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Essay on the renaissance and its influence on literature
Essay on the renaissance and its influence on literature
Essay on the renaissance and its influence on literature
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Representations of Time: Wordsworth and Constable
I do not know how without being culpably particular I can give my Reader a more exact notion of the style in which I wished these poems to be written, than by informing him that I have at all times endeavored to look steadily at my subject; consequently, I hope that there is in these Poems little falsehood of description, and my ideas are expressed in language fitted to their respective importance. Something I must have gained by this practice, as it is friendly to one property of all good poetry, namely, good sense; but it has necessarily cut me off from a large portion of phrases and figures of speech which from father to son have long been regarded as the common inheritance of Poets.
-- William Wordsworth, from the Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1800, 1802)
It appears to me that pictures have been over-valued; held up by a blind admiration as ideal things, and almost as standards by which nature is to be judged rather than the reverse; and this false estimate has been sanctioned by the extravagant epithets that have been applied to painters, and "the divine," "the inspired," and so forth. Yet in reality, what are the most sublime productions of the pencil but selections of some of the forms of nature, and copies of a few of her evanescent effects, and this is the result, not of inspiration, but of long and patient study, under the instruction of much good sense…
…Painting is a science, and should be pursued as an inquiry into the laws of nature. Why, then, may not landscape be considered as a branch of natural philosophy, of which pictures are but experiments?
-- John Constable, from a lecture at the Royal Institution (June 16, 1836)
The styles of John...
... middle of paper ...
...licity and consequently may be more accurately contemplated and more forcibly communicated."
Bibliography
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
Heffernan, James A. W. The Re-Creation of Landscape: A Study of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Constable, and Turner. Hanover: UP of New England, 1985.
Helsinger, Elizabeth K. Rural Scenes and National Representation: Britain, 1815-1850. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1997.
Kroeber, Karl. Romantic Landscape Vision: Constable and Wordsworth. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1975.
Paulson, Ronald. Literary Landscape: Turner and Constable. New Haven: Yale UP, 1982.
Wolfson, Susan and Peter Manning (eds.). The Longman Anthology of British Literature: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. Volume 2A. New York: Longman, 1999.
The characterization of nature is detrimental in shift of 20th century modernist writing to impressionist truths of Canadian landscapes. Al Purdy and Archibald Lampman were two significant Canadian writers who both possessed similar impressionist ideals on Canada’s nature. Both Purdy’s “Trees of the Arctic Circle” and Lampman’s “Heat” display not only negative judgments on Canadian landscape but demonstrate a shift from a frustrated outlook to an appreciative perception on nature.
The beauty of the English countryside--cultivated or wild, pastoral or primeval, it was an endless source of inspiration for eighteenth-century Romantic poets. Such notables as Wordsworth, Keats, and Shelley envisioned ancient and exotic Hellenic gods in familiar, typically British settings. Douglas Bush says of Keats, "For him the common sights of Hampstead Heath could suggest how poets had first conceived of fauns and dryads, of Psyche and Pan and Narcissus and Endymion" ( Pagan Myth 46). Later writers, clearly influenced by the Romantic world view, would describe idealized pastoral scenes in terms of "the rich meadow-grass . . . of a freshness and a greenness unsurpassable . . . . the roses so vivid, the willow-herb so riotous . . ." (Grahame, Wind 911). This was the haunt of Nature personified:
Rielly, Edward J. “Out of the Landscape of His Past.” Journal of American Cultuer 16.3 (1993): 47.
One can see Van Gogh’s emotional suffering and mental instability expressed through the tumultuous strokes of the dark night sky and the cypress associated with mourning. One can see Van Gogh’s hope and wonder through the simplicity of the lit villages and the hills.The result is a landscape made with curves and lines, the chaos in the night sky subverted by the formal arrangement of other
Landscape paintings became of interest to artists as a way to depict nature, a man?s spiritual place in the world, and his relation to God (Pohl, 2012). The paintings of nature became a way for artists to express themselves visually and spiritually while also expanding what people could see, read, and feel (Pohl, 2012). Landscape paintings helped to grow communities and expand the western movement (Pohl, 2012). There was an issue between tearing down and using the resources of nature to build communities and to increase material wealth (Pohl, 2012).
Goldsworthy provokes the audience to “look beneath the surface of things” by exploring his connection with the environment using materials from nature to convey his ideas. The earth artist utilises found tools and objects from the natural world to execute his ideas and intentions. He incorporates the “lifeblood of nature” through the notions of movement, change, light, growth, and decay. The sculpture, Rowan Leaves and Hole offers an insight into the beauty of nature encapsulated by fragile leaves, and the strong gradation of colour that depicts notions of growth and decay. The black hole, a significant motif of his work, manipulates one’s perception of nature by introducing a metaphoric window into the energies trapped below its surface. Throughout his artmaking he believes to understand nature, one must physically experience its tactile, visual, and eternal energies. This results in a somewhat primitive approach towards artmaking reflecting his sympathetic contact with the natural world and personal belief to make no permanent mark on the land. The transitory nature of Goldsworthy’s artmaking challenges the concept of the art object. The only evidence of his artmaking, captured using photographic documentation, cannot replace the physical beauty and the energies of the artwork that once existed. Therefore, Goldsworthy’s use of materials and techniques convey an insight into his artmaking connection with the environment.
Gray, Jessica H. . "Creating Nature." English 610- British Romanticism. Professor J. Jennifer Jones, 25 10 2005. Web. 12 Mar 2010. .
The coexistence of nature and everyday life can breed wisdom within the individuals of society. I once said, “understanding nature means understanding the proportion that is found not only in numbers, but also in sounds, weights, times, spaces and any natural power whatever” (Abbagnano). In essence, this quote elaborates on the idea that nature is present in all matters of life and can be very influential. Furthermore, once nature is recognized and utilized in targeting a specific task, then wisdom will evidently follow. “Painting which [I] place above all other arts aims at representing the work of nature to the senses” (Abbagnano). Personally, I feel that painting is much more than just an art it is a way of expression as it extends far beyond the surface of the canvas. As a matter of fact, painting calls for a reaction of appreciation so that, all things considered, nature is the most striking element within the piece. And this is why nature is an underlying theme and love in most of my work while wisdom is the supplementary product of each masterpiece. For example, Virgin of the Rocks is of my many masterpieces that captures the beauty of rock formations behind the angelical scene of the Virgin Mary with her son, Jesus Christ (“Leonardo da Vinci” Britannica). There is a distinct relation between science and nature and this has fueled me to
“In this light, the paintings of Thomas Cole, Frederick Church, Albert Bierstadt, and others during the nineteenth century provided more than exquisite examples of landscape art. They infused an idealized natural world with the spirit of God, thereby transforming a hectic and dark wilderness of the imagination into places of perceived beauty and reverence. To those fortunate enough to view the works of American masters, landscape painters of the nineteenth century were doing much more than entertaining viewers with striking scenery; they were teaching viewers how to appreciate nature and exactly what sorts of natural
“John Constable, The Haywain, 1821” as per the John Constable and book point of view freshly perceived landscapes
Robert Frost, an Americian poet of the late 19th century, used nature in many of his writings. This paper will discuss the thought process of Frost during his writings, the many tools which he used, and provide two examples of his works.
Wordsworth’s “ Tintern Abbey” twisted the tale of a personal view of his time spent at Tintern Abbey in the past, present, and future. His poetic theory has been used as the basis of Romantic poetry.
The political, ideological, and economic climate of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was ideal for allowing the Romantic Revolution to take hold and flourish. It began primarily in England and France, but soon spread to much of Europe and to the United States. This essay will focus on the Romantic’s relationship with the natural world, their distaste for the Industrial Revolution, and how the Romantic poets valued imagination and emotional connections. The Romantics had a lasting impact on European and American society, political ideals, and the regard we hold for ideals and values such as nature and childhood. The Romantic’s ideas ran counter to much of the thinking of the intellectual community and to the values of industry and government of the time. By changing and challenging the minds of the masses to think differently they created a revolution in literature.
Whether he wrote about woods, milkweed, apple-picking, fire and ice, or rolling hills Robert Frost stands out among poets with his descriptive use of nature with its beauty and splendor. These images hold in a reader's mind and are hard to forget. In many of the works of Robert Frost, you can see the use of nature to convey emotions and thoughts. Not only does Frost use nature to convey images and emotions, but he allows for nature to take its place in the human world around him. Frost's nature poetry is closely related to his pastorlism (Lynen), but unlike most pastoralists, Frost includes nature.
Thompson, E.P. The Romantics: England in a Revolutionary Age. New York: The New Press, 1997.