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English IV – Unit 9: Romantic and Victorian Poetry Project: 19th-Century Views Oral Report William Wordsworth’s poem, “Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting The Banks Of The Wye During A Tour. July 13, 1798” (also known as simply, “Tintern Abbey”), was included in the book Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems. This was a joint effort between himself and author Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Tintern Abbey” remains one of Wadsworth’s most famous poems, and at its printing, the book was completely sold out in two years. The name of the poem reflects the inspiration Wadsworth felt upon visiting the ruins of an old church called Tintern Abbey, with his sister Dorothy. During his young adulthood, Wadsworth took numerous walking tours throughout the mountains of Europe, and came to feel that nature had special soothing and healing powers. He would experience a renewal of his spirit when he would connect with nature. Wordsworth uses imagery that creates a feeling a beauty and serenity. For example, “…These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts, Which at this season, with their unripe fruits, Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves 'Mid groves and copses. Once again I see These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms, Green to the very door…” (11-17) Wordsworth expresses his reverence for the natural world, and communicates the importance of nature to him personally. In one eloquent passage, he repeatedly describes the countless ways nature has helped him during difficult times, “…These beauteous forms….I have owed to them In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, Felt in the bl... ... middle of paper ... ...n’ were being discussed, and there was confusion in the contrast between God and nature. In stanza 56, Tennyson maintains that nature is cold-hearted, “"So careful of the type?" but no. From scarped cliff and quarried stone She cries, "A thousand types are gone: I care for nothing, all shall go.” Both Wordsworth and Tennyson consider the universal themes of God, nature and spirituality in their poetry. Wordsworth clearly has a deep connection and affection for nature, while Tennyson is struggling with his faith and what he perceives as ‘nature’s cruelty’. Works Cited "In Memoriam A.H.H.." by Lord Alfred Tennyson. N.p., n.d. Web. . . Wordsworth, William. The Complete Poetical Works. London: Macmillan and Co., 1888; Bartleby.com, 1999. www.bartleby.com/145/. [Date of Printout].
Nature isn’t just plants and animals all living together. It’s the feeling of joy when you see the most breath taking view. It’s the sense of awe when you see the grand canyons, or a field of wild flowers as far as your eyes can see, or it can even be a simple as a walk on the beach on an early spring morning. As it is shown in the articles, I’ll be discussing how Muir’s and Wordsworth’s tones changed after their experiences with nature and how their experiences affected them in the long
Romantic poets saw nature as a powerful teacher that helped humans comprehend their place in the universe. An example of this can be portray by the poem "Ode to The West Wind," by Percy Bysshe Shelley. This poem is calling upon the West Wind. Shelley uses passionate words and imagery to portray his recognition of the true beauty behind it. The poem talks about how nature is more powerful than man will ever be. Since the speaker will never conceive such powers, he wishes for the winds to carry his ideas and dreams across the globe for inspiration for others. Thus, allowing man to increase his status by allowing nature to channel
Wordsworth, William. Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. M. H. Abrams Gen. ed. New York, London: Norton. 2 vols. 1993.
In his poem, 'Lines Written in the Early Spring,' William Wordsworth gives us insight into his views of the destruction of nature. Using personification, he makes nature seem to be full of life and happy to be living. Yet, man still is destroying what he sees as 'Nature's holy plan'; (8).
William Wordsworth is easily understood as a main author whom expresses the element of nature within his work. Wordsworth’s writings unravel the combination of the creation of beauty and sublime within the minds of man, as well as the receiver through naturalism. Wordsworth is known to be self-conscious of his immediate surroundings in the natural world, and to create his experience with it through imagination. It is common to point out Wordsworth speaking with, to, and for nature. Wordsworth had a strong sense of passion of finding ourselves as the individuals that we truly are through nature. Three poems which best agree with Wordsworth’s fascination with nature are: I Wandered as a Lonely Cloud, My Heart leaps up, and Composed upon Westminster Bridge. In I Wandered as a Lonely Cloud, Wordsworth claims that he would rather die than be without nature, because life isn’t life without it, and would be without the true happiness and pleasure nature brings to man. “So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me
Toynton, Evelyn. "A DELICIOUS TORMENT: The friendship of Wordsworth and Coleridge." Harper's. 01 Jun. 2007: 88. eLibrary. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Nature and God are the main themes in “Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, William Wordsworth’s poems, “The World is Too Much With Us”, and “It is a Beauteous Evening”. The poets portray the themes of Nature and God both explicitly and implicitly, exposing the reader to a variety of ways in which nature and God is synonymous.
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.
Woof, R.S. Wordsworth’s Poetry and Stuarts Newspapers: 1797-1803. 1962. University of Virginia. 4 March 2003.<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-sb? id=sibv015&images=bsuva/sb/images&data=/texts/english/bibliog/SB&tag=public∂=10&division=div>.
Cosgrove, Brian. “Review: Wordsworth, Reality, and the ‘Absolute Self’.” “Reviewed works: The Prose Works of William Wordsworth”. An Irish Quarterly Review, 64 (1975) 49-58. JSTOR. Web. 21 Mar. 2010
This stanza is dominated by the Christian ideas of being made in God’s image. However, man does not remain in that image. His “birth is but a sleep and a forgetting,” and as his life progresses he moves farther and farther from the glorious ideal he had in childhood. Throughout much of his poetry, Wordsworth asserts that in childhood, one can “see” but is unaware of that ability, whereas in adulthood, one cannot see and is painfully aware of his situation. It is only through conscious thought and reflection that man can begin to find a state similar to his original one. The question, then, is why children, who take nature for granted, are given the opportunity to connect so closely with it. It would appear that the fact that children do not realize what they have is the very reason for their having it. Thus, the losing of that knowledge with age allows man to feel the loss, and forces him to find a solution, just as Wordsworth has done. In stanza ten, he tells the reader that the true essence of humanity is the ability to feel pain and have memories of better times. Through these painful or happy memories, man is able achieve the philosophical state of mind, and in the end to love nature “even more” than he did in youth.
To conclude, William Wordsworth uses form and syntax and figurative language to stress on his mental journey, and to symbolize the importance of the beauty and peace of nature. In my opinion, the poet might have written this poem to show his appreciation towards nature. The poem has a happy mood especially when the poet is discussing the daffodils. In this poem the daffodils are characterized as more than flowers, but as humans “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6). In addition, the poet mentioned himself to be part of nature since nature inspires him to write and think. Therefore, the reason that the poet wrote this poem was to express the feeling of happiness in his mental journey in nature.
Overall, Wordsworth's use of symbolism in his poem illustrates a sense of the conviction and deep feelings he had toward nature; however, he sees himself as having insight to the problems. The materialistic progress being made by mankind is not without consequence, and the destruction of the environment by mankind's shortsightedness will continue as Wordsworth has foreseen. The change hoped for by the author will not come as a result of an initiative by humanity, but as an uproar by mother nature in the form of a battle. This battle will bring forth a victory for the environment and stimulate a re-birth for the world.
Durrant, Geoffrey. Wordsworth and the Great System, A Study of Wordsworth’s Poetic Universe. Cambridge: University Printing House, 1970.
"The Poetry of William Wordsworth." SIRS Renaissance 20 May 2004: n.p. SIRS Renaissance. Web. 06 February 2010.