Jacob Sweet

“The Picturesque Environment” Reviewed

The second half of “The Picturesque Environment,” by Jonathan Bate, endeavors a close reading of Wordsworth’s “Tinturn Abbey” in order to identify the theory of ecopoetics. Bate utilizes Gilpin and his Observations on the River Wye… as an idealogical antithesis of Wordsworth’s later work. Thus, Bate constructs the tenants of ecopoetics from an oppositional relationship to picturesque and Cartesian theories.

Bate asserts that the Enlightenment was “a programme for ecological imperialism,” allowing for the objectifying—nearly voyeuristic—nature of the picturesque to take hold among European sentimentalities (141). With this in mind, Wordsworth did not stand in the titular abbey to create the mental landscape of his work; rather, he denied the touristic conventions and mentally composed the piece miles away from the ruins.  Through this removal, Bate suggests that Wordsworth was moving away from human concerns in order to embrace a larger framework of observation.  

This new space for natural observation proffers a communal relationship with nature, experiencing instead of viewing. Bate suggests that Wordsworth uses the “vagrant dwellers,” the auditory imagery, and the debasement of conventional picturesque evaluations in order to pose an intricately networked relationship with the natural (146). Bate then offers Dorothy as Wordsworth’s vessel for the ecopoetical view—one that “feels with nature” through an intrinsic feminine power (148).

Bate’s argument is given a practical application in the second-half of his article. Here, he utilizes the method and content of Wordsworth’s lyric composition to explore the culturally subversive concepts of ecopoetics. The oppositional nature of Wordsworth’s ideals seem to be purposefully featured by Bate; pitting Wordsworth against tourism, the picturesque, Gilpin, Decartes, and the Enlightenment all serve to foster an undermining mentality for the poet. However, this treatment only serves to further the historical contexts of the picturesque and its contrary ideologies.

As opposed to the Morton article, Bate puts forth a reading of Wordsworth that supposes an instruction—not just a criticism—for natural observation. However, the instruction/intention of Bate’s Wordsworth calls some questions to mind:

1.      Do you think the absences of the Abbey are complimentary/contrary between Morton and Bate?

2.      Clearly there are plenty of representations of the picturesque in Sense and Sensiblity. Are there be any examples of Wordsworth’s ecopoetic ideology?

3.      Does the subversive nature of Wordsworth’s fashioning cause his ideology to seem reactionary (and thus less impactful)?

4.      The feminine predilection for a communal relationship with nature seems to be asserted by Bate without much defense or questioning. Should we assume that Bate is correct in his assumption that Wordsworth believed in the innate, natural power of the feminine? Is there enough textual support for his claim?

5.      How does Bate construct the relationship with religion in Wordsworth’s work? How does this interact with Morton’s argument?