Wordsworth's Political Views: Poetry from 1798 to 1807

Introduction: Wordsworth, the French Revolution, and Romanticism

The political crisis that was the French Revolution, which occurred in Europe between 1789 and 1799, illustrates the influential effects of the Enlightenment movement and the political ideas of the philosophes. The prevalent ideology of the French philosophes during this period was human freedom through rationalization — that is, freedom acquired through intellectual development and material progress. It was through this ideology that 18th-century French society sought transformation, a pursuit that ultimately led to the declaration of the Revolution.

Within this historical context emerged the poetry of William Wordsworth, the English poet best known for his strict adherence to Romanticism in both style and content. Beyond Wordsworth's Romantic poetic sensibility lies a political ideology that deviates from the popular beliefs of most Europeans of the time. While much of Europe celebrated the promise of human freedom and social progress through the French Revolution, Wordsworth remained critical — as did most of his fellow Britons — of a revolution that England regarded as a path toward tyrannical rule rather than genuine freedom.

This paper discusses Wordsworth's political views between 1798 and 1807, spanning the period during and after the French Revolution. Through an analysis of two poems, one from each period, the paper posits that Wordsworth's political stance is critical of the rationalization of human society and its seemingly patriarchal nature. He contends that a shift from rationalization (i.e., the modernization of society) toward a return to a traditionalistic society governed by matriarchy — embodied by Nature — represents the true meaning of intellectual development and social progress. This argument is developed through analysis of "The Tables Turned" (1798) and "I Grieved for Buonaparte, with a Vain" (1807).

There is relatively little difference between the two poems' primary messages with respect to Wordsworth's political ideology. Both poems reflect his critical view of the rationalization of society through institutionalized education. Where a difference exists, it is in the degree of his belief in Nature and traditionalistic society: this conviction intensifies between the two poems, strengthening his argument that humanity should engage with Nature more deeply than ever before.

The Tables Turned: Nature as Education and Political Critique

This assertion is explicitly expressed in both poems, which function as forms of personal satire against the prevalent political ideology in 18th-century Europe. Wordsworth's concept of "personal satire" refers to a literary work expressed implicitly and subtly, addressing the public through hidden meaning rather than explicit statement (Dyer, 1997: 102). The recurring theme of rationalization through institutionalized education versus education through Nature is central to both works.

"The Tables Turned" carries two main messages: a critique of institutionalized education and an exaltation of human life in Nature. In this poem, Wordsworth speaks primarily from his own experience and opinions about learning through the natural world. His critique of institutionalized education is evident from the very first stanza, where he disapproves of relying on books to attain knowledge and wisdom: "Up! Up! my Friend, and quit your books; … Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife: / Come, hear the woodland linnet … / There's more of wisdom in it" (lines 1–10). The poet's suggestion that "Let Nature be your Teacher" stems from his foundational belief in Romanticism: Wordsworth believes that it is "[t]he poet's obligation … to render experiences accurately and express them without resorting to traditional poetic convention … The object of poets, in short, is to connect their own imaginations with the imagination of readers and to enable readers to reexperience the poet's heightened awareness" (Roberts and Jacobs, 1998: 948).

The "language of real life" is strongly advocated in "The Tables Turned," as Wordsworth draws on his own experience of achieving enlightenment through Nature (Rider, 2004). The poem also illustrates the poet's conversational relationship with the reader, a feature inherent in Romantic poetry's attempt to convey the realities and experiences of the poet. It is through this sharing of experience between poet and reader that the poem advances its central message: that education should occur within the natural environment of human society, among people and in communion with Nature. Wisdom and knowledge acquired through such social interaction represent the ultimate form of education — far superior to what books and other symbols of formal, institutionalized education can offer. This belief is articulated in the poem's closing lines: "Enough of Science and Art; / Close up those barren leaves; / Come forth, and bring with you a heart / That watches and receives" (lines 29–32).

In the early 19th century, years after the French Revolution, Wordsworth's criticism of modernization had intensified, illustrating how the Enlightenment's ideology of rationalization and individual freedom had instead led to the downfall of human society. In 1807, when he wrote "I Grieved for Buonaparte, with a Vain," Wordsworth demonstrates how a misguided belief in freedom from monarchy — characteristic of the French Revolution — resulted in tyranny: the rule of France by individuals whose self-interest excluded the welfare of society and the common good.

I Grieved for Buonaparte: Tyranny and the Failure of Rationalization

This image of the tyrant is explicitly expressed in the poem, where the title itself signals the poet's feelings toward his subject, Napoleon Bonaparte, France's most consequential — and most destructive — political leader. Through Bonaparte, Wordsworth articulates his disagreement with rationalization, modernization, and the social changes brought about by the Enlightenment. His dismay at this so-called development of human society is expressed in the lines where he constructs an image of what a leader ought to be — wiser and more humane than the real Bonaparte: "The Governor who must be wise and good, / and temper with the sternness of the brain / Thoughts motherly, and meek as womanhood" (lines 6–8).

In "Buonaparte," the poet reiterates his belief in the power of Nature to promote social progress through intellectual development and social cohesion. Nature, as in "The Tables Turned," takes a central role in human development. The poem, composed in the early 19th century — after the French Revolution and amid the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in Britain — shows how the dominance of rationalistic politics over "Nature and … fraternal fellowship with his fellow-man [sic]" leads society toward destruction. Under Bonaparte's leadership, the poem suggests, society descends toward savagery, an imagery made explicit in the aftermath of revolution: "the beauty of the landscape, the freedom of its creatures, and the trustfulness of the people … become the innocent causes of cruelty, possessiveness and greed" (Turner, 2000).

The second poem best illustrates the consequences of humankind's drive toward modernization and rationalization. Yet Wordsworth's nature as a Romantic poet shines through in its final lines, where he offers hope to his readers. In "Buonaparte," he envisions an ideal situation in which a society's political structure improves as human beings engage "in the hourly walk of the mind's business" — a form of social interaction wherein knowledge is shared and experienced harmoniously. Through this scenario, Wordsworth asserts that "the stalk of True Power" grows, and ultimately, genuine individual freedom is attained ("and her rights are these") (lines 11–14). It is through this poem that Wordsworth comes full circle not only as a poet but as a political reformist, elucidating how Nature and social interaction bring about human freedom and social progress.

Conclusion: Wordsworth's Enduring Political Legacy

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