Romantic Nature Essay

The Psychology of Robert Frost’s Nature Poetry Robert Frost’s nature poetry occupies a significant place in the poetic arts; however, it is likely Frost’s use of nature is the most misunderstood aspect of his poetry. While nature is always present in Frost’s writing, it is primarily used in a “pastoral sense” (Lynen 1). This makes sense as Frost did consider himself to be a shepherd. Frost uses nature as an image that he wants us to see or a metaphor that he wants us to relate to on a psychological level. To say that Frost is a nature poet is inaccurate.

Another Romantic poet, by the name of Percy Bysshe Shelley, shows great longing for the freedom that nature possesses and the freeing effect it has on him. These poets of the Romantic period look at nature from a higher consciousness called the imagination. William Wordsworth, through many of his poems, expresses the serene beauty contained in nature and its tranquilizing effects on human thoughts. In "Lines Composed a Few Miles from Tintern Abbey", the speaker looks "on nature...to chasten and subdue...the mind" and bring peace to his thoughts. Looking deeply into nature brings the feelings of sublime contentment and new feelings of inspiration that one cannot find in any alternate surrounding.

Comparing the Representation of Nature in Wordsworth’s Ruined Cottage, and Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner For most poets of the Romantic Age, nature played an invaluable role in their works. Man’s existence could be affected and explained by the presence and portrayal of the external nature surrounding it. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge are no different from the other Romantic poets, and their works abound with references to nature and its correlation to humanity. Specifically, Wordsworth’s “The Ruined Cottage” and Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” share the theme of nature affecting man, although essential differences exist in their ideas regarding how it affects man. These two works are also similar in that they use a storyteller frame to both deliver and reinforce these ideas.

The English Romantic poets of the 19th Century had a conception about nature that, over a century later, appears in the poetry of today. These poets have had a significant influence on the attitude and vocabulary a contemporary poet uses. Among the contemporary poets, Dana Gioia, in his two poems, "Becoming a Redwood," and "Rough Country," has drawn on the idea of the innocence and untainted part of nature that parallels the Romantic poetry of William Wordsworth and William Blake in their poems "Nutting," and "The Tyger." Also, Gioia has captured the wild-like and untamable demeanor of nature that many English Romantics have similarly captured. Finally, Gioia uses the concept of the sublime in his poetry to the extent that nature becomes dangerous to humans.

... ... middle of paper ... ...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.

Art in the Romantic era was greatly influenced by nature because of its uncontrollable raw power and potential for ... ... middle of paper ... ...ver the previous thought process of strict formal rules and reason. The literature in the Romantic period emphasized a love of nature and idealized the lives of those in the country believing that that faults in society are caused by urbanization. Works Cited "Characteristics of Romantic Literature." Odessa.edu. Odessa College, n.d.

Attitudes Towards Nature in Poetry Discuss Wordsworth's and Coleridge's attitudes to nature in Their poetry with particular reference to Resolution and Independence (The Leech Gatherer) and This Lime Tree Bower my prison Coleridge and Wordsworth are both now referred to as Romantic poets, during the romanticism period there was a major movement of emphasis in the arts towards looking at the world and recognising the beauty of human's emotions and imaginations and the world in which we live. From the 18th century some saw imagination as a disease of which most poets suffered, for others imagination was the ability to remember or draw something that wasn't directly present. Coleridge speaks of the imagination as 'The distinguishing characteristic of man as a human being' (In his 'Essay of Education') Wordsworth defines imagination as the 'clearest insight, amplitude of mind, / an reason in her most exalted mood' in book fourteen of the prelude. One of the characteristics of Romanticism is exploring the relationship between nature and human life. Both Wordsworth and Coleridge focus's on this strongly in there poems.

The Romantic VS. the Victorian In the world of poetry, there are several viewpoints on every single topic that can be thought of. One major topic is that of Nature. When it comes to William Wordsworth and Lord Alfred Tennyson there is an immense amount of differentiation on their interpretations of the subject because they wrote in separate eras. The Romantic age it characterized by a strong belief in finding truth in nature, while the Victorian age is narrow minded and finds the opposite. This allows for a complete separation of ideas between the eras.

William Wordsworth's "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" Whereas most individuals tend to see nature as a playhouse that should alter and self-destruct to their every need, William Wordsworth had a very different view. Wordsworth perceived nature as a sanctuary where his views of life, love, and his creator were eventually altered forever. The intensity of Wordsworth's passion for nature elevated him from a boy into the inspiring man and poet in which he is recognized to be today. One of the most compelling works Wordsworth ever devised was that of "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey." The poem enlightens the reader on the awesome power and depth of nature, which Wordsworth has discovered in his trials and tribulations upon the earth.

To be given a list of Neo-Classic tendencies, and then a subsequent one with its opposites, and then to call that ‘Romantic’ is, I don’t believe, the principal of Romantic writing in its context. I believe that both of these poems I have chosen (Tintern Abbey and The Thorn) show, in stages, the core beliefs of the Romantic Movement. Firstly, list of thematic aside, the poems show the beating heart of Wordsworth’s ideals in nature and in humanity, however it also does show the thematic, The importance of the individual, of subjectivity, that imagination has no boundaries. Both express the view that nature is the ‘music of humanity’ and particularly in Tintern Abbey, that tranquil contemplation is important to a man of any creed. The locations often carry specific importance in Lyrical Ballads, Primarily because they give meaning to the individual who experiences them.