Nature can be interpreted in many different ways. Some choose to view nature as a mother, giver of life as we depend on its food but sometimes we can’t trust nature as there are expectations that nature will betray us causing man to fight back to prevent this, forming an everlasting battle. In this area of study I will present this theme through the poems: Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney, At a Potato Digging also by Seamus Heaney and Soil by R.S. Thomas.
Seamus Heaney is one of many Irish poets that depict the betrayal of nature in many of his poems mainly through the use of autobiographical poetry that gives us a deeper insight into the meaning. From Heaney’s anthology the poem Death of a Naturalist shows this the greatest as it is written within the poet’s own life and displays the lost of childhood innocence.
The poem has a simple structure rather than Heaney’s poem At a Potato Digging. In the first stanza there are twenty-one lines of blank verse as if to say he was speaking as a child successfully capturing the reader’s attention. The second stanza is similar; the only difference is that there are twelve lines. In the first stanza Heaney describes how the frogs would begin to spawn and how his teacher had encouraged his interest forcing him to steal the frogspawn. In this section we also learn that the setting is an Irish rural countryside, as it reflects an Irish flax- dam. The second stanza Heaney records how one day he was startled by a strange noise and was curious to find out what is was. Little did he know that the frogs had gathered, in large numbers, to seek revenge for stealing the frogspawn. This then changes Heaney’s perspective on nature and no longer is he interested in nature but now scared....
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...er especially using the words and phrases to compare the worker being in a prison just like Heaney did. This is successful and effective as it makes the reader empathise how the soil digger is feeling and adds authority and authenticity to the meaning that Thomas is trying to represent.
In conclusion, it’s evident from the poems studied above that nature can be seen as the betrayer especially after the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 were approximately two million people died. Following this, people have been battling against nature to avoid such events reoccurring but without nature life would be very difficult and just as I have said there are much more different interpretations of nature than just betrayal, as there is the beauty of nature, nature’s tranquility which can be represented through other poems, songs and music.
In Emerson’s “Nature” nature is referred to as “plantations of god” meaning that nature is sacred. Also mentioned, is that “In the woods is perpetual youth”(#) conveying that nature keeps people young. Therefore, these excerpts show that nature is greatly valued by these transcendentalists. Transcendentalists would likely care significantly about the environment. In contrast, nowadays nature is often and afterthought. Natures’ resources are being depleted for human use, and the beauty of nature is also not as appreciated by modern people as it was by transcendentalists. The threat to nature in modern times contrasts to the great appreciation of nature held by authors like Emerson and
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
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.
Heaney's first anthology Death of a Naturalist is the best source for poems that show how common and often mundane things are described in beautiful language and rediscovered as meaningful activities. "Digging", Blackberry-Picking" and "Personal Helicon" are prime examples of Kavanagh's words.
...s as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way’ painting a very vivid image in the readers mind, the poet find joy and comfort in nature, he explains ‘And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.’ Mary Shelly in ‘Frankenstein’ illustrates the relationship between man and nature through the character Dr Victor Frankenstein. Mary Shelly explores man’s endeavours to dominate nature and has concluded through the actions of Victor that nature is irrepressible and spontaneous and man should not try to control something which is not theirs to control. Instead man should work in coherence with nature, both giving equal respect. Overall, McCarthy, Wordsworth and Shelly all display the importance and prominence of nature to mankind, which we should work alongside nature to improve our quality of life and minimize the negative impact on nature.
Perspective of the natural world can be indifferent or beneficent, through life and death. This is all dependant on the view of the person interacting with nature. In the works presented, from the eyes of men (in life and in death) nature is indifferent towards his life; Contrastingly, women see nature as being a more benevolent force of gentle good. Perhaps this could be explained by the different purpose of men and women of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Women were even referred to as the ‘fairer sex’ and expected to be generally gentler. They grew up weaned on crafting and caring, prepared not for any serious work. Men however were meant to protect and guard, given the tasks of hunting and providing as well. As boys they went around whacking
Nature and civilization have always shared a strong bond and; as seen throughout history, when human interaction challenges this bond a tension between Mother Nature and humankind arises. One job of the poet is to reveal this tension through his or her poetry in an attempt to quell the quarreling. Percy Shelley was one such poet that viewed society as being fractured from nature and throughout his poetry one can find examples of this as well as of the benefits from society becoming synchronized with the world. Timothy Morton’s “Within You Without You”; a section within The Cambridge Companion to Shelley, attempts to summarize Shelley’s argument in his poetry that mankind and Mother Nature are in a state of disagreement and need to reconcile to be harmonious. Although Morton accurately analyses the majority of Shelly’s works, which leads to theories that can apply universally in his poetry, some of the statements Morton presents challenge what the poet wrote.
A Lot of people in this world have lack of respect for nature. Society tends to learn in ways that take advantage of nature. Yet many people realize how valuable nature is, and how important it is to protect it. These beliefs are presented in the nature American myth “The Sky Tree” and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s from Nature. The myth teaches lessons on how to preserve the natural world, while Emerson describes the need to connect to nature to discover the truth and beauty of life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated that “the first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature.” Nature in all its forms parallels with life, death, and the soul. Whether the sunshines or the rain falls, whether a flower blooms or willows, nature will always recreate itself and remain a mystery to mankind. To become one with nature, one must explore oneself and know that the simplicity found in it is both divine and perfect. The theme of nature plays a mayor role throughout Whitman, Dickinson, and Emerson’s writings. Each poet conveys his or her view of nature in a unique and symbolic way by searching for the individual or discovering one-self, and coming to terms with death.
Robert Frost wrote poetry about nature and it is that nature that he used as symbols for life lessons. Many critics have been fascinated by the way that Frost could get so many meanings of life out of nature itself. Frost‘s poetry appeals to almost everyone because of his uncanny ability to tie in with many things that one is too familiar with and for many, that is life in itself. “Perhaps that is what keeps Robert Frost so alive today, even people who have never set foot in Vermont, in writing about New England, Frost is writing about everywhere” (294).
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.
Robert Frost is known for his poems about nature, he writes about trees, flowers, and animals. This is a common misconception, Robert Frost is more than someone who writes a happy poem about nature. The elements of nature he uses are symbolic of something more, something darker, and something that needs close attention to be discovered. Flowers might not always represent beauty in Robert Frost’s poetry. Symbolism is present in every line of the nature’s poet’s poems. The everyday objects present in his poems provide the reader an alternative perspective of the world. Robert Frost uses all the elements of poetry to describe the darker side of nature. After analyzing the Poem Mending Wall and After Apple Picking it is clear that nature plays a dark and destructive role for Robert Frost. This dark side of Frost’s poetry could have been inspired from the hard life he lived.
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.
Nature is the basis of everything that is on our own earth and beyond the limits of our universe.. It is through nature that we are able to exist in the first place, and it is through nature that we can continue to live. In “King Lear” by William Shakespeare and “A Thousand Acres” by Jane Smiley, the authors both illustrate just how important nature really is in the world through actions of Goneril and Ginny. Even though “A Thousand Acres” is a modern retelling of the famous “King Lear,” both authors bring out the elements of nature, which in turn echoes the themes of both the play and the novel.
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