Romantic Views On Nature In The Poetry Of Wordsworth And Shelley

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Recommended: Strengths and weaknesses of Romanticism

The Romantic movement of poets in the nineteenth century marked a movement from the earlier thinking of the poets and writers of the Enlightenment. Enlightenment writers saw nature as a prime example of scientific principals, and as an orderly representation of the universe. In contrast, Romantic writers viewed nature as the representation of God’s power and God’s presence in the living and natural universe a source of both inspiration and emotion and that it resembled the most perfect state man could be in also known as the Sublime. The Romantic views on nature can be best demonstrated in my opinion the poetry of Wordsworth and Shelley.
Wordsworth (1770-1850) was an English poet who wrote mainly lyric poetry, with a major focus on human emotion. Wordsworth is said to have described his work as, "the wild and explosive overflow of powerful feelings," from "emotion collected in peace." One of his best-known works is Lines Composed Few Miles Above Tinturn Abbey, an amazing poem in which Wordsworth proclaims the godly attributes of nature. The nature as quoted that “offers the possibility of wisdom to combat the pain inherent in human growth” (Norton, p.694). The poem describes a visit to a medieval abbey, which is in a state of ruin and has been reclaimed by nature.
In lines 89-97 Wordsworth writes,
"To look on nature, not as in the hour of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes
The still sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue. And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused (Norton, p. 697-8).
In this quote, there are many examples of nature being his source for inspiration from God. ...

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...and emotions and by that they are able to express what no others can and by making these expressions the set the guidelines for all human expression.
While the message of these two poets is clearly similar, their style and way of writing and composing their thoughts are vastly different. Wordsworth is more of a reflective and lyrical poet, who reflects upon the revitalizing power of nature but also respects it because he truly views it as god’s power on earth. Shelley on the other had with his bold verse and stunning visual imagery he creates with his wild vocabulary and outstanding word choice creates a powerful expression of the cryptic and undoubtedly divine influence that nature has on man. Which helps him to become a powerful poet to express his feelings in ways no common man could this is also helped by his belief that poets are of great importance to society.

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