Humans are curious creatures who hunt for information to better understand the world around us, and as the world keeps evolving, books become more prevalent than any other source of information to feed our curiosity. Books can offer so much about what’s around us, however that is also its most major flaw. Books can not teach us about others, how to act, morals and ethics, truths and lies, to protect or hurt, this is something we can only learn through experience and nature.
The Tables Turned by William Wordsworth is a rhythmic and inspiring poem about the flaws with modern day education through literature, and how we as a human race should resort back to simpler times where we learned from trial and error, with nature as our guide through the winding and treacherous path of life. The way that I interpreted this poem is that knowledge through literature has been misused, and obtained immorally, not as a tool but as power. However nature has offered us information, to be used as a tool, to learn and understand through uncorrupted means. This idea is presented through the lines, “Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—We murder to dissect.” Nature is a pure form of education that can teach us about the fundamentals of life and how to be morally correct unlike novels, as proven by the line, “One impulse from a vernal wood, May teach you more of man, Of moral evil and of good, Than all the sages can.” with sages implying books. This poem to me was all about how we as humans were corrupted slowly, and how we must return to our former teacher, mother nature.
Although I can personally relate to this, the past of the world can as well, with WW2 being an infamous example. The book, “Mein Kampf” was a widespread book all over Germany, spreading the ideals of Adolf Hitler, assisting the rising of the Nazi party. During this time as well, Nazi Germany burned many many books, showing how much power books held back in WW2 for one of the world’s greatest threats to burn anything that did not align with their ideals. Books have corrupted the people, used for power. Nature has taught us how to survive through natural disasters, weather, and unexpected events. My personal connection was through scouts. I was apart of cubs for 3 years, before moving into scouts for about 2 years, then leaving to prioritize school and soccer, eventually giving up soccer and focusing on volleyball. In scouts, we never really touched a book, and prioritized camping and learning through experience from nature. I learned many skills, how to use a knife, start a fire, create shelter, and most importantly, character.
The poem “The Tables turned,” is a beautiful poem, all about how books have slowly corrupted us, and misusing them for power. How we should return to our former teacher that can teach us many things about the world and people around us, as well as ourselves.
Sources:
https://www.istockphoto.com/video/the-book-fall-rotate-on-a-black-background-and-the-pages-evolve-in-the-air-gm898448518-247920160
https://unsplash.com/s/photos/canada-nature
https://www.123rf.com/photo_132785864_a-soldier-of-world-war-ii-is-sitting-near-the-tree-and-looking-up.html?is_plus=1&origin=1