Prelude Book Twelfth

The first third of Wordsworth’s Prelude: Book Twelfth (1805 version) illustrates a constant struggle between Wordsworth’s ideas of Nature vs. Knowledge. Within the first two lines:

“From Nature doth emotion come, and moods
Of calmness equally are Nature’s gift:”

Here Wordsworth is describing the nature of the origin of human emotions and moods, where they come from and what their purpose is. Later in the paragraph he makes references to another well known pairing, “the sun and shower,” further strengthening the idea behind these two concepts. The purpose of capitalizing the “n” in the word “Nature” could also lead the reader to believe that Wordsworth is alluding to God in the same respect as nature. Since God is the reason for the world around us, he is also the reason for the natural development of emotion and moods within the human being.

It is in the next stanza where Wordsworth talks about his experiences within the world that have given rise to his gathering of knowledge. Not surprisingly, he follows his normal manner of questioning how he came to realize things and ends up on the notion:

“Did Nature bring again this wiser mood,
More deeply reestablished in my soul,
Which, seeing little worthy or sublime
In what we blazon with the pompous names
Of power and action, early tutored me
To look with the feelings of fraternal love
Upon those unassuming things that hold
A silent station in this beauteous world.”

This stanza attributes his sense of higher consciousness and smarter being to his original experiences with nature. He again capitalizes the “n” in “nature,” signifying that he could still be crediting God with everything, but it doesn’t seem to be so religious in this paragraph. Wordsworth’s word choices show an admiration for the world around him in an almost “hippie-ish” way that is different from religion. His experiences in the natural world gave him the knowledge and appreciation for things that he might not have previously noticed in his on secular world.

I found the excerpt between lines 82-96 to be the most intriguing within this book. Wordsworth is questioning why are there so few men in the world that have gained the knowledge and state of mind that he has gained. He further prods why are there not more of these people and what has Nature done to restrict this dream? This juxtaposition is an example of a person’s struggle between the spiritual world and the real world. Wordsworth talks about the “animal wants and the necessities which they impose,” meaning that the human mind thirsts for knowledge. He questions why these are or could be boundaries. Though the spirit is constantly searching for answers it is sometimes hindered by the realities of the real world. Should a person not be born into a privileged family during this time it would be extremely difficult to get a proper education in order to foster the mind to grow. There were not many stories of “rags to riches” back in the early 1800s. Thus a person’s spiritual need to develop and mature the mind could be hindered by obstacles faced within the real world. Sadly, often times there is not much that a person can do about it.