What lacks in devious rhyme schemes makes up with William Wordsworth’s zeal for nature. He details entire paragraphs on some examples of imagery, taking in things like trees and water and giving them personification. I admire the way he takes in the environment and makes it more surreal yet beautiful at the same time. It’s the same beautiful to hear a river crashing against the rocks with force and the gleam of sunlight bouncing across the trees. For example, he describes the river “…With a soft land inland murmur (3-4)” and “The sounding cataract / Haunted me like a passion; the tall rock,/ The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood (75-77)”. The first line has the river don a relaxed persona, while the waterfall in the second quote sounds almost intimidating, describing as tall yet dull to contrast. What I like so much about this poem is that unlike most authors, who paint themselves as struggling and emotional in humanity, Wordsworth expresses his love for nature in his poetry. It shows how in the chaos of humanity, we can find inner peace and prosperity resting under the trees. Even numerous studies showcase how nature can benefit mental health through experiencing many of the positive emotions he expresses in the story (relaxation, joy, exhilaration, determination, contemplativeness).
I am a believer the Wordworth’s vivid descriptions has you not just read in his works, but to also live in. It’s not enough to say a river is breathtaking. A breathtaking river comes from its endlessness, the roar of the current, how spread out the rocks are. To me, that’s what makes a nature poem naturally poetic.
