"Preface to Lyrical Ballads" and "Nutting"

William Wordsworth

In the essay describing the goal of his work, William Wordsworth outlines his sense of poetry in the "Preface to Lyrical Ballads." Wordsworth states his principal object of his work to be "to choose incidents from common life, and to relate or describe them, throughout, as far as was possible in a selection of language..." (Broadview). There is a certain affect one can gain from writing from the viewpoint of a mystic, but the line of real and imaginary can still be played with and retain a realistic feeling. That was one goal of Wordsworth, to draw from the imagination but focus also on the interaction between humans and nature. One such example is "Nutting", where the speaker leaves his cottage to go tromp through the woods. 

"And—with my cheek on one of those green stones

That, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees,

Lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep—" (35-37)

      

One aspect of Wordsworth's writing and his duty to nature is the imagery he evokes in the above lines. By painting a scene with his words for the reader, Wordsworth not only takes the speaker on a journey, but the reader as well. From Wordsworth's perspective, man does not simply take off from his cottage for a walk. The speaker finds a nice hazel tree with "tempting clusters." So the supposed beautiful scene is eventually wrecked by the picker, who describes the plunder below:

"Then up I rose,

And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash

And merciless ravage: and the shady nook

Of hazels, and the green and mossy bower,

Deformed and sullied" (43-46)

Wordsworth shows a clear connection between the impacts humans have on their surrounding environment. Although, this poem is rather childish and playful in the sense that if he wanted, the industrial revolution could be tied in metaphorically. It is possible this can be seen as a commentary on the impact industrial manufacturing was having on the natural world at that time. Considering the idea that Wordsworth states in his Preface regarding wanting to write poetry that can be read for a long time, it is possible the subtly of the speakers impact on the environment of a precious resource is purposeful.