William Wordsworth’ün The Prelude’unda Eko-felsefi ve Fenomenolojik Bir Yolculuk

Abstract

The present paper analyses William Wordsworth’s The Prelude form an eco-philosophical perspective, which suggests a harmonical existence of human and nonhuman worlds. The main argument is based on Arne Næss’ “ecosophy” following his deep ecological thoughts and David Bohm’s “undivided wholeness” supporting the intimate interconnectedness of human and Nature. Following this eco-philosophical vision, Wordsworth believes that Nature has an essential place in children’s learning. He even suggests stopping formal education of children and meditating them through the subjective experiences in Nature. This study investigates how Wordsworth reflects a child’s journey of gaining poetic consciousness through his interaction with Nature in his The Prelude. Nature is personified as a mother, a friend and a teacher helping his maturity. As a child and the speaker of his poem, Wordsworth feels freedom and joy while acquiring a great deal of knowledge at every step through different experiences. From this perspective, this study bases its arguments on Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological insights to comprehend the essence of our “Being” through subjective experiences collected in our “life world”. Wordsworth emphasizes the growing maturity of the child in Nature by conceiving his existence in this perfect universe. The power of intuition and imagination, which preserves Nature in our minds, is also accentuated as the main factor educating and maturing us in time by shaping our ideas and feelings. In parallel with the eco-philosophical and phenomenological thoughts, Wordsworth stresses the truth, pureness, peace, and pleasure accompanied by the solitude in Nature. This paper observes the transformation of a naive child into a wise poet through the eco-philosophical and phenomenological journey in Nature through the power of intuition and imagination in Wordsworth’s The Prelude.