Description

Book Synopsis
This is the first book to address William Wordsworth’s profound identification of the spirit of nature in trees. It looks at what trees meant to him, and how he represented them in his poetry and prose: the symbolic charm of blasted trees, a hawthorn at the heart of Irish folk belief, great oaks that embodied naval strength, yews that tell us about both longevity and the brevity of human life. Linking poetry and literary history with ecology, Versed in Living Nature explores intricate patterns of personal and local connections that enabled trees – as living things, cultural topics, horticultural objects and even commodities – to be imagined, theorized, discussed and exchanged. In this book, the literary past becomes the urgent present.

Trade Review
"This book makes a major contribution to our understandings of the social and cultural history of trees and their deep importance for Wordsworth."--Charles Watkins, professor of rural geography, University of Nottingham

Versed in Living Nature: Wordsworth's Trees

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    A Hardback by Peter Dale, Brandon C Yen

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      Publisher: Reaktion Books
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 12/09/2022
      ISBN13: 9781789146448, 978-1789146448
      ISBN10: 1789146445
      Also in:
      ELT & Literary Studies Literary studies: poetry and poets

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      This is the first book to address William Wordsworth’s profound identification of the spirit of nature in trees. It looks at what trees meant to him, and how he represented them in his poetry and prose: the symbolic charm of blasted trees, a hawthorn at the heart of Irish folk belief, great oaks that embodied naval strength, yews that tell us about both longevity and the brevity of human life. Linking poetry and literary history with ecology, Versed in Living Nature explores intricate patterns of personal and local connections that enabled trees – as living things, cultural topics, horticultural objects and even commodities – to be imagined, theorized, discussed and exchanged. In this book, the literary past becomes the urgent present.

      Trade Review
      "This book makes a major contribution to our understandings of the social and cultural history of trees and their deep importance for Wordsworth."--Charles Watkins, professor of rural geography, University of Nottingham

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