Romantic Poets and Their Response to Nature
Consider how the romantic poets have responded to the subject of nature
with close references to at least three poems studied.
Consider how the romantic poets have responded to the subject of
nature with close references to at least three poems studied, comment
in detail on:
1. Imagery (e.g. simile, metaphor, personification.)
2. Subject matter/theme
3. Characteristics of the romantic movement
Romanticism was a poetic movement of the 19th century, during The
French Revolution. The poetry reflected on feelings of everyday
events. It was written in a simplistic language so that everyone could
understand and appreciate poetry because earlier poetry was written
formally with a complex language, which only the well educated could
understand fully. Romantic poems had strong characteristics, which
stand out, these are: pantheism, the importance of childhood and
memories, a simplistic style, an informal and everyday language,
emotional and political. From studying Keats, Coleridge and Wordsworth
Nature has been the most influential characteristic, and has inspired
them to write personal poems reflecting on God, permanence, education,
childhood and memory.
The poem 'To Autumn' written by Keats (1795-1821) is a typical
romantic poem and in the first sentence
'Season of mist and mellow fruitfulness,' we already have a sense of
calmness because the words 'mist' and 'mellow' are very soft and
gentle sounding words. Keats has used 'm' and 's' words like these
because he wants to get across the calmness of autumn and how relaxed
it is, he does this by using words which are almost impossible to be
said in a harsh and vicious way.
Keats strongly worships na...
... middle of paper ...
... to visualise a
supreme, perfect scene of exactly what Westminster looks like in the
morning. 'All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did
sun more beautiful steep In his first splendor,' is building up a
feeling of warmth because it is a very colourful passage. The word
'steep' increases the reader's sense of touch. To add nature into the
poem Wordsworth has commented on 'open unto the fields, and the sky,'
this has set a very peaceful tone to the poem and has demonstrated
that nature can live together in harmony with man. This image really
takes hold of Wordsworth and in a state of passion because of the
perfection he cries out to God 'Dear God.' This has added vigour to
the poem and to get back to the peacefulness and silent perfection he
has added about how still London is in the morning, which means his
'almighty heart is lying still.
Langston Hughes and Kate Chopin use nature in several dimensions to demonstrate the powerful struggles and burdens of human life. Throughout Kate Chopin's The Awakening and several of Langston Hughes' poems, the sweeping imagery of the beauty and power of nature demonstrates the struggles the characters confront, and their eventual freedom from those struggles. Nature and freedom coexist, and the characters eventually learn to find freedom from the confines of society, oneself, and finally freedom within one's soul. The use of nature for this purpose brings the characters and speakers in Chopin's and Hughes' works to life, and the reader feels the life and freedom of those characters.
Dafydd ap Gwilym has been acclaimed as the greatest poet of the Welsh language. As Rachel Bromwhich commented, Dafydd’s life "coincided miraculously in both time and place with an unprecedented opportunity to mate the new with the old" (Brom 112). Perhaps "mate" is a more appropriate choice of words here than Rachel intended. As his poetry depicts, Dafydd tried to mate a great many things in his time; the man is immortalized as a ball of raging hormones. A self-proclaimed "Ovid’s man," Dafydd took pleasure in identifying himself with the authoritative source of courtly love, a fresh trend in Wales during his life (Summer 29). Love, specifically courtly love, was among the new themes Dafydd merged with the traditional themes like nature. Even the ancient topic of nature, under Dafydd’s molding, took on new forms. Dafydd personified elements of nature to be his trusted messengers in poems such as "The Seagull." In the "Holly Grove," nature is subtly described as a fortress or protector of sorts. Variations of these elements of secret, protected, and secluded love mesh with images of nature throughout Dafydd’s poetry. However, nature seems to be much more than a confidant or mere factor in his search for love; Dafydd’s poems such as "Secret Love" suggest that nature is essential in this endeavor. Though Dafydd’s attempts at love are not limited to the natural realm, poems such as "Trouble in a Tavern" make it evident that only in the natural setting is Dafydd a successful lover.
Can a society of learners and explorers coexist with an ecosystem that can barely stay afloat? “The Tables Turned” by William Wordsworth and “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman both tackle the concept of nature vs. science. While the two agree on many terms, the underlying message of each is drastically different. “Tables” is much more didactic while “Astronomer” is the story of a revelation. With both poems having Romantic themes, the two must agree on the basic notions of Romanticism, in this case, the power of nature. Yet, the two disagree on a major aspect of Romanticism, self discovery. “Tables” and “Astronomer” share the same baseline thoughts, yet still tell their own stories of Romanticism.
The connection between Romanticism and nature was said by Marjorie McAtee, to have strengthened with the idealism of folk cultures and customs. Many romantic artists, writers, and philosophers believed in the natural world as a source of strong emotions and philosophies. The artists and philosophers of the romantic period also accentuated the magnificence and loveliness of nature and the power of the natural world (McAtee, Marjorie, and W. Everett. WiseGeek. Conjecture, 03 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.) . Mary Shelly and many other writers like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were romantic writers who were apprehensive toward nature, human feelings, compassion for mankind, and rebellious against society. Romanticism, which originated in the 18th century, is something that emphasized motivation as well as imagination (Adjective Clause). In Frankenstein, Shelley cautions that the initiation of science and natural rational searching is not only ineffectual, but unsafe. In endeavoring to discover the mysteries of life, Frankenstein assumes that he ...
In ‘All the Pretty Horses’ Luis states ‘among men there was no such communion as among horses and the notion that men can be understood at all was probably an illusion’, by this he means the relationship man has with nature is totally unique, it is sacred; the relationship between men is a misapprehension. In some respects the reader may agree with the statement because it is true, man’s relationship with animals and nature is fairly simple compared to man’s relationship amongst each other which is far more complex due to conflict of opinion and other complications. John Grady Cole’s relationship with Alejandra faced much turmoil and complication, one of the biggest issues they faced was the fact Alejandra’s family condemned their relationship and forbid her to be with him. To a certain extent John’s romance with Alejandra mirrors Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in respects to their forbidden love, however their story does not end in tragedy. Wordsworth shows nature to be more of a companion for man in ‘The Solitary Reaper’. The woman reaps the crops alone in the field singing with a voice so ‘thrilling’ it resonates ‘Long after it was heard no more’. Although she is lonely, she is wholly reliant upon the sustenance she receives and the relationship she has with nature. The poet proceeds to compare her to the Cuckoo and the Nightingale stating ‘No Nightingale did ever chaunt more welcome notes to weary bands’ being compared to birds with such beautiful song surely displays her oneness with nature. Unlike the ‘maiden’ Victor tries to control and dominate nature, this resentment could stem from the fact his mother died of the fever, making him go to extreme lengths in constructing this figure from different body parts to create a cre...
The first important characteristic of the Romantic Period is a person’s connection with nature. People believed that being close to nature made you closer to a man and whole, and the further away you were from nature the further away from life and less whole. Wordsworth quotes, in “The World is
Keats was inspired by spring to create his previous odes; this is because they were written in the spring of 1819. Spring is usually associated with inspiring music, because it represents a time of optimism and rebirth. “The speaker’s mentioning of the spring in the beginning of the third in Keats’s poem signals that spring is associated with the rebirth of the sun and thus with youth, whereas autumn with sunset and old age.”(Karadas 104) Thus we see the images in the third stanza are all associated with the dark. This achieved by he image of the “barred clouds” blooming and “the soft –dying day” (line 25). However, by focusing primarily on autumn and then implementing the idea of spring in the last stanza; Keats cre...
One of the most popular American poets is Walt Whitman. Whitman’s poetry has become a rallying cry for Americans, asking for individuality, self-approval, and even equality. While this poetry seems to be truly groundbreaking, which it objectively was, Whitman was influenced by the writings of others. While Whitman may not have believed in this connection to previous authors, critics have linked him to Emerson, Poe, and even Carlyle. However, many critics have ignored the connection between Walt Whitman and the English writer William Wordsworth. A major proponent of Romanticism, Wordsworth’s influence can be seen in Whitman 's poetry through a Romantic connection. Despite differences in form, one can see William Wordsworth’s influence on Walt
With its emphasis on the imagination, idealism and individualism, Romanticism emerged as a response to the discouragement with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789. In his poems, the Romantic John Keats explicitly shows an occurrence of feeling and creative energy instead of insight and reason. Keats use of strong imagery ranges among all our physical sensations such as sight, hearing, touch and smell, and Keats combines these senses into one image to produce a sensual effect and shape our interpretations of his Romantic poems. Keats opens to others to the world and the immortal subjects of Love, Death, Time, and Loneliness. Certainly, this intensity of feeling, the transcendence to
Nature has long been the focus of many an author's work, whether it is expressed through poetry, short stories, or any other type of literary creation. Authors have been given an endless supply of pictures and descriptions because of nature's infinite splendor that can be vividly reproduced through words. It is because of this fact that often a reader is faced with two different approaches to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a more extensive perspective as in William Wordsworth's "I wandered Lonely as a Cloud." While some authors tend to focus more on individual aspects of nature and are able to captivate the reader with their intimate portrayals of nature that bring us right into their imaginations as shown in John Keats' poem, "To Autumn."
... the structure, language or overall theme. Because the poem was written in the 1800’s, it limits the amount of free verse rhyme, and rhythm that can often be an added element. Though the structure is strict and allows only a handful of rhyming words that must obtain to a ten syllable rhythm, Keats never fails to express what he has seen and heard on the fall day he was experiencing when he wrote this poem. By the end of the poem, the speaker successfully modifies autumns mind, and finally convincing the season to realize its beauty, potential and individuality. With hope the readers of this ode, open their minds to all that the “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”(1) has to offer.
When humans and nature come together, they either coexist harmoniously because nature's inhabitants and humans share a mutual respect and understanding for each other, or they clash because humans attempt to control and force their ways of life on nature. The poems, "The Bull Moose" by Alden Nowlan, "The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke, "Walking the Dog" by Howard Nemerov, and "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop, describe what happens when humans and nature come together. I believe that when humans and nature come together they either clash and conflict because individuals destroy and attempt to control nature, which is a reflection of their powerful need to control themselves, or humans live peacefully with nature because not only do they admire and respect nature, but also they can see themselves in nature.
In the first stanza, the poet seems to be offering a conventional romanticized view of Nature:
We human beings can not separate from nature. No nature, no human beings. As far as poetry is concerned, nature plays a great important role on it, for uncountable poets have been writing lots and lots of great poems on it along the history of human beings. America is not an exceptional. My paper is right to deal with nature in American poetry.
In William Wordsworth’s poems, the role of nature plays a more reassuring and pivotal r ole within them. To Wordsworth’s poetry, interacting with nature represents the forces of the natural world. Throughout the three poems, Resolution and Independence, Tintern Abbey, and Michael, which will be discussed in this essay, nature is seen prominently as an everlasting- individual figure, which gives his audience as well as Wordsworth, himself, a sense of console. In all three poems, Wordsworth views nature and human beings as complementary elements of a sum of a whole, recognizing that humans are a sum of nature. Therefore, looking at the world as a soothing being of which he is a part of, Wordsworth looks at nature and sees the benevolence of the divinity aspects behind them.