Wordsworth and Malouf in the Wild

1. The composers of both texts in this elective have gained insight through out their exploration of the Wild.

Write an essay that explains how the composers of your prescribed texts have done this.

The module “In the Wild” deals with humanity’s relationship with nature. It shows that nature is the cure for all humanity, the cure for all deeds and a guide to them all. Man’s origins lie in nature, it is where man begun and where man will end. Both composers gain insight from nature. Nature is an inspiration to those who seek it. It is a moral agent, correcting the person when he or she has done wrong and showing them the right path. True freedom can only be found in nature itself, not in a city or where society has its root, as Ovid discovers and Wordsworth grows up to learn. ”God is in nature”, which means that the closer a person is to nature, the closer they are to god; more spiritual, for god is everywhere.

Both Malouf’s novel and Wordsworth’s poems are shaped by their own lives; their own experiences mould their texts. David Malouf himself went on a period of exile for eight years in England. This helped him formulate his vision of the experience of exile. He even bought a home in Tuscany, Italy. His entire novel is set in Italy, in and around Rome. He describes the terrain as being desolate as being desolate which can be compared to the Australian terrain, as he had lived in Australia. Malouf’s novel however, is out of context with his own life. While his novel was set in pre-Christian times, Malouf lived in the twentieth century. William Wordsworth and his poems are within context, both he and his poems are running around one place and period of time, that is, the Romantic Period. In this period, “nature was seen as a living organism of which man was a part”, there is therefore a strong feeling of affinity with nature which Wordsworth had and which Ovid later developed.

In both Malouf’s and Wordsworth’s texts, the concept of God being present in nature is elaborated upon. In the poem-like novel “An Imaginary Life”, Ovid lived a life of relaxation and pleasure, in Rome and away from God. In his poetry, he admired things which he knew very little about, such as the names and appearances of a certain rose. Because Ovid’s life was so pleasurable he did not believe in God, nor did he take the chance to find out about God. After his forced ostracism, Ovid took a liking toward nature. He began to slowly but gradually accept nature, seeing himself as part of nature. He had lighted up the first steps of his transformation, and the closer to nature he became, the closer to God he became. Evidence that god is in nature is that Ovid began to reject his past life, he rejected Rome for all it was and all the pleasures he used to enjoy. So much so that he goes on to say that “If the emperor of Rome were to recall me I would reject his offer.” Having pleasure means moving away from God, but rebuffing them means to approach God. Only in nature was Ovid able to do this. To a certain extent, Ovid became like Wordsworth. But on the other hand, Wordsworth did not have to acclimatise himself to nature, he was born into it, hyperbolically speaking, “A babe in arms”. Wordsworth admired nature for what it was, unlike Ovid he did not become a part of nature itself. Wordsworth also believes that God is in nature. Wordsworth quotes “A sound like thunder-everlastingly” reveals the magnanimity of god. Thunder is a part of nature and God is symbolised through the sound of thunder, hence, God is in nature. Similar to Ovid’s words “I am thundering’ which means that he is one with nature, that he is connected to God. Also, in the poem ‘It Is a Beauteous Evening’, Wordsworth quotes “God being with thee when we know it not” which symbolises the fact that God is everywhere, thus God is in nature. Thus, both Ovid and Wordsworth gain insight from nature and are able to deduce the idea that God is in nature.

Nature is viewed as a moral agent and as a guide in the eyes of Wordsworth and Malouf. There are many accounts where nature acts as a moral agent for Wordsworth and Ovid. In the poem ‘Prelude’, Wordsworth, as a young lad, steals a boat. He described it oxymoronically as a moment of “Troubled pleasure”, for his conscience is pounding upon him, which is symbolised by unfamiliar shapes or forms he sees in nature. Wordsworth quotes “When, from behind that craggy steep till then the horizon’s bound, a huge peak, black and huge as if with voluntary power instinct upreared its head.” Here Wordsworth imagines the mountain to be angry at him; it seems to be warning him of his actions, reprimanding him. Nature is acting as a moral agent, enlightening him of what is right and what is wrong. Wordsworth also quotes “The passions that build