Within “The 1805 Prelude”, Wordsworth
is searching through the details of his childhood to find if there is a greater
or lasting truth that remains with him as an adult. He speaks to nature and
believes “from the first dawn / Of childhood didst thou intertwine for me / The
passions that build up our human soul” (432 – 434). Since childhood, he feels
that nature has affected him and explores different ways in which he has drawn
from it. This idea reminded me of “Tintern Abbey” because of the way in which
Wordsworth also explores the differences in how a nature scene makes him feel
as an adult versus how it affected him when he was a child. Wordsworth associates
childhood with this innocence and wonderment with nature. He looks back at the
scenes in which he was “A naked boy, in one delightful rill” showing the wonder
and one-ness with nature that he once felt. What I took away from this
similarity is that Wordsworth longs for that childhood wonderment though he
still feels close to nature as an adult.
I agree -- although I think it is also important to note that Wordsworth refers to Book I and II as "childhood and school-time" and "school-time (continued)." Despite this heading there is virtually no mention (that I picked up on) of any actual school experiences. This of course implies that nature was his classroom and that nature is essentially all you need for an education; While I agree that there is a longing for some aspect of childhood, I think nature is in part what shaped him, as a teacher may, and therefore, his relationship as an adult is not better or worse but merely different.
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