Nature and Mysticism in Wordsworth’s and Whitman’s poetry

Abstract

Nature and natural phenomena always inspire scientists, saints, poets and philosophers throughout civilizations to introspect. Among the great western poets Wordsworth from England and Walt Whitman from America stand most close to nature than anyone else This article tries to compare these great poets of nature. If for Wordsworth nature is a teacher, for Whitman nature is a preacher. Wordsworth broods over nature being close to it but not part to it. Wordsworth often contemplates nature. Whitman worships. But both the poets lived with nature through their poetic expressions. But being in different spaces made them a little different. These poets were preoccupied with the themes of spirit, nature, immortality, mysticism and similar things. Although they wrote about more than two hundred years ago, their ideals are as relevant today bas they were in their times. Observing the crisis of these times, the only hope to free ourselves from its ill effects is to seek shelter in their ideals. They have the power to free man from the disillusionment with the present times. Their poetry can never become obsolete. That is the reason why I pursued this article, to show how they are relevant in our times.