Summary

The opening lines of the poem insist that nature speaks to humanity in various ways. The speaker insists that “the love of nature” (1) and “Communion with her visible forms” (2) rewards human beings with tranquility and insight in various stages of existence: “for his gayer hours / She has a voice of gladness, and a smile / And eloquence of beauty, and she glides / Into his darker musings, with a mild / And healing sympathy, that steals away / Their sharpness, ere he is aware” (3-8). According to the speaker, nature stills the mind in torment in subtle ways.

Following these lines, the speaker explicitly tells those gripped by fear of death to “Go forth, under the open sky, and list / To Nature’s teachings” (14-15). He imagines a disembodied voice of the natural order speaking to humanity in various guises. The middle portion of the poem describe the...