the Cottage I returned
Fondly, and traced with milder interest
Which, 'mid the calm oblivious tendencies
Of nature, 'mid her plants, her weeds, and flowers,
And silent overgrowings, still survived (lines 501-06).
The "secret spirit of humanity" to which Wordsworth refers in the poem is patently the memory of the woman who lived and died in the sadly deteriorating cottage while waiting in vain for her husband to return. However, it is no coincidence that he should find this spirit remaining in the Nature that overgrows the cottage rather than in the walls and other mechanical fixtures that remain. As the poem demonstrates, Wordsworth believes that the essence of humanity lies in people's existence as creatures of Nature.
The poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" offers further guidance. As the narrator sits in a grove, sad thoughts come to mind:
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man (lines 5-8).
The poem demonstrates that Wordsworth believes Man is responsible for the break between Man and Nature. It suggests he believes that people are one with themselves when they are one with Nature, as demonstrated by the fact that the realization comes to the narrator as he is sitting in a grove. It is only as the narrator is sitting amid the peace and pleasure of Nature that he can fully appreciate how far Man has come from where he began. This echoes the other predominant theme of Wordsworth to stress the significance of the remembrance of things past. However, rather than one man lamenting his past, one man is lamenting the past of Mankind.
Wordsworth believes, therefore, that there is much people can learn from Nature. Indeed, he believes that people can only truly understand themselves by returning to Nature. In "The Tables Turned," he advises that people "Let Nature be your Teacher" (line 16). But, furthermore, he says in "M...