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As a mystic
poet, William
Wordsworth has
taken himself to unique heights. His description of the mysterious (mysticism
and poetry) nature
has made the poem more alluring.
Wordsworth's
mysticism is characterized by his meditative mood and pantheistic (pantheism)
view
of nature. In fact, the mystic clings to the truth behind the changing
symbol. Tennyson
says of mysticism, "By God Almighty! There is no deception in this matter.
It is not a hazy ecstasy, but a state of transcendent wonder, combined with
absolute clarity of mind."
The
fundamental foundation of a mystic is based on the mystic's belief that there
is an essential unity, a unity of likeness in all objects of nature and human
nature created by Almighty God. As a mystic, Wordsworth
sees an undivided and unchanging life in all lives and sees the inseparable in
the separate. The transcendental feeling of ecstasy and cosmic consciousness
comes to Wordsworth from time to time and in those moments he becomes a living
soul who completely forgets his external existence.
William Wordsworth poet of Nature & Masterclass of Romanticism
Wordsworth's mysticism
is
one of a kind, although there are some characteristics that are observed in all
forms of mysticism. It is a kind of mysticism of nature. Wordsworth's mystical
experiences are presented primarily in the context of his treatment of nature.
He had never restricted his poems to the narrow confines of the sights, sounds,
smells, and movements of various elements of nature. His goal was to achieve
something supernatural and divine and to leave the traces of his mystical
experiences in nature and in human life in his poetry. So his poetry not only
talks about the beautiful and peaceful aspects of nature but also covers his
mystical experiences.
Wordsworth
achieved name and fame in his time as a great mystical poet. He is a mystic at
heart. He was never satisfied with the presentation of the beautiful and
peaceful aspects of nature. He did not like to be close as a purely graphic
representation of the beautiful views and natural scenes. He wanted to achieve
something higher and translate his mystical experiences in nature and human
life into his poetry. So his poetry is not only a joyous record of happy natural
objects that he contemplates in moments of ecstasy and joy but also a full
experience of his mystical experience. (mysticism in romanticism)
Wordsworth
believes that a divine spirit pervades all objects in nature. As a true
pantheist, he also says that everything is God and God is everything. In Tintern
abbey poem it
says:
"And I have felt
A presence that troubles me with joy
Of sublime thoughts; a sublime
feeling
Of something for a deeper penetration
Whose dwelling is the light of the setting sun
And the round ocean and the living air
Of man ".
Wordsworth
believes that nature can ease the troubled minds of man. The beautiful and lush
aspects of nature are an infinite source of healing power. Material life
sometimes becomes so naked and painful that people lose their search for life. When
life becomes too much to bear, a lovely and loving encounter with nature can
quickly lift the cloud of cynicism from the head of the observer. The loudness
and disruption of city life can make life intolerable for humans, but
Wordsworth believes that nature can soothe man's troubled minds. The beautiful
and lush aspects of nature are an infinite source of healing power. Material
life sometimes becomes so naked and painful that people lose their search for
life. When life becomes too much to bear, a lovely and loving encounter with
nature can quickly lift the cloud of cynicism from the head of the observer. The
noise and disruption of city life can make life miserable, yet recollections of
nature in a lonely place might help to relieve the burden of devastation,
terror, and asphyxiation:
“But often in lonely rooms and in the midst
of noise”
From
cities and towns, I owe them
In
hours of fatigue, sweet sensation.
The sense in the blood and sense in the heart;
And
even pass to the purest spirit
With
quiet restoration ...”
According to Wordsworth's poems, there is a
predetermined harmony between the spirit in nature and the mind of man, and it
is the harmony that allows nature to transmit its own thoughts to man and
meditate on them until the union between them occurs. Due to this harmony
between man and nature, nature was able to teach and educate a man. Wordsworth
believes that an unbroken chain connects all things in the outside world and
that man's spirit can communicate with God through nature. He animates all
items in nature and allows them to communicate with one another, much like a
true mystic. In nature, he notices the existence of sentient beings.
Wordsworth’s poem ode on intimations of immortality"(summary on recollections of early childhood)
According to
Wordsworth (treatment of nature in poetry), the world is
one of loving and active friendship. Each flower, cloud, stream, hill, star,
and bird that lived under them had its own life. Wordsworth cherishes even the
simplest and most common objects of nature and human life as a genuine
philosopher. Nothing can harm him since divine life has touched everything in
the universe. To him, nothing is insignificant or trivial. The most common
nature plays as important a role in this universal life as the greatest natural
phenomenon; the meanest flower becomes as important as the setting sun:
"The meanest flower that blows me is
It can give thoughts too deep to cry."
Judging, Wordsworth
is a poet, a seer, and a practical and mystical psychologist with an amazingly
subtle mind and tiny commonplace feelings. In nature, he may decipher the
meaning of existence.
“The
anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The
guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul.
Of
all my moral being.”
He has held to
the belief that nature is a living entity and the home of God throughout his
life. Wordsworth's mysticism was founded on this concept (mysticism
in romanticism). Wordsworth's mysticism is
distinct in that it is characterized by a contemplative mood and a pantheistic
perspective of nature. It is founded on the notion that nature is a living
being and God's dwelling place. The manner by which a person comes into contact
with God is through nature. According to Wordsworth, a divine spirit can be
seen in all-natural objects. He also claims that everything is God and God is
everything, like a real pantheist.