Whats most important to see here is the attitude toward nature conveyed by both poems. Obviously, Wordsworth sees nature as not only the source of the spirit, but the source of his morality, basically all his human goodness. Consider this passage:
“In nature and the language of the sense
The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse,
The guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul
Of all my moral being.”
So, by talking about “anchoring” here, we can see that Wordsworth perceives nature to be actively involved in the spiritual life of man, as protecting the soul, the heart, and all of the speakers moral being. Obviously, what we have here is a nurturing mother Earth, from which mankind draws strength and inspiration.
Now, onto Tennyson. We have a much different attitude towards nature and its relationship towards mans spiritual life and spirit itself. Basically, Tennysons portrayal of nature, or mother Earth, is that she is indifferent to the spirits and spiritual lives of men, and that we can not look to her to nurture our spirits. Consider this passage:
“A thousand types are gone:
I care for nothing, all shall go.
“Thou makest thine appeal to me:
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more.”
Here, mother Earth is basically saying, “Im brutal and callous, I could care less about your spirit and self-important view of your life. To me, its just the system of nature itself that I perpetuate, and nothing more.”
The fundamental difference between Tennysons attitude towards nature and Wordsworths is that, in nature, Wordsworth finds reason to believe in the goodness of the world, and finds meaning, inspiration, and solace in the beaty and majesty of the natural world. (Additionally, he alludes more to natural land formations and inanimate things like trees, etc.) Whereas Tennyson is referring more to the brutality of nature, referring more to the animal kingdom and the food chain as evidence of natures brutality, (The passage “Tho Nature, red in tooth and claw”