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Nature and the poet
An essay on william wordsworth
Nature and the poet
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“Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance.” said William Wordsworth. “It seems wonderful that so frail and lovely a plant has such power over human hearts.” said John Muir. Why did they say this? What does it mean? These were said in writing to describe their experience with something remarkable. Wordsworth and Muir used tone and syntax to show their appreciation for nature and how they are truly connected to it. John Muir was affected so greatly by encountering this flower, that he kept this one memory for many years, even though he went on many more expeditions afterwards. In his essay, he states “This Calypso meeting happened some forty-five years ago, and it was more memorable and impressive than any of my meetings with human beings.” Muir remembers his run-in with the flower so fondly and being in such awe. Even though it took him forty-five years before he wrote the essay, Muir still has that feeling of love for the flower when he thinks of it. He shows us this in his tone. When reading the essay, it makes us feel happy. Muir was fascinated by the Calypso and perhaps overwhelmed by the emotions he felt. He shows us this by what words he chose to use, or his word …show more content…
Like Muir, William Wordsworth shows how much seeing the flowers affected him. He shows this in the final stanza of his poem. Simply put, he says that whenever he feels down or gloomy, he reflects on his day with the flowers and it cheers him up. He used tone to communicate his mood and feelings for when he was with the flowers or thought of them. It also shows his immense gratitude for nature. Wordsworth also states “A poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company”. This is an example of word choice. Using words such as “gay” and “jocund” express how much he treasured nature. Also, by describing the flowers in human terms, such as dancing, he shows how wonderful flowers, or just nature in general, can
Poetry should be understandable to anybody living in the world. Wordsworth eschews the use of lofty, poetic diction, which in his mind is not related to the language of real life. He sees poetry as acting like Nature, which touches all living things and inspires and delights them. Wordsworth calls for poetry to be written in the language of the "common man," and the subjects of the poems should also be accessible to all individuals regardless of class or position. Wordsworth also makes the points that "poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility" (151). These two points form the basis for Wordsworth's explanation of the process of writing poetry. First, some experience triggers a transcendent moment, an instance of the sublime. The senses are overwhelmed by this experience; the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" leaves an individual incapable of articulating the true nature and beauty of the event.
This demonstrates that individuals are related to nature because he will turn into the grass when he dies, the poet proves it by illustrating the importance of the human's soul like the depth of nature. This signifies that he shows the importance of nature and life, valued by transcendentalists like the poet
One theme of romantic poetry is nature. Nature is built into William’s mind; he relies on it as his sweet escape, to rejuvenate him. Furthermore, another theme of Romantic poetry is imagination. He describes in lines 27-29 how he feels sensations in his blood and heart, even in his mind, as a result of nature. Obviously, nature does not give a person a tangible feeling in their heart or blood, leaving the fact that he imagines this into a perceived reality.
‘It is often suggested that the source for many of William Wordsworth’s poems lies in the pages of Dorothy Wordsworth’s journal. Quite frequently, Dorothy describes an incident in her journal, and William writes a poem about the same incident, often around two years later.’ It is a common observation that whilst Dorothy is a recorder – ‘her face was excessively brown’ – William is a transformer – ‘Her skin was of Egyptian brown’ . The intertextuality between The Grasmere and Alfoxden Journals and ‘I wandered lonely as a Cloud’ allows both Dorothy and William to write about the same event, being equally as descriptive, but in very differing ways. Dorothy writes in a realist ‘log-book’ like style, whereas William writes in a romantic ballad style. This can be very misleading, as it gives William’s work more emotional attachment even though his work is drawn upon Dorothy’s diary, which in its turn is very detached, including little personal revelation. When read in conjunction with William’s poetry, Dorothy’s journal seems to be a set of notes written especially for him by her. In fact, from the very beginning of the journals Dorothy has made it quite clear that she was writing them for William’s ‘pleasure’ . This ties in with many of the diary entries in which she has described taking care of William in a physical sense. In a way this depicts the manner in which William uses his sister’s journal to acquire the subject of his poetry, which makes it seem as though Dorothy is his inspiration.
Rather than simply saying the daffodils were moving with the breeze or that lake water was moving, Wordsworth uses personification to describe the daffodils as “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” and as being “stretched in never-ending line / Along the margin of a bay” with the lake water dancing beside them” (6, 9-10). This technique gives human-like qualities to non-human entities and allows Wordsworth to describe the scene in an unusual fashion all while additionally using vernacular
Wordsworth's Poetry A lot of literature has been written about motherhood. Wordsworth is a well known English poet who mentions motherhood and female strength in several of his poems, including the Mad Mother, The Thorn, and The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman. This leads some critics to assume that these poems reflect Wordsworth's view of females. Wordsworth portrays women as dependent on motherhood for happiness, yet he also emphasizes female strength.
Throughout the poem, the poet presents an overall meaning. The main meaning is that nature can bring happiness when it’s needed and that its beauty should be appreciated. The speaker of this poem makes a heaven out of a windy day and a bunch of daffodils. When he felt lonely, the daffodils around him, gave him a boost of joy. The poet is implying that people have become blind to the beauty of nature that is easily accessed, which is why he focused on the visual descriptions of the daffodils. Wordsworth wanted to emphasize the importance of
I chose the poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth because I like the imagery in it of dancing daffodils. Upon closer examination, I realized that most of this imagery is created by the many metaphors and similes Wordsworth uses. In the first line, Wordsworth says "I wandered lonely as a cloud." This is a simile comparing the wondering of a man to a cloud drifting through the sky. I suppose the wandering cloud is lonely because there is nothing up there that high in the sky besides it. It can pass by unnoticed, touching nothing. Also, the image of a cloud brings to mind a light, carefree sort of wandering. The cloud is not bound by any obstacle, but can go wherever the whim of the wind takes it. The next line of poem says "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils." Here Wordsworth is using a metaphor to compare the daffodils to a crowd of people and a host of angels. The word crowd brings to mind an image of the daffodils chattering amongst one another, leaning their heads near each other in the wind. The word host makes them seem like their golden petals are shimmering like golden halos on angels. It is interesting to note that daffodils do have a circular rim of petals in the middle that could look like a halo. Later in the poem Wordsworth uses another simile, saying the dancing of daffodils in the wind is "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way." This line creates the image of the wind blowing the tops of random daffodils up and down in a haphazard matter, so they appear to glint momentarily as their faces catch the sun. This goes along with the next metaphor of the daffodils "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." Comparing their movement to a dance also makes me think of swirling, swishing yellow skirts moving in harmony.
In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth accomplishes his ideal of nature by using personification, alliteration, and simile within his poem to convey to the reader how nature’s beauty uplifts his spirits and takes him away from his boring daily routine. Wordsworth relates himself in solidarity to that of a cloud wandering alone, “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1). Comparing the cloud and himself to that of a lonely human in low spirits of isolation, simultaneously the author compares the daffodils he comes across as he “floats on high o’er vales and hills” (line 2) to that of a crowd of people dancing (lines 3-6 and again in 12). Watching and admiring the dancing daffodils as he floats on by relating them to various beauties of
Two things about Lucy are made clear, the first being that she is beautiful. This is seen in nature’s speech in “Three Years She Grew” when nature declares that “‘A lovelier flower/ On earth was never sown” (l. 2-3). Secondly, it is evident that because of Lucy’s beauty and purity nature will absorb her into itself, which both gives her life and restrains her. In “A Slumber did my Spirit Seal” Lucy is “a thing that could not feel/ The touch of earthly years” (l. 3-4) and is thus rendered insensate by nature, yet she continues to “[roll] round in earth’s diurnal course” (l. 7). However, that is the extent of Lucy’s activity or revealed characteristics in these poems. In this way Lucy consistently enters into a relationship with nature that effectively robs her of any human identity apart from what qualities Wordsworth believes nature will give her. It is true that nature appears to be this benevolent keeper who will take Lucy’s beauty in exchange for a life lived purely because it is so aligned with nature, but Lucy herself is evidently nothing more to the poet than someone whom he can idealize as nature’s mistress. Because he holds nature in such high regard, it is understandable that Wordsworth would seek out his ultimate female
I can picture him seeing life and feeling it in every flower, ant, and piece of grass that crosses his path. The emotion he feels is strongly suggested in this line "To me the meanest flower that blows can give / Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears." Not only is this showing the kind of fulfillment he receives from nature, but also the power that nature possesses in his mind.... ... middle of paper ... ...
As the poem progresses, the speaker’s attitude changes in (line 26), where he tells us that his mood is lowered. It is here that the speaker presents himself as “a happy child of earth” in (line 31); as once again Wordsworth... ... middle of paper ... ... / Of the unfinished sheepfold may be seen / Besides the boisterous brook of Greenhead Ghyll,” showing the growth of human beings in relative notion to nature.
Figurative language is used by William Wordsworth to show the exchange between man and nature. The poet uses various examples of personification throughout the poem. When the poet says:”I wandered lonely as a cloud” (line 1),”when all at once I saw a crowd” (line 3), and “fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (line 6) shows the exchange between the poet and nature since the poet compares himself to a cloud, and compares the daffodils to humans. Moreover, humans connect with God through nature, so the exchange between the speaker and nature led to the connection with God. The pleasant moment of remembering the daffodils does not happen to the poet all time, but he visualizes them only in his “vacant or pensive mode”(line 20). However, the whole poem is full of metaphors describing the isolation of the speaker from society, and experiences the beauty of nature that comforts him. The meta...
Wordsworth is deeply involved with the complexities of nature and human reaction to it. To Wordsworth nature is the revelation of god through viewing everything that is harmonious or beautiful in nature. Man’s true character is then formed and developed through participation in this balance. Wordsworth had the view that people are at their best when they are closest to nature. Being close creates harmony and order. He thought that the people of his time were getting away from that.
The structure of the poem sets up Wordsworth’s arguments that nature and children are two separate entities inexplicably linked to divinity. It is written in the form of an Italian sonnet, which