal Mount” (Stephen
Gill, A Recent Victorian Critic)

4. o Nature as a Teacher :
“Andhark!How blithethethrostle sings!
He,too,isnomeanpreacher:
Come forth intothelightof things,
Letnaturebeyour teacher.”
(TheTablesTurned)
“NorlessIdeemthattherearePowers
Which of themselvesour mindsimpress;
Thatwecan feedthismindofours
Inawisepassiveness.”
(ExpostulationAndReply)
“…the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of
nature…characters of which the elements are simple, belonging rather to nature than to manners,
such as exist now, and will probably will always exist…”
(From ‘Preface to Lyrical Ballads’ – Second Edition in 1802)

5. o Mystical Revelation & Pantheism :
 Oxford Dictionary defines the term ‘Pantheism’ as : ‘A doctrine which identifies God with the universe,
or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.’
“And I have felt
Apresencethat disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thought; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused
Whosedwellingisthelightof settingsuns
Andtheroundoceanandlivingair
Andthebluesky,andin themidofman.”
From ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey’
~ Dhruv Bhatt
(A Renowned Gujarati Novelist
& Poet)
“My treasure is secured in a chest, so vast to be locked up;
I would joyfully say that I am in the sea-like raptures,
And Nature is gracious on me.”

6. o Critical Appreciation To Wordsworth :
1) Matthew Arnold : “He is not fully recognized at home: he is not recognized at all abroad. Yet I firmly believe that, the poetical
poem of Wordsworth is, after that of Shakespeare and Milton, undoubtedly most considerable in our language.” (The Study of
Poetry – 1888)
2) John Keats : “Egoistical Sublime.” (A Letter Addressed to His Brothers George and Tom Keats in 1817)
3) Lord Alfred Tennyson : “He has uttered nothing base.”
4) Robert Browning : “Moral Eunuch.”
5) Percy Bysshe Shelley : “Simple and Dull.”
6) Thomas Hardy : “The Leech-gatherer” and was his “best cure for despair.”
7) William Hazlitt : “Wordsworth was not a truly great poet and the spoilt child of disappointment.”

7. o Conclusion :
 Thus, in Wordsworth’s eye of opinion, a person living in company of natural forces from dawn to
eve and thus from eve to dawn, is best fitted for his poetry. These people lead simple life and thus
they are less prone to fall ill as compared to those who lead an urban life which is stressful and
monotonous. He goes on believing that they do not posses the vanity that people in the cities have.
This shows his devoutness towards bucolic lifestyle. He seems to be averse to the machine and
industries, for he was ‘a recluse’ who cherished life in a natural way than to meddle himself with the
moving gears of machines sans sentiments and life’s vigor and enthusiasm. Thus he followed a life
of intimate emotional bondage with nature and hearts, well-cherished and moulded under the care
of trees, brooks, and the “clear blue sky.”
 A Native American civil right leader Luther Standing Bear echoes same :
“Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard. …the lack of respect for all living things soon led to lack of respect for
humans too.”

8. o References :
 https://www.loserark.com/2020/08/william-wordsworth-and-rustic-life.html
 https://englishliterature.net/notes/how-does-wordsworth-justify-his-low-and-rustic-life-in-poetry
 https://englishliterature.net/notes/how-does-wordsworth-justify-his-low-and-rustic-life-in-poetry
 https://e-gyan-vigyan.com/criticism-on-wordsworth/
 https://web.english.upenn.edu/~jenglish/Courses/Spring2001/040/preface1802.html