Introduction of the Poem
‘The Education of Nature’ is a part of the collection, he wrote under the title ‘Poems of Imagination’. This poem has another title, ‘Three Years She Grew in Sun and Shower’. It was composed in 1799 in the Hartz forest during Wordsworth stay in Germany. It was published in the second edition of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ in 1800. This poem belongs to a group of poems called ‘Lucy Poems’. It was given the title ‘The Education of Nature’, in Palgrave's ‘Golden Treasury’. The poem suggests an underlying influence of Rousseau, the French philosopher, who believed that Nature has the power to educate the mind of man.
This poem successfully depicts the educative impact of imparting perfection and purity that is extended through the effect of Nature on the life and behaviour of a young girl Lucy. Palgrave titled it so partly because the theme of the poem is the influence of Nature on the build - up of human body and mind and partly because Wordsworth was greatly impressed by Rousseau, who regarded Nature as ultimate teacher.
The poem upholds Wordsworth's beliefs that a spirit of joy runs through all objects and creatures of Nature. And also that an all pervading Divine Spirit is present in Nature and it has a will of its own. The poem successfully depicts the educative impact of imparting perfection and purity that is extended through the effect of Nature on life and behaviour of a young girl Lucy.
Nature itself is the chief speaker and gives a detailed description of the beauty and innocence of the little girl Lucy. This girl, as described in this poem, was a young and beautiful girl, very dear to the poet. The identity of Lucy has not been established, i.e., who that child was.
The poet tells only that Lucy was born and grew up in the lap of Nature. She lived through all sorts of weather like a wild plant. She was the loveliest plant.
All that we learn is her perfect and pure portrayal of the brilliance of her childhood. She is so exquisite in every way that Nature can't conceive of her as a separate entity. Nature has a will of her own. It decides herself to take Lucy away from this world, by adopting her as her own child and educate her in her way. She will be both law and impulse to her, i.e., law. It will check her from going astray or doing anything evil and as an impulse; it would inspire her to do noble deeds.
For, Nature wants to be completely bound in closeness and fellowship with the little child, Lucy also becomes Nature's symbol of perfection. According to the poet, placing a child in Nature's care is enough education for him / her. Unfortunately Lucy's life comes to an abrupt and early end. So intense is Nature's love for her that after her death, Nature itself seems to mourn in deep despair for the loss of Lucy's life. Even after death, Lucy's presence fills the hills and valleys with ultimate joy.
The poem presents the perfection of mind and form that Nature can bestow on a mortal, in the person of Lucy. Thus there is an autobiographical element in the poem.
Summary of the Poem:
The poem illustrates very beautifully Wordsworth's conception of Nature. To him, God is everywhere, manifested in the harmony of Nature and he felt deeply the kinship between Nature and the soul of mankind. This poem, i.e., one of the Lucy poems, shows Rousseau's influence, to some extent, on Wordsworth who believed that Nature is our teacher. That's why, he personifies nature in this poem and invests natural objects with a living, thinking and feeling power.
Lucy is Nature's own child, her darling. She grows up in the midst of Nature's magnificence for three years. She lives through all sorts of weather like a wild plant. Nature declares her to be the loveliest flower on earth that was ever grown. She proposes to undertake the responsibility of educating Lucy according to her own way and liking. She will be law and impulse to the girl. She'll let Lucy enjoy her freedom and have her heart's desire. She'll leap with joy like a fawn. But at the same time, she'll also learn to discipline herself. As law, Nature will prevent her from evil and as impulse; she'll inspire Lucy to noble actions. Lucy will have the freedom to roam amidst the rocks and plains; on the earth and in the sky; in the glade and in the bower.
And everywhere she will experience the presence of the all-pervading Divine spirit present in Nature and she will keep watch over Lucy. Lucy will learn sportiveness from the fawn. She would be as sprightly as the fawn playing among the hills and lawns. The inanimate objects of Nature would teach her the special value of silence and tranquility. The floating clouds would lend elegance to her movements, the willow trees would lend her its flexibility. She will not fail to see the beauty even in the agitation of the storm that would mould the young girl's form. She'll learn grace which will mould her maiden's form into a perfect mature woman.
Lucy would learn to love stars in the dark midnight sky. She'll visit many quiet and lovely places and hear the sweet murmur of streams. She'll watch the small beautiful girls that are dancing not according to any rules but spontaneously inspired by their heart joy. This joy will pass into her face. The life - giving feeling of joy will develop her mind and body. This union, born from joy will make her charming graceful woman. Nature will educate Lucy as long as she will live in communion with Nature.
Nature kept her word and educated Lucy the way she promised. But unfortunately Lucy died young. It left the poet alone in the world with the memory of Lucy, with the memories of fields where Lucy had played, with the memories of her unique education by Nature and her spirit which shall never witness in future. Nature would always miss her with a sorrow stricken heart.
Critical Appreciation of the Poem:
Wordsworth had immense belief in nature's inspiring force. He believes that nature is a universal chorus constantly communicating with man. He agreed with Rousseau that a child, allowed to satisfy his natural curiosity and encouraged to follow his own intuitions, would develop into a better being than a child grown up in the artificial atmosphere of educational institutions. And, nature is our great teacher; it exerts an edifying and moral influence on man.
In this poem, Nature acts as a loving mother and an effective teacher to Lucy. Nature has been personified and thus it is written with capital N. She determines to adopt Lucy and make her ‘A lady of my own’.
After having decided to adopt Lucy, this idea is elaborated; Nature reveals the methods to achieve Her objectives in the stanza. The process consists of taking up opposing principles to create the living complexity, marked by the antithesis between ‘law and impulse’, ‘rock and plain’, ‘earth and heaven’, ‘glade and bower’ and ‘kindle and restrain.’
Being law and impulse, Nature checks Lucy from any negative energy, i.e., evils and also inspires her to do positive, i.e., noble deeds. As a guide, she would imbibe the best from her surroundings and the sheer joy of spontaneity would help in developing her natural faculties.
The comparisons and contrasts used by the poet to his thoughts, while describing the Nature, has made the composition beautiful the fawn by frolicking in the lawns, clouds floating calmly in the sky, the graceful willow trees bending, the sparking of stars at midnight, gently murmuring rivulets. There is no contradiction in Nature while doing these comparisons. Every sight and sound has its own effect on the child of Nature.
The poet has emphasized the physical as well as the mental development through intimate association.
The fifth stanza is onomatopoeic in nature because words, in this stanza, have been used in such a manner that their sound suggests the sense. The final stanza, which ends on a sad note of Lucy's death, is not merely a lament over the death of a particular young female. It is a statement on the condition of all human life, in which all the powers of Nature combine in complex ways to create a human being, who is doomed to death by Nature's law.
The poet, we can say, breathes new life into the lyric form. The delicate elegance of the descriptions in this poem are noteworthy. The language is simple with no pretensions to grandeur. The poem has a beautiful blend of sound and sense. In all, the poem reflects Wordsworth's excellence over simple technical skill.
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