The speaker is in a state of fierce rebellion, wanting to run, fight, or deny any connection to God. Yet rather than fully breaking away, he feels a dread of where that path leads. He imagines his soul dissolving into nothing — like bubbles vanishing into wind — if the “venom” of his restless impulses is left unchecked. That produces a mood of anxious urgency. He pleads with God to still his unruly heart, calling it God’s “highest art” to conquer strongholds. The second half of the poem turns more tender and desperate: he asks God to smooth his rugged heart and carve divine law into it, or even give him a new heart altogether, because the old one feels like a lifeless stone fit only to bury him. It’s a cry for spiritual transformation, mixing fear of inner emptiness with hope that a higher power can make something firm and reverent out of his chaos.
Nature — Summary
Full of rebellion, I would die, Or fight, or travel, or deny That thou has aught to do with me. O tame my heart; It is thy highest art To captivate strong holds to thee.
If thou shalt let this venom lurk, And in suggestions fume and work, My soul will turn to bubbles straight, And thence by kind Vanish into a wind, Making thy workmanship deceit.
O smooth my rugged heart, and there Engrave thy rev'rend law and fear; Or make a new one, since the old Is sapless grown, And a much fitter stone To hide my dust, than thee to hold.