Ruined Cottage A Valuable Lesson in Nature
... ” William Wordsworth, noted as one of the pioneers of the Romantic Movement does exactly this in his poem, “The Ruined Cottage.” His personal experience stems from an encounter he has with an old friend, Armytage, at a cottage which prompts the two people to engage in a direct dialogue concerning a woman who had once lived there. ... Initially contained by his disregard for the beauty of nature, the tale of the ruined cottage allows Wordsworth to develop a deeper appreciation for nature. In the first two verses of the poem it is evident that Wordsworth does not recognize the beauty in nature as does the old man, his counterpart. ... His “careless limbs” are comparable to the root of the tree that he is sitting besides and it is almost as if he is at one with nature, caring less about everything else. In contrast however, the second verse sets up a rather negative tone towards nature, felt by none other than the speaker of the poem himself. ... Instead, he finds only irritation with his surroundings, causing him to be unaware of the more attractive details of nature. ... But it is important to note that while the speaker doesn’t necessarily despise nature, he is frustrated merely with his own personal weaknesses which blind him from seeing and appreciating nature by any means. The speaker fails to comprehend the notion that humans and nature must co-exist, which the old man strives to teach him throughout the poem. ... He is, once again referring to nature, which in its idle, constant state, comforts the human. However, this is only true when the “human hand” disturbs the “stillness” of the spring, meaning that nature cannot function to “minister” without the human interaction because in essence, nature is immobile. The purpose then, of the story of Margaret, who had once resided in the old abandoned cottage, is to serve as a warning - a warning for the speaker so that he does not go about ignoring nature as the woman did throughout her disheartening life: “She is dead,/ The worm is on her cheek, and this poor hut,/ Stripped of its outward garb of household flowers…” (102-104).