William Wordsworth: The Experience of Living, the Pain of Dying, and the Immortaility of Mind and Spirit

The Romantic period of literature, although not entirely unified, focused largely upon a meditative description of life in which the external is portrayed by the internal. During a time of turmoil and socioeconomic change in nineteenth century England, there came about a need to escape to simpler times, bringing forth an emphasis on the beauty of the ordinary, and the rejection of the understanding of imagination as a mere mode of fancy thinking. With the French Revolution and growth of cities came much poverty and difficult living conditions for the common people, which greatly influenced the emphasis put on the ordinary man and his experiences. William Wordsworth’s Resolution and Independence exemplifies this notion with a view of beauty that lies in human nature, emotions, and ability to mentally create. The poem leads the reader through a revelation of sorts as Wordsworth reflects upon the simple beauties of nature and childhood that is lost to the agony and pain of man. The carefree bliss of childhood is replaced with the knowledge of man’s nature and its melancholy state. However, as the title of the poem suggests, Wordsworth comes to a resolution at the end in which his encounter with the Leech-gatherer gives him the independence to live beyond the restraints of age through the imagination of the mind. Despite the hardships and failings of life, there remains an intrinsic beauty of the mind that overcomes even the decay of age and time.

Flowery imagery of day is contrasted to those of night in the opening stanzas of the poem, posing the binaries of light and dark, and life and death. The night that Wordsworth describes is full of wind and rain, creating a dim image of turbulence and unrest. While the night itself is not a direct representation of death, it is made so when compared to the “calm and bright” (3) rising of the sun in the day. The wind and rain of the night are described in destructive terms, “roaring” and falling “in floods” (1-2) whereas the air of the day is said to be “pleasant” and the previously negative raindrops now serve to make the grass bright. The beauty and peace of the day redeem nature, as to say that light overcomes the darkness of turmoil. Wordsworth describes a hare running about with words such as “mirth” and “plashy” (11-12) to emphasize that pure joy of this creature who is followed by a glittery mist to “wherever she doth run” (14). There is a sense of freedom and vitality in this imagery that creates a picture of nature in its ideal state.

Juxtaposing the descriptive nature of the stanzas illustrating the scenery and animals in the forest is the tone of the first person in the next stanza when Wordsworth declares his presence and location, immediately giving the reader the feeling of isolation, as Wordsworth and the reader are no long a part of the beautiful scene, but rather, just looking in. Wordsworth further stresses this point by using past tense to mention the hare rather than previous present tense and stating that he heard the roar of water, but from a distance. Moreover, unlike the hare who runs about freely in this beautiful nature, Wordsworth only feels the pleasantness for a short time before he is overcome with “Dim sadness-and blind thoughts” (27). Although he lives as the sky-lark and hare do in nature as a “happy Child of earth” (31), he knows that he, in the end, lives in the world of man and must return to days of “Solitude, pain of heart, distress, and poverty” (35). He does not possess the innocence that these creatures do and even when in such a beautiful environment away from “all care” (33), he knows that he cannot exist in the blissful state that they do for he has lost faith, and thus the relationship that he once had with nature. Wordsworth explains that he once lived “in pleasant thought; As if life’s business were a summer mood;” but ends the stanza in a bitter reference to God, questioning the purpose of a faithful life when it seems that God himself “take no heed at all” (42). Mentioning Chatterton and Robert Burns, Wordsworth speaks of the loss of the glory and joy, for it seems that living is for nothing but death, as seen by the tragedies of these young geniuses who were neglected during life and never received the recognition that he believes they deserved. Thus, being a poet, Wordsworth’s own life meaning is lost like his faith and relationship to nature, for he comments that hope and gladness was present in the youth of poets but with time came only “despondency and madness” (49).

Along with time are the concepts of age and the mortality of the ordinary man. Wordsworth encounters a poor Leech-gatherer whom he describes to be “not alive nor dead; Nor all asleep” (64) for he seems be a collective gathering of life’s experiences. As opposed to the freshness of the natural scene that Wordsworth described before, the man’s limbs are described along with his body instead of as one, with a pale face all propped upon a “long grey staff of shaven wood” (72). Around the old man nothing seems to move but is still, just as the man’s appearance and words are slow and feeble, although it is noted that his words are said with “a lofty utterance drest-“(94), again showing a contrast between the external and internal. The man’s words of his hardships and faith in God that helped him to maintain his humble and difficult, yet honest life overwhelms Wordsworth. The human strength of the man triggers Wordsworth’s own fears of the labor, pain, and false hope that left many poets to die miserably. The old man lives a hard but simple life traveling about catching leeches with his own legs, and yet he perseveres and speaks of his life with a smile.

A common man, the Leech-gatherer is poor and does not have a glorified profession but his mind is firm and wise. The man may be feeble and have spent his life wandering about lonely moors but he possesses a stronger mind and spirit than that of Wordsworth, for he is able to teach him a lesson about faith and life. From the speech of the old man, Wordsworth realizes that previously he could only see beauty in what had been lost rather than what he has gained in life. This leads Wordsworth to acknowledge his faith and he asks God to be his help and support, as he will think of the Leech-gatherer as a guide. Despite the harsh conditions of his life, the Leech-gatherer remains strong within himself, while Wordsworth could only imagine such a life. It is here that Wordsworth portrays the beauty of the human spirit, a beauty that is not fresh and natural like that of the hare scene but one of pain, experience, and life itself. The image of the old man pacing about the “weary moors continually; Wandering about alone and silently” (130-131) is bleak but serves to show the essence of human strength and the ability of the internal mind to stay viable as well as firm regardless of the state of the external.

This internal state that Wordsworth emphasizes comes from the imagination of the mind that is often associated with the innocence of childhood and the somewhat mystical connection to nature. Imagination is not to be thought of as another realm of thinking or a way of imposing upon reality, but a way to interpret, and reflect life creatively by consolidating ideas and emotions. The mention of the “plashy earth” and the bright sun in combination with the life of the singing birds, brooding Stock-dove, and chattering Magpie make for an imaginative scene in which Wordsworth brings together different factors to create a whole image. The most mystical instance in the poem, however, occurs with the appearance of the Leech-gatherer, who seems to have appeared out of thin air in this otherwise lonely place. As Wordsworth states, “âÂ?¦whether it were by peculiar grace; A leading from above âÂ?¦” (50-51) the appearance of the old man who is not just an old man but “The oldest man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs” (56). Wordsworth uses an imaginative metaphor made up of a stone that “seems a thing endued with sense” (61) and a sea-beast “…that on a shelf; Of rock or and reposeth” (64) to describe the state of the Leech-gatherer who is not alive or dead, but just as the comparison. Thus the old man is neither alive nor dead and he is said to have been casted by more than human weight, making him seem divine and almost supernatural, even though it is in his being an ordinary man that lends to the beauty of his life.

At the start of the poem, Wordsworth is in awe of the beauty of the natural scene before him and seems to envy the happy lives of the creatures of the forest. He himself can witness the beauty and feel the bliss of the creatures for only a time until he must return to his own melancholy existence. However, after meeting the Leech-gatherer, Wordsworth comes to realize that all that is beautiful and life does not depend on the external, but rather, the internal. In the pains and sorrows of life is a beauty that is one of experience and cannot be lost like aesthetic beauty or fleeting youth. Perhaps his faith has wavered and he has lost his childhood connection to nature but he has gained knowledge of the incredible spirit of man. From this notion and the concept of imagination, Wordsworth is able to appreciate life, despite having knowledge of age and death. Imagination brings together what is external and internal, in essence enabling the mind to have power over the external and concrete. Although pain is imminent in life as is aging and the passing of time, the experience of living and the spirit of the mind are immortal.