The earth is all before me—with a heart
Joyous, nor scared at its own liberty,
I look about, and should the guide I choose
Be nothing better than a wandering cloud
I cannot miss my way.

— from “The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind”

Even those who haven’t studied Wordsworth’s poetry closely are likely to associate him with a love of the natural world, from its daffodils and clouds and the rivers of his youth to the top of Mount Snowdon and its “huge sea of mist.” But the poet’s mature relationship to nature is far more complex than simple adoration, and across such poems as “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey,” “Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood,” and “The Prelude,” Wordsworth articulates a philosophy that places nature at the center of our experience as humans, attributing to its influence our intellectual, spiritual, and interpersonal development, and finding in it both an antidote for “the fever of the world” and a poignant consolation for the loss of youth and inevitability of death. In this three-session seminar, award-winning poet and professor of poetry Timothy Donnelly discusses key poems from Wordsworth’s body of work with an emphasis on unpacking this rich and hopeful philosophy and an eye toward what it might teach us about inspiration and the way we live now.

Class meets from 2:30–3:45 p.m. on Thursdays: March 13, 20, 27.

Students may use whichever edition of Wordsworth’s poems they have on hand.

This live, virtual course is structured to encourage active participation. Registrants will receive Zoom links a week before each session, a day prior to each session, and the morning of each session. All recordings will be made available within forty-eight hours of a session. All recordings and class materials will remain available for thirty days after the final session. 

Scholarship applications must be submitted by Monday, February 17, at 5 p.m. ET. 

For information on how to register, how to receive the member discount, how to apply for a scholarship, how to access recordings and course materials, and more, please visit our FAQ page.