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Comparing the Two Poets' Representations of and Attitudes to Nature in The Way Through the Woods and Binsey Poplars
These two poems, by Gerald Manley Hopkins and Rudyard Kipling
respectively, are both concerned with how humans and how their
presence among nature can have a negative effect. Both of these poems
seem to agree that humans do have an influence on the natural
evolution of nature; mainly due to the way humans interfere with
nature. However, both of these poems illustrate different ways in the
outcome of this interference.
Binsey Poplars, focuses on the destruction of nature; specifically the
felling trees. In this poem the author (Gerald Manley Hopkins)
displays many themes, directly relating to the humans devastation of
the trees in Binsey.
But the most prominent theme exhibited throughout this poem is
mankind's destructive attitude towards nature. Hopkins portrays
mankind's destruction of nature as savage, senseless, and inhuman. He
shows humans with disregard towards nature, and its possible that
Hopkins believes that the felling of the aspens is unnecessary, even a
breach of the trees rights. This atmosphere is built up mostly in the
second stanza, using phonological effects. The use of 'Hack' and
'rack', as assonance in line 11, induces a severe, enraged mood. The
harsh sounds help build up this tone. These examples are also forms of
internal rhyme. Which again emphasises the destruction. It could be
argued that these words are indeed onomatopoeic, representing the
sound of the actual trees being hewed to the ground, with an axe.
Another instance of this destructive attitude is shown again, later in
the second s...
... middle of paper ...
...losed. This ambiguity might be for a
reason. Maybe Kipling is undecided on whether humans infringing or
changing nature is good, or acceptable. This is in complete contrast
with Binsey Poplars where Hopkins states his views precisely, leaving
no room for different interpretations.
Although, it can be positively said that the minimal human presence
has changed the way the wood has developed in The Way through the
Woods. The wood is definitely more unconstrained and undisturbed,
especially in comparison with the aspens of Binsey Poplars.
These two poems both show similar attitudes towards nature, and the
way in which human's have an effect on nature. However, it can be said
with great certainty that Binsey Poplars has a more negative attitude
towards human intervention on nature than in The Way Through the
Woods.
Therefore, Oliver’s incorporation of imagery, setting, and mood to control the perspective of her own poem, as well as to further build the contrast she establishes through the speaker, serves a critical role in creating the lesson of the work. Oliver’s poem essentially gives the poet an ultimatum; either he can go to the “cave behind all that / jubilation” (10-11) produced by a waterfall to “drip with despair” (14) without disturbing the world with his misery, or, instead, he can mimic the thrush who sings its poetry from a “green branch” (15) on which the “passing foil of the water” (16) gently brushes its feathers. The contrast between these two images is quite pronounced, and the intention of such description is to persuade the audience by setting their mood towards the two poets to match that of the speaker. The most apparent difference between these two depictions is the gracelessness of the first versus the gracefulness of the second. Within the poem’s content, the setting has been skillfully intertwined with both imagery and mood to create an understanding of the two poets, whose surroundings characterize them. The poet stands alone in a cave “to cry aloud for [his] / mistakes” while the thrush shares its beautiful and lovely music with the world (1-2). As such, the overall function of these three elements within the poem is to portray the
The dreary winter setting coincides with the lonely, detached, and abandoned feelings of Jane Eyre. The "leafless shrubbery" implies the desolation felt by Jane. This is also sy...
“We pluck and marvel for sheer joy. And the ones still green, sighing, leave upon the boughs…” (14-16). This emphasis on nature reflects the respect and connection to the natural world the culture was trying to convey in their poetry. The colorful and illustrative descriptions of the physical world are indicative of the mindset and focus of these poems. Namely the fact that they were concerned with the world around us and the reality we experience as opposed to that of abstract concept of god or the supernatural as seen in other historical texts. This focus on nature is important because it sets the context in which the major theme of loss and separation originate from. In this poem the poet chooses to emphasize the passing of time in the choice of comparing the two seasons. Spring, in which life begins a new, and fall, in which the leaves begin to fall off and die. The poem reads “And the ones still green, sighing, leave upon the boughs- Those are the ones I hate to lose. For me, it is the autumn hills” (15-18). This juxtaposition of these two
The poems, “Ode to Enchanted Light” and “Sleeping in the Forest”, are both lyric poems that convey an appreciation of nature. The poet of each of these poems use differing method to convey the point. In this article I will be comparing and contrasting the two poems using items like form, structure, and their use of figurative language.
The poet uses the associations with autumn to comment on love by explaining how love is the trees in autumn who survive the winter. For instance, the lines, “The strong root still alive under the snow, love will endure – if I can let you go.” From these lines I can conclude that although the poet might let go of her lover like how trees let of their leaves, their love will continue because the roots of the tree never die throughout the winter. For this example, of a comparison of love to autumn, the poet creates an image of a tree root prospering under the snow, even if the part of the tree above ground looks dead. Additionally, the author correlates autumn with love in the lines, “If I come to know what they do know, that fall is the release,
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...
In the first stanza, the poet seems to be offering a conventional romanticized view of Nature:
In "Hymn to Intellectual Beauty" and in "Mont Blanc," Shelley offers an intriguing, though perplexing, look at the functioning of the human mind under the influence of nature, inspiration, and poetic creativity. Composed during a tour of the vale of Chamonix between June 22 and August 29, 1816, nearly twenty years after the composition of Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey," Shelley's poems can be read, as some critics have done, as a "Wordsworthian experience" (Brinkley 45). Shelley and his literary precursor share a similar interest in some of the ways the mind works in and reacts to Nature. But whereas Wordsworth finds solace in Nature -- a setting wherein he behaves as a "lover of the meadows and the woods / And mountains, and of all that we behold / From this green earth ("Tintern Abbey," 104-106)[2] -- Shelley ultimately finds it spiritually and intellectually dissatisfying. Although they both use the natural setting and landscape as their subject, the parallels between Shelley's poems and Wordsworth's remain somewhat perfunctory.
The Way Wordsworth and Heaney Present Nature and Rural Life in Their Poetry Born 1770, in Cockermouth, William Wordsworth spent his early life and many of his formative years attending a boys' school in Hawkshead, a village in the Lake District. As can be seen in his poetry, the years he spent living in these rural surroundings provided many of the valuable experiences Wordsworth had as he grew up. At the age of 17, Wordsworth moved south to study at Saint John's College, University of Cambridge. Later, in 1790, two years after the French Revolution had begun; he took a walking tour through France and Switzerland on vacation. France obviously captivated Wordsworth's attention, because a year later he made a return visit.
Wordsworth and Hopkins both present the reader with a poem conveying the theme of nature. Nature in its variety be it from something as simple as streaked or multicolored skies, long fields and valleys, to things more complex like animals, are all gifts we take for granted. Some never realize the truth of what they are missing by keeping themselves indoors fixating on the loneliness and vacancy of their lives and not on what beauty currently surrounds them. Others tend to relate themselves more to the fact that these lovely gifts are from God and should be praised because of the way his gifts have uplifted our human spirit. Each writer gives us their own ideals as how to find and appreciate nature’s true gifts.
“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher” is what William Wordsworth has preached to us. We all have places that we can feel at home with. For some, it is a trip to the east coast or the Spice Islands. A place where we can be ourselves and not have to worry about anything else that is going on in our lives. My special place is in the Big Horn Mountains where tons of different species of animals roam the cliffs, plains, and forests that are scattered for miles across. In “Tintern Abbey,” William Wordsworth has returned there after five long years away. He brings his younger sister whom he wants to appreciate the beauty just as he does. Wordsworth notices how certain things have changed, but it is still the same place that he came to love. Wordsworth is a Romantic poet. He helped start the Romantic Movement around the end of the eighteenth century. In William Wordsworth poem, “Tintern Abbey,” there are three noticeable romantic elements which are, simplicity of language, expression of intensified feelings, and responses to nature that lead to awareness of self.
Attitude and Appreciation of the Natural World in Gerard Manley Hopkins and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poetry
Attitudes Towards Nature in Poetry Discuss Wordsworth's and Coleridge's attitudes to nature in their poetry with particular reference to Resolution and Independence. The Leech Gatherer and This Lime Tree Bower my prison. Coleridge and Wordsworth are both now referred to as Romantic poets. During the romanticism period there was a major movement of emphasis. in the arts towards looking at the world and recognising the beauty of human emotions and imaginations and the world in which we live.
Figurative language is used by William Wordsworth to show the exchange between man and nature. The poet uses various examples of personification throughout the poem. When the poet says:”I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1),”when all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3), and “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6) shows the exchange between the poet and nature since the poet compares himself to a cloud, and compares the daffodils to humans. Moreover, humans connect with God through nature, so the exchange between the speaker and nature led to the connection with God. The pleasant moment of remembering the daffodils does not happen to the poet all time, but he visualizes them only in his “vacant or pensive mode”(line 20). However, the whole poem is full of metaphors describing the isolation of the speaker from society, and experiences the beauty of nature that comforts him. The meta...
Many poets are inspired by the impressive persona that exists in nature to influence their style of poetry. The awesome power of nature can bring about thought and provoke certain feelings the poet has towards the natural surroundings.