In William Wordsworth's "The Tables Turned," Nature is portrayed as an entity in its own right. It is not merely a background to humanity, but rather a teacher of humanity.

As the poem begins, the speaker is telling a friend to get up from his books and go into Nature. The friend is becoming sluggish, overworked, and troubled. He needs to watch the "sun above the mountain's head" and walk in the "long green fields." He needs to hear the linnet's music and learn its wisdom. He needs to listen to the preaching of the throstle. "Let Nature be your teacher," the speaker commands his friend.

Indeed, as the poem continues, the speaker further personifies Nature. She offers "a world of ready wealth," he says, and many blessings. In Nature, one can find wisdom, health, truth, and cheerfulness. People can discover critical lessons "Of moral evil and of good" simply by walking through a forest. Indeed, Nature has her own lore that she offers freely to all who care to watch and receive with an open heart.

The speaker concludes that a person can actually learn much more from Nature than from Science or Art, and he again encourages his friend to "Close up those barren leaves" and "Come forth" into Nature to discover a whole new education.