The Poem 'Nutting' by William Wordsworth - Essay Example

Carefully read the poem Nutting by William Wordsworth William Wordsworth is the most celebrated Romantic poet and a careful analysis of his poem ‘Nutting’ has central significance in an understanding of the novelty of Romantic writing. In other words, Wordsworth’s ‘Nutting’ provides one of the best illustrations of the originality of romantic language and poetic form of the Romantic poets. Thus, a reflective analysis of the language and the form of the poem, including rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, imagery, tone, word order, alliteration, and point of view etc, illustrates the characteristic features of romantic poetry and introduces the readers to the spirit of the period. The entire poem, especially the illustration of the child and its experiences, help the poet introduce the readers to the specific characteristics of Romantic language and style. A careful reading of the poem is necessary to find the Romantic elements in it and to relate the poem to the historical facts of the period. Such a reflective reading of the romantic texts in general, and ‘Nutting’ in particular, requires careful analysis of every word and phrase in the poem. According to Stephen Bygrave “it goes right down to the level of the single word. Even single words in Romantic texts can be charged in a way we may not notice.” (Bygrave, 13) Therefore, this paper undertakes a careful reading or analysis of the poem ‘Nutting’ by Wordsworth in order to identify the various elements of Romantic originality in the language and the form of the Romantic poetry, including rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, imagery, tone, word order, alliteration, and point of view etc. A profound understanding of the language used by Wordsworth in the poem ‘Nutting’ is essential in order to comprehend the novelty and nature of Romantic writing and simplicity is the essence of his language which uses the language of the common man. “One of the most famous claims for the novelty of Romantic writing comes in a document...Wordsworth’s ‘Preface’ to the Lyrical ballads of 1802… Wordsworth challenges the reliance on…[earlier conventions and specialized language], arguing in the Preface that the language of poetry ought to be the ‘language of men’. The Preface defends his choice of language and subject matter for the poems in the Volume.” (Bygrave, 23) Therefore, the poet is greatly careful about the choice of the language and words in the poem ‘Nutting’ and he turns the common man’s language into extra ordinary language which lures the reader in the Romantic ecstasy. In other words, Wordsworth has been able to manipulate the natural language in a meaningful way to stir up the images which illustrate the poet’s memories and the conventional devices of figurative language are given little attention. Wordsworth’s skill in turning common language into poetic genius is evident all through the poem and a prosaic analysis of the lines, “Perhaps it was a bower beneath whose leaves / The violets of five seasons re-appear / And fade, unseen by any human eye; / Where fairy water-breaks do murmur on / For ever; and I saw the sparkling foam,” best illustrates this quality. (Wordsworth, lines 30-4) One notices how fascinatingly the poet describes the stream and the landscape is produced before the eyes of the reader in common man’s language. The poetic diction and the symbolism used by the poet in these lines also enhance the appreciation by the reader. The beauty of the language also guides the reader to comprehend the meaning of the expressions. Every expression in the poem, in the form of words and phrases, also suggests some essential realities in the life of the poet. Through the form as well as the language of the poem, the poet is able to convey his original idea and the loss of innocence in the child is the main theme of the poem which is clear from the images used in the poem. Expressions and images such as ‘heavenly days’, ‘eagerness of boyish hope’, ‘wallet’, ‘nutting-crook’, ‘far-distant wood’, ‘frugal Dame’, ‘nook / Unvisited’, ‘broken bough’, ‘withered leaves’, ‘ungracious sign’, ‘weary expectation’, ‘violets of five seasons’, ‘sparkling foam’, ‘flock of sheep’, ‘merciless ravage’, ‘mutilated bower’ etc specifically add on to the appreciation of the poem. The use of apt images throughout the poem helps the reader understand the exact meaning of the poet and interpretation of the poetic meaning is most effective. Therefore, the poetic language as well as the form in ‘Nutting’ significantly illustrates the characteristics of romantic novelty and the images and other poetic devices contribute to the meaning and effects of the poem by Wordsworth. The use of common man’s language had particular meaning to the poet. “According to Wordsworth, the novelty of the poems from Lyrical Ballads was to come from their concentration on the way of life and on the language of the rural poor. Among them Wordsworth claims to find the ‘permanent forms’ of experience and the simple eloquence that eighteenth-century writers claimed to find in the literature of ancient Greece and Rome.” (Bygrave, 23) Thus, the poet finds ‘permanent forms’ of experience in the life of the child in the poem through the use of this ordinary language. The point of view of a child and the presentation of its experiences through the language of the common man help the readers appreciate the deeper meaning in the experience of the child. The first person account of the child, as in “…in the eagerness of boyish hope, / I left our cottage-threshold…” catches the attention of the readers. (Wordsworth, lines 4-5) The loss of innocence in the child becomes lucid through the various lines of the poem and the features of Romantic poetry can be found in the rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, imagery, tone, word order, alliteration, and point of view etc of the poem. For example, the following lines provide an illustration of the simple but fascinating language, the beauty of the imagery, tone, word order etc along with the qualities of alliteration, rhyme and rhythm. “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. Then up I rose, / And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash / And merciless ravage:” (Wordsworth, lines 38-45) These lines, on the one hand, convey the poet’s idea of the loss of innocence in the child and, on the other, suggest the strength of the nature which the poet indicates in the use of specific diction. Examples of alliteration in the poem include ‘nutting-crook in hand’, ‘Tricked out in proud disguise’, ‘brakes, and brambles’, ‘broken bough’, ‘murmur and the murmuring sound’, ‘stocks and stones’ etc. The use of convincing images, along with beautiful alliterations, contributes to the Romantic feeling in the reader. In short, the poet has been effective in conveying his theme and idea through the various lines of the poem and the poem’s language and form help him in illustrating the features of Romantic poetry. Significantly, the poet’s use of images and other devices, along with the use of original language, helped him convey his meaning to the readers in the most effective way and the effect on the readers is the most splendid awareness of Wordsworth’s romantic nature. The originality of the poet in dealing with subtle themes and the characteristic features of his language and poetic form can be comprehended in a careful reading of the poem. To conclude, the poetic form and language used in Wordsworth’s ‘Nutting’ contribute to the meaning and effects of the poem in the readers. Works Cited Bygrave, Stephen. Romantic Writings: An Introductory Anthology. London: Routledge. 1996. P 13. Wordsworth, William. Selected Poems of William Wordsworth. Roger Sharrock. (Ed). Heinemann. 1958. P 64. Read More