One of the central aspects of Romanticism is the way in
which man seeks out nature and almost looks to return to it as a source of inspiration,
maturity, peace and tranquility. Many of Wordsworth's poems feature an account of him
walking in the countryside, seeking out this untrammelled nature, and the impact that
this nature has on him. This poem is the same, as we see a youthful Wordsworth go out
into the countryside to harvest nuts, and then enraptured by the beauty in nature that
he sees and experiences:
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I heard the murmur and the murmuring
sound,
In that sweet mood when pleasure loves to pay
Tribute to
ease, and, of its joy secure
The heart luxuriates with indifferent
things,
Wasting its kindliness on stocks and stones,
And on the
vacant air.
Even though he
went on to "ravage" the nut tree and feel guilty for having done so, the major lesson of
the poem is expressed in the afterword, addressed to a "maiden," and having a distinctly
Romantic essence to it:
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Then, dearest Maiden! move along these
shades
In gentleness of heart with gentle hand
Touch,--for there is
a Spirit in the woods.
In
spite of the way that we as humans "ravage" nature for our own purposes, there is still
a "Spirit" of nature that is ready to commune with us if we are open to
it.
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