IB English
January 18th, 2013
January 18th, 2013
Commentary on
“Nutting”
Written
narratively, the poem “Nutting” by William Wordsworth is about a boy who seems
to remember an incident of pleasure and reflection, as he went into the woods
to gather nuts. It turns out at the end however, that he is actually addressing
a silent listener, the “dearest Maiden” (line 54), an apostrophe that reveals
that his story is composed to be a gentle lesson for the girl that the narrator
speaks to.
The poem emerges from silence, then becomes a leisurely-told, blank-verse narration with very few periods but many caesuras instead, and returns to silent conclusion in the end again. At the beginning the narrator acknowledges the day to be special: The poem starts with the first line being shifted to the right of the page and with a dash, which already shows that there is something unusual or special coming. The second line further strengthens this impression, as it is set in paranthesis and explains that this day is “one from many singled out,” stressing its distinctiveness. Another emphasis follows in the third line, where the narrator underlines that this day is “one of those heavenly days that cannot die.”
From line 4 to 20, the boy describes how he makes his way into the woods, using much imagery and building suspense. For example, imagery is created through the mention of his “huge wallet o’er (his) shoulder” (line 6) and “nutting-crook” (line 7) with which he armed himself, and him being dressed in “cast-off weeds” (line 9) serving for disguise, walking through “tangled thickets” (line 15) and “thorns, and brakes, and brambles” (line 13). The polysyndeton there in line 13 shows the excitement and awareness of the narrator to wander in the woods and what is around him, but also shows how wild and obstructive the forest is at that place. More imagery is given through “pathless rocks” (line 14), a metaphor which serves the same purpose as the polysendeton in line 13: To show the obstruction of that part of the forest. The “beds of matted fern” (line 15) is another metaphor showing the wildness of the way the boy is taking. He has to “forc(e) his way” (line 16) through there until he reaches “one dear nook / unvisited” (line 16-17), which is one of the very many enjambements that occur in this poem. Wordsworth uses them to create audible interest and to bring various strengths into the different lines. Together with the use of many caesuras, it creates significant pauses and surprising emphases throughout the poem. Another example for the use of enjambement is in line 18 – 19: “(...) ungracious sign / of devastation.”
After he arrived at the “dear nook” (lines 16) the narrator himself begins to pause. It becomes clear how sensual his experience is from line 19 until line 42. He is mesmerized by the “tempting (...), virgin scene” (line 20 - 21); he feels “joy” (line 23) and even voluptuousness (line 24) at the sight of “the banquet” (line 25) of the hazelnut trees. The description of his amazement about the treasure he was seeking appears wonderful, pure, and magical. In this part, repetitions such as in line 26 (“Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played”) or line 38 (“I heard the murmur and the murmuring sound”) underline his excitement and joy. Again, a lot of imagery is used, which makes the magical scene more tangible to the reader: For example in lines 29 – 30 (”(...) the bower beneath whose leaves / the violets of five seasons re-appear”), lines 32 - 33 (“where fairy water-breaks do murmur on / for ever; and I saw the sparkling foam”), and lines 34 - 26 (“with my cheek on one of those green stones / that, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees, / lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep”). Wordsworth not only creates atmosphere through the use of imagery, but also makes the connection between human and nature very strongly. In this particular part of the poem, the idea of impericism becomes clear, as the narrator experiences the glade with most of his senses: Seeing, hearing, and touching. One could claim that the disputed sixth sense is also experienced by the boy, as he suddenly feels an overwhelming, amazing sensation by just being at this place in nature. The “violets of five seasons” (line 31) support this assumption, as there are actually only four seasons in our known system, but the violets at that place know five seasons, just as the narrator experiences 6 senses instead of the earthly common 5 ones.
Suddenly, the purity collapses. The narrator “r(i)se(s) (up)” (line 43) and crashes down the hazels with his nook in “merciless ravage” (line 45). No reason is given for why he does that damage but it seems as if he is inhabited by a demon or driven by a strong human impulse, possibly greed. The nature, unable to defend itself, “patiently g(i)ve(s) up / (its) quiet being” (line 47 - 48) and the narrator feels “a sense of pain” (line 51) when he “beh(olds) / the silent trees, and (sees) the intruding sky” (lines 51- 52), suggesting that he feels guilty and sorry for the destruction he has done to the peaceful, magical place.
In line 54, he addressess the “dearest Maiden” who turns out to have been listening to his story silently. There is no telling who exactly this maiden is; it might be his beloved daughter, or some other little girl, a friend, or his girlfriend, but it does not become clear through the poem. However, one can say that the narrator told the story to the maiden because he wanted to teach her something morally or emotionally; probably he wants to teach her about what the insight painfully achieved through the destruction of the magical place. As the boy in the story, the narrator found abundance and sheer delight in the natural surrounding he came across, but through his greed or rapacity, it was quickly taken away from him. Thus, the treasure one has found can quickly vanish when met with wrong, coercive, or too impulsive intentions. With the last line “there is a spirit in the woods” (line 56), the poem ends strongly, suggesting there is not only a fairy-tale like quality to it but a sacred one. This last line is also the point where the poem slips into final silence, as if the narrator has accomplished what he wanted to bring across.
Through the many breaks by use of caesuras, comma-and-dash punctuations, and enjambements, the poem offers the lesson to the reader carefully, not intending to force the reader into the poem but rather capturing him or her gently with balance. The poem is, through the lingering scene-setting, through the moral lesson given, and through the use of much imagery, remarkable and teaches not only the maiden addressed, but generally every human being how to live and love right. Since the poem ends with the lesson about moderation and respect, the listener or reader is willing to apply that wisdom in one’s dealing with nature and surrounding in the near future.
The poem emerges from silence, then becomes a leisurely-told, blank-verse narration with very few periods but many caesuras instead, and returns to silent conclusion in the end again. At the beginning the narrator acknowledges the day to be special: The poem starts with the first line being shifted to the right of the page and with a dash, which already shows that there is something unusual or special coming. The second line further strengthens this impression, as it is set in paranthesis and explains that this day is “one from many singled out,” stressing its distinctiveness. Another emphasis follows in the third line, where the narrator underlines that this day is “one of those heavenly days that cannot die.”
From line 4 to 20, the boy describes how he makes his way into the woods, using much imagery and building suspense. For example, imagery is created through the mention of his “huge wallet o’er (his) shoulder” (line 6) and “nutting-crook” (line 7) with which he armed himself, and him being dressed in “cast-off weeds” (line 9) serving for disguise, walking through “tangled thickets” (line 15) and “thorns, and brakes, and brambles” (line 13). The polysyndeton there in line 13 shows the excitement and awareness of the narrator to wander in the woods and what is around him, but also shows how wild and obstructive the forest is at that place. More imagery is given through “pathless rocks” (line 14), a metaphor which serves the same purpose as the polysendeton in line 13: To show the obstruction of that part of the forest. The “beds of matted fern” (line 15) is another metaphor showing the wildness of the way the boy is taking. He has to “forc(e) his way” (line 16) through there until he reaches “one dear nook / unvisited” (line 16-17), which is one of the very many enjambements that occur in this poem. Wordsworth uses them to create audible interest and to bring various strengths into the different lines. Together with the use of many caesuras, it creates significant pauses and surprising emphases throughout the poem. Another example for the use of enjambement is in line 18 – 19: “(...) ungracious sign / of devastation.”
After he arrived at the “dear nook” (lines 16) the narrator himself begins to pause. It becomes clear how sensual his experience is from line 19 until line 42. He is mesmerized by the “tempting (...), virgin scene” (line 20 - 21); he feels “joy” (line 23) and even voluptuousness (line 24) at the sight of “the banquet” (line 25) of the hazelnut trees. The description of his amazement about the treasure he was seeking appears wonderful, pure, and magical. In this part, repetitions such as in line 26 (“Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played”) or line 38 (“I heard the murmur and the murmuring sound”) underline his excitement and joy. Again, a lot of imagery is used, which makes the magical scene more tangible to the reader: For example in lines 29 – 30 (”(...) the bower beneath whose leaves / the violets of five seasons re-appear”), lines 32 - 33 (“where fairy water-breaks do murmur on / for ever; and I saw the sparkling foam”), and lines 34 - 26 (“with my cheek on one of those green stones / that, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees, / lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep”). Wordsworth not only creates atmosphere through the use of imagery, but also makes the connection between human and nature very strongly. In this particular part of the poem, the idea of impericism becomes clear, as the narrator experiences the glade with most of his senses: Seeing, hearing, and touching. One could claim that the disputed sixth sense is also experienced by the boy, as he suddenly feels an overwhelming, amazing sensation by just being at this place in nature. The “violets of five seasons” (line 31) support this assumption, as there are actually only four seasons in our known system, but the violets at that place know five seasons, just as the narrator experiences 6 senses instead of the earthly common 5 ones.
Suddenly, the purity collapses. The narrator “r(i)se(s) (up)” (line 43) and crashes down the hazels with his nook in “merciless ravage” (line 45). No reason is given for why he does that damage but it seems as if he is inhabited by a demon or driven by a strong human impulse, possibly greed. The nature, unable to defend itself, “patiently g(i)ve(s) up / (its) quiet being” (line 47 - 48) and the narrator feels “a sense of pain” (line 51) when he “beh(olds) / the silent trees, and (sees) the intruding sky” (lines 51- 52), suggesting that he feels guilty and sorry for the destruction he has done to the peaceful, magical place.
In line 54, he addressess the “dearest Maiden” who turns out to have been listening to his story silently. There is no telling who exactly this maiden is; it might be his beloved daughter, or some other little girl, a friend, or his girlfriend, but it does not become clear through the poem. However, one can say that the narrator told the story to the maiden because he wanted to teach her something morally or emotionally; probably he wants to teach her about what the insight painfully achieved through the destruction of the magical place. As the boy in the story, the narrator found abundance and sheer delight in the natural surrounding he came across, but through his greed or rapacity, it was quickly taken away from him. Thus, the treasure one has found can quickly vanish when met with wrong, coercive, or too impulsive intentions. With the last line “there is a spirit in the woods” (line 56), the poem ends strongly, suggesting there is not only a fairy-tale like quality to it but a sacred one. This last line is also the point where the poem slips into final silence, as if the narrator has accomplished what he wanted to bring across.
Through the many breaks by use of caesuras, comma-and-dash punctuations, and enjambements, the poem offers the lesson to the reader carefully, not intending to force the reader into the poem but rather capturing him or her gently with balance. The poem is, through the lingering scene-setting, through the moral lesson given, and through the use of much imagery, remarkable and teaches not only the maiden addressed, but generally every human being how to live and love right. Since the poem ends with the lesson about moderation and respect, the listener or reader is willing to apply that wisdom in one’s dealing with nature and surrounding in the near future.
thank you....was lokking forward for something like this ......really helped me :)
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