In The Prelude, Wordsworth presents nature as a subject, a metaphor, a character, and an inspiration. The poet begins by describing the breeze caressing his cheek, and he gives the breeze a human quality:
A visitant that while he fans my cheek
Doth seem half-conscious of the joy he brings (I.2-3).
throughout, aspects of nature are personified in this fashion, for Wordsworth sees nature as a living thing with which the individual has a relationship. That relationship is also a soothing one for the human side, and Wordsworth returns again and again to nature seeking succor, strength, and a relationship with the god he believes infuses nature and connects with human beings through nature.
Elements of nature also recur throughout the poet's life and do so in ways that add to his experience, teach him more about life, and connect him with the spiritual. He talks of the river that "loved/ To blend his murmurs with my nurse's song" (I.270-271), for instance, and the voice of the river remains with the poet and is found ever after in his dreams. The sounds of nature are described as music, and it is always a music that brings calm and peace. The poet's appreciation of nature and its effects is evident, and he personifies nature and speaks to it directly to express his feelings:
And on the earth! Ye visions of the hills!
And Souls of lonely places! (I.464-466).
The importance of nature in the development of the poet is apparent in the way he begins linking himself to nature in his memory of his childhood and his days in school, and what he learns in a human classroom is rivaled by what he learns in the larger classroom of nature. Children seem to have a natural affinity for nature. They prolong their games to remain outside as daylight fails. They only go hoe to bed when all is dark and the stars come out in the sky (II.8-18).
Nature mirrors the moods of the poet. Summer vacation is marked by "summer's noo...