Wordsworth and Malouf both depict romantic values within their texts despite varying contexts and definitions of "the wild." Both writers value mans communion with nature and the positive effects it has on the human spirit as well as valuing nature as a teacher. However their spiritual values vary due to different contexts. These values are presented in Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey", "The Prelude" and "Tis a Beauteous Evening" as well as Malouf's "An Imaginary Life".

Wordsworth's values are indicative of the romantic era in which he lived in the 19th century. Central to the romantics was the importance of passion and emotion over purely thought. For Wordsworth it was nature, which was the catalyst for such emotion that allowed him to see past the curtain of reality, and normality caused by the "din of towns and cities" and achieve wholeness. Thus Wordsworth valued mans communion with nature. This can...