Beauty has no conventional definition other than ‘pleasing.’ Nature, however, is often used as an example of what one would find beautiful. There are magnificent landscapes of open skies, mountains, and waterfalls that make our hearts freeze and our fingers tense with adrenaline. Similar sensations have, however, been felt the first time one emerges from the Lincoln Tunnel and witnesses the majestic buildings and flurries of people in New York City. Society is generally viewed as ugly and immoral and yet the same feelings experienced with ‘nature’ can be equally compared to the ones felt when immersed in the achievements of man.
Humanity is nature. Despite the Romantic views on it- “I love Nature partly because she is not man, but a retreat from him. None of his institutions control or persuade her.” (Journal 3, Thoreau)- civilization is our reality and the place in which we grow and live and expand upon. It is our ‘habitat,’ just as a web between tree branches is the habitat of a spider. The sense of awe one feels when looking at the city is because humans built
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One may wonder how it could possibly be considered beautiful. Yet this is precisely what makes the nature of humans so astounding. The trash in the street gutter or weeds in between sidewalk cracks are the imprints of humanity. The imperfections of our habitat only solidifies our presence. They are signs of life. There are so many variations between humans that we can not be categorized as drones of society, perfectly lined up and readily programmed. Humans have so many different ways to live that, while we each may be doing things in order for our habitats to thrive, we are also living our lives with so much variety in our step that no two days, months, years are the same. Somehow we are all still able to coexist in a nature created and built upon
Nigamananda Das (2007) introduces the concept of ‘positive aesthetics’ which suggests that while ‘[a]rt-work may be good or bad, ugly or repulsive […] nature is all beautiful in its own way’ (p. 18). Positive aesthetics posits that ‘[a]ll [of] the natural world is beautiful’ and that the natural environment ‘so far as it is untouched by man’ (Das, 2007, p. 18). These untouched environments are ‘graceful, delicate, intense, unified, and orderly rather than blase, dull, insipid, incoherent, and chaotic.’ A problem for positive aesthetics is whether all parts of nature should be held as equally beautiful. Holding that all of nature is equally beautiful has a strong motive, since to suggest otherwise may seem to compromise the position of positive
Servomaa, Sonja. “Nature Of Beauty—Beauty Of Nature.” Dialogue & Universalism 15.1/2 (2005): Academic Search Premier. Web.
In nature, someone can hear the sounds of a creek flowing and birds chirping and insects buzzing; in civilization, someone can hear engines roaring, people chattering, and buildings being built. In nature, one feels happiness and contentment; in civilization, one feels guilt and misery and sorrow. These simplicities of nature are what appeals to William Cullen Bryant in the poem ‘Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood’. The poem tells the reader that nature is a happier place than civilization and that nature gives one the answers to their existence and problems of life that civilization created. Civilization is ugly and corrupt while nature is beauty and tranquility.
Nature can keep its blissful purity untroubled in the moment, not convicted by what all society has brought into this world. Furthermore, many find nature as their safe place, the one place they can go too, and no one can interfere with their happiness. John Muir and William Wordsworth noticed the peaceful nature brought to their soul when traveling on their journey. Do not let your hands be weak, for you shall be rewarded.” – 2 Chronicles 15:7 John Muir and William Wordsworth both faced challenges to get to where they were going.
Perceptions of the natural world have fluctuated throughout humanity’s short time on this earth, going in and out of style as societies and technologies have grown and died. As is the the very nature of literature itself, literature and its authors have managed to capture these shifting views, expressed and illustrated by the art of written word. Naturally, the literature chosen for us to read based on this fluid theme of nature encompasses an array of perspectives. One of these views is that nature is sublime and above all else, a reflection of all that which is perfection. Another is that nature is cold, uncaring, and indifferent to the vanities of humanity.
Pablo Neruda’s “My ugly love” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 130” are commonly well-known to describe beauty in a way hardly anyone would write: through the truth. It’s a popular fact that many modern-day poets compose poems that make love seem perfect and use phrases that often costume the truth by masking true beauty with words. Yet, Shakespeare and Neruda, both sincere people, chose to write about what love really is, it matters more what’s on the inside than what is found on the outside. The theme of true beauty and love are found through Shakespeare and Neruda’s uses of reflection of imagery, uses of organized structure, and uses of sensory devices to describe the meaning of beauty and love.
Nature contains a simplicity that delights people; it is a natural relief to the soul. Fresh air revives those who have been stifled indoors for too long and awe-inspiring sights like the Aurora Borealis inspire poetry and art. John Updike in “The Great Scarf of Birds” shares a moment that lifts the speaker’s heart through nature. Through figurative language, natural diction, and organization, Updike describes how nature is a balm for the soul.
The story “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit” by Leslie Marmon Silko stimulates thoughts in the reader's head about the world around them. In the story Silko contrasts the views of beauty between the old time Pueblo world and Western Civilization. Silko believed that Western views of beauty are superficial, artificial, incomplete, and codes for determining social status. In contrast, Silko said the old Pueblo world determined beauty by the interactions people had with other and the world around them. These two views of beauty invoked another quality of life that is determined by similar factors; happiness. Happiness cannot be determined by social status or superficial qualities, but only by the relationships we hold with others and the
The human ego has an undeniable knack for inserting itself into the world. Yet, even with this self-insertion, humans want to stay separate from nature, beings sentient yet dependant upon nature, a sort of parasite which feeds on the beauty around them and fuel their massive culture from it. Author Robert Finch in his essay, Very Like a Whale, uses profound ambiguity to illustrate the pull on humans to the somewhat forgotten natural world.
Nature is often a focal point for many author’s works, whether it is expressed through lyrics, short stories, or poetry. Authors are given a cornucopia of pictures and descriptions of nature’s splendor that they can reproduce through words. It is because of this that more often than not a reader is faced with multiple approaches and descriptions to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a deeper and personal observation as in William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, while other authors tend to focus on a more religious beauty within nature as show in Gerard Manley Hopkins “Pied Beauty”, suggesting to the reader that while to each their own there is always a beauty to be found in nature and nature’s beauty can be uplifting for the human spirit both on a visual and spiritual level.
Aesthetics is the theoretical study of the arts and related types of behavior and experience. It is traditionally regarded as a branch of philosophy, concerned with the understanding of beauty and its manifestations in art and nature. However, in the latter 20th century there developed a tendency to treat it as an independent science, concerned with investigating the phenomena of art and its place in human life. Yet, what in a field with a hazy line in between being classified as a science or study of beliefs is considered data for determining what can be studied? It can simply be drawn to the only three things involved in the process of art : The creator, the person experiencing, and the art itself.
Through the ingenious works of poetry the role of nature has imprinted the 18th and 19th century with a mark of significance. The common terminology ‘nature’ has been reflected by our greatest poets in different meanings and understanding; Alexander Pope believed in reason and moderation, whereas Blake and Wordsworth embraced passion and imagination.
Berger claims, “beauty is always an exception, always in despite of. This is why it moves us”, because there is rarely a glimpse of beauty in the harsh distain of nature, when there is a moment where the clouds clear and the sun peaks through, it moves us (82). Berger calls this the “aesthetic emotion”. It is difficult to explain in words, but is an emotion grounded deeply in all humans. Think about the sunrise, or a waterfall, or even something as simple as a flower. That warmth in your chest? That’s the aesthetic emotion. It is hope for a brighter future and, as the villagers who hang the white birds in their kitchens and chapels during long and cold winters; it is a reminder of summer and brighter days
In American Literature many authors write about nature and how nature affects man's lives. In life, nature is an important part of people. Many people live, work, or partake in revelry in nature. Nature has received attention from authors spanning several centuries. Their attitudes vary over time and also reflect the different outlooks of the authors who chose to discuss this important historical movement. A further examination of this movement, reveals prevalence of nature's influence on man and how it affects their lives.
Throughout history, many individuals wish to discover and explain the relationship between nature and society, however, there are many complexities relating to this relationship. The struggle to understand how nature and society are viewed and connected derives from the idea that there are many definitions of what nature is. The Oxford dictionary of Human Geography (2003), explains how nature is difficult to define because it can be used in various contexts as well as throughout different time and spaces. As a result of this, the different understandings of what nature is contributes to how the nature society relationship is shaped by different processes. In order to better understand this relation there are many theorists and philosophers