Wordsworth's Dilemma: A Study Of Wordsworth's Concept Of Nature In "Michael"

Wordsworth is a great Romantic poet in England, who greatly admires nature, and emphasizes imagination. For Wordsworth, nature is complicated and changing concept, which critics have discussed so much. "Michael," the last poem of 1800 LB, is one of the most important narratives of Wordsworth. Wordsworthian circle pays enough attention to it, but it fails to catch Chinese scholars' attention. Because there is not much description of nature, western scholars often interpret it from perspectives of pastoral tradition or Biblical themes, and seldom explore the comprehensive concept of nature as presented in it. In fact, "Michael" reveals a complex relationship between nature and man in Wordsworth's mind. The study of the relationship between Michael and nature in the poem helps to understand more about Wordsworth's concept of nature.The thesis explores the tragic fate of Michael in order to contemplate Wordsworth's concept of nature. As a shepherd, living in an ideal nature, Michael's fate is coloured tragically. Though he deeply loves nature, he treats it as the basic material for a living. He has never realized grandeur and sublime praised by Wordsworth, nor could learn beauty and spirit in nature. He could not elevate his soul, and derive love of mankind. Michael feels only the hardship of living in nature. His family life is a failure, and his love and education of son is a failure. Michael's failure shows that, if a man is not well educated, or without enough material base, he tends to regard nature as private property or material base for living. So he could not know grandeur, sublime and spirit in nature praised by the poet. Thus, in Wordsworth's concept of nature, man occupies an important position. With the failure of Michael, Wordsworth demonstrates the interactive relationship between man and nature. So nature can be the spiritual support of Romanticism. At same time, Michael's failure shows the distance between Wordsworth's concept of nature and reality, and dilemma of his idea.The thesis consists of four parts. The first is an introduction. This part puts forth the aim of study, assuming the importance of "Michael" in the studies of Wordsworth's concept of nature. Though there is not much description of nature, the genre of poem is pastoral, and the background is a natural world. Michael is a shepherd. So this poem fits into the category of natural poem. This part first introduces the story and the writing background, and offers a literature review of western scholars' interpretations of the poem from perspectives of pastoral tradition and Biblical themes. It proposes that "Michael" is an important work in studying Wordsworth's concept of nature.The second part analyzes nature in Wordsworth and Michael. It traces nature in Wordsworth's poetry. Nature is regarded as concrete and abstract. The concrete nature refers to nature without man-made things, or nature combined with man-made things, and the abstract nature refers to the nature fulfilled with spirit. In this poem, Michael's land is his nature. Though Michael loves his land, his love is only the love for material base of living. Michael only feels hardness of life. Lack of material and education, he cannot learn grandeur and sublime in nature.The third part discusses Michael's love as man of nature. Wordsworth distinguishes love as love of nature and of man, and believes that love of nature leads to love of man. Because Michael could not elevate himself in nature, his relationship with family and society is cold. First, he derives his love of son from love of nature. The nature of this love is to educate the child to accept the fate of land. Michael could not teach Luke to appreciate the beauty of nature so as to raise his morality. Second, Michael cannot communicate with his wife. He also separates himself from society, and keeps Isabel as his agent in society. Due to his lack of social action, there is no love of mankind as Wordsworth has imagined. Michael confined his love in nature and his family.The conclusion part offers reasons for the failure of Michael as a nature-lover. While facing nature, man should have some material base and some degree of education. Only on this premise can man transcend the material character of nature as base of living, and learn grandeur, sublime and spirit in nature. Then with influence from nature, man derives love of mankind, and reaches happiness of life. It can be found out that the core natural concept of Wordsworth is interaction, the aim of which is to elevate human mind and morality through natural experience. Without material base, Michael could not reach Wordsworth's goal. His failure shows Wordsworth's dilemma in concept of nature. It is in this sense that "Michael" occupies an important position in understanding Wordsworth's concept of nature.