Wordsworth's Return to Nature in "Nutting" and Sonnet
This essay examines William Wordsworth's deep reverence for nature as expressed in two of his poems: the conversation poem "Nutting" and the Petrarchan sonnet "The World Is Too Much With Us." Through close reading of Wordsworth's language — including personification, hyperbolic imagery, and direct address — the essay argues that Wordsworth uses his poetry both to celebrate nature's transcendent beauty and to instruct readers on how to reconnect with it. Together, the two poems reveal a consistent spiritual bond between the poet and the natural world, one that he invites all readers to share.
- Introduction: Wordsworth and the Return to Nature: Wordsworth's spiritual and emotional bond with nature
- Overview of the Two Poems: Plot summaries of 'Nutting' and the sonnet
- Language and Spiritual Reverence in 'Nutting': Heavenly imagery and nature's eternal quality
- Guilt, Loss, and Sacred Bond in 'Nutting': Speaker's guilt after harvesting reveals sacred bond
- Lament and Frustration in 'The World Is Too Much With Us': Speaker mourns materialism's displacement of nature
- Poetry as Instruction and Invitation: Wordsworth teaches readers how to commune with nature
- Conclusion: Reading Wordsworth as Returning to Nature: Reading Wordsworth is itself a return to nature
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What makes this paper effective
- The essay grounds its central argument — that Wordsworth invites readers to "return to nature" — in close textual evidence, quoting specific lines and explaining their rhetorical effect rather than merely summarizing plot.
- The comparative structure, treating two poems in sequence and then drawing them together, allows the writer to build a cumulative case for Wordsworth's consistent poetic philosophy.
- Vivid analogies (the speaker's guilt compared to Poe's tell-tale heart; Wordsworth cast as a preacher proselytizing his faith) make abstract points about tone and intention accessible and memorable.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates close reading: selecting specific words (e.g., "heavenly," "which cannot die," "Great God!") and unpacking how those word choices convey the speaker's attitude. This sentence-level analysis is then connected to the poem's broader thematic argument, modeling how micro-level language choices serve macro-level meaning.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a biblical epigraph and a thesis establishing the spiritual dimension of Wordsworth's return to nature. It then moves through brief plot summaries of both poems before pivoting to language analysis — first in "Nutting" (reverence, then guilt), then in the sonnet (lament, then outburst). The final section synthesizes both poems, identifying two mechanisms Wordsworth uses to draw readers into his vision: beautiful language and direct instruction. The conclusion frames the act of reading Wordsworth as itself a return to nature.
Introduction: Wordsworth and the Return to Nature
They looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.
— Exodus 16:10
The great Romantic bard William Wordsworth loved nature. To him, nature was a place to return to — not just in a physical sense, as in a sojourn or expedition, but in an emotional and spiritual sense. Returning to nature meant revitalizing an essential part of one's humanity through the cathartic and transformative powers of the natural world. To help unpack this concept, this essay analyzes two of Wordsworth's poems: "Nutting" and "The World Is Too Much With Us."
Overview of the Two Poems
"Nutting" is a conversation poem, in the Coleridge tradition, between the Narrator and his Maiden (Rumens). Over the course of the poem, the speaker tells his Maiden about a day he spent gathering nuts in the forest and how, after gathering them, he felt a sense of guilt for needlessly taking from nature's bounty. He ends the poem with a warning, telling his Maiden — and, by extension, the reader — to be careful in how she treats nature, because there is a "spirit in the woods," meaning that something sacred and special inhabits it.
If "Nutting" is a warning to treat nature with respect, then Wordsworth's Petrarchan sonnet "The World Is Too Much With Us" is a complaint about the lack of appreciation for nature's beauty and vitality. The speaker laments industrial progress and wishes that people would reconnect with the natural world.
Works Cited
Cronon, William. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. Print.
Rumens, Carol. "The Romantic Poets: Nutting by William Wordsworth." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 June 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.
The New American Bible. New York: P.J. Kenedy, 1970. Print.
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