NATURE’S DIDACTIC VOICE: A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF MORAL AND SPIRITUAL THEMES IN WILLIAM WORDSWORTH’S POETRY

Abstract

William Wordsworth’s poetry conceptualises nature not merely as a picturesque backdrop but as a dynamic moral instructor and spiritual force. This study undertakes a stylistic analysis of The Prelude, Tintern Abbey, Ode: Intimations of Immortality, and The Tables Turned to investigate how linguistic features, lexical choices, syntactic structures, imagery, and figurative devices construct nature’s didactic and transcendental roles. Through close textual analysis, the research highlights Wordsworth’s strategic use of imperative expressions (e.g., “Let Nature be your teacher”), ethically charged vocabulary (e.g., truth, wisdom), transcendental symbolism (e.g., celestial light, clouds of glory), and meditative syntax, which collectively elevate nature to the status of a moral and spiritual guide. The findings demonstrate that the poet’s stylistic choices are inseparable from his thematic concerns, as the language itself embodies nature’s transformative power, embedding moral instruction and metaphysical insight within poetic form. By integrating stylistic methodology with philosophical interpretation, this study contributes to Romantic scholarship and affirms literature’s capacity to model environmental ethics through aesthetic and linguistic means.