A Comparison Of Ode To The West Wind And Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

No man is an island unto himself (Donne 284), and likewise, neither are man’s ideas. Throughout the history of the arts, progress occurred when people were allowed to collaborate and be inspired by each other’s ideas. Thus, many works of art can be seen to have been influenced by other works produced during the same era. Each era had its pervading ideals, symbols, and themes, with this trend undoubtedly being the result of collaboration between and inspiration from artistic peers. For example, in the Romantic period, a prominent idea commonly portrayed in art was the power of nature and its relationship with an individual, in part due to the awe that nature inspired in the Romantics. In consideration of the fact that many Romantic poets associated with one another, it is no surprise that their poems were enhanced by the works of other Romantics, as collaboration and discussion allowed them to improve themselves and their writing. Due to stylistic similarities between the poems “Ode to the West Wind” and Childe Harold’s

It is no secret that the mind is broadened by experience, and reading poetry is no exception. By reading these two poems together, one is able to get a more complete understanding of nature and its relationship to mankind, as both poems address such a theme but do so from slightly different perspectives. Through reading different but connected works, readers themselves grow intellectually as they are forced to contend with different ideas and have understand both perspectives. Indeed, to limit oneself to reading one poem is like keeping oneself on an island - one will only be exposed to a limited, incomplete