The Ages Of Poetry

Another poem, "Composed upon Westminster Bridge," expresses the lulling atmosphere of the early morning and its encompassing calm a... ... middle of paper ... ...s are "profuse strains of unpremeditated art," singing exactly what it feels, without restraint. Percy Shelley imagines these feelings of freedom and artless beauty in nature's creations that without imagination would never be conceived. Through poetry, the Romantics, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley, make many connections between the human mind and its natural surroundings by way of imagination. William Wordsworth emphasizes nature's soothing powers on the mind and its short term and long term effects. Shelley, on the other hand, expresses the boundless life of nature and its ability of uninhibited expression.

Comparing Coleridge and Wordsworth's Views on People's Relationship to Nature Although Wordsworth and Coleridge are both romantic poets, they describe nature in different ways. Coleridge underlines the tragic, supernatural and sublime aspect of nature, while Wordsworth uses anecdotes of everyday life and underlines the serene aspect of nature. In order to imply a connection between nature and the human mind, Wordsworth uses the technique of identification and comparison whereas Coleridge does the opposite in 'The Ancient Mariner' and 'Kubla Khan'. Both admire nature's healing strength and hope that their children will grow up in a natural environment instead of growing up in cities. For Wordsworth nature seems to sympathise with the love and suffering of the persona.

These two works are also similar in that they use a storyteller frame to both deliver and reinforce these ideas. In order for the reader to fully appreciate the representation of nature in these two particular poems, it is necessary to supply a little background on each poet. Wordsworth reigns supreme in the nature tradition. His poetry makes tribute to nature in conjunction with examining the human state, while maintaining that the relationship between the two is unbreakable. In his book English Poetry of the Romantic Period, critic J.R. Watson claims “the finest of Wordsworth’s nature poetry explores the relationship between [man and the world seen in the spirit of love], in the attempt to demonstrate the power of nature in the rescuing of the individual mind from degradation, materialism, selfishness, and despair” (114).

CHAPTER ONE WILLIAM WORDSWORTH AS A POET OF NATURE English Romanticism turns to external nature for inspiration and renewal. Whereas from the classical ages of Greece and Rome through the eighteenth century, the term nature generally referred to some universal system of order found throughout man and the universe, during the time of the Romantics, Nature increasingly meant external nature, scenery, particularly that characterized by wildness and ruggedness: mountains, oceans, deserts, virgin forests. ‘Nature’ could be defined in an array of ways as according to the Romantics. It was frequently presented as a work of art, created by a heavenly imagination, in exemplary language. While exacting viewpoint concerning nature varied considerably--nature as a healing power, nature as a foundation of subject and image, nature as a sanctuary from the artificial constructs of civilization, including artificial language--the customary views accorded nature the status of an organically unified whole.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, a poem that discloses the relationship between nature and human beings: how nature can affect one’s emotion and behavior with its motion and sound. The words the author adopted in this poem are interconnected and related to each other. They are simple yet profound, letting us understand how much William Wordsworth related his works to nature and the universe. It also explained to us why William Wordsworth is one of the greatest and the most influential English romantic poets in history. As Robert DiYanni says in his book, “with much of Wordsworth’s poetry, this lyric reflects his deep love of nature, his vision of a unified world, and his celebration of the power of memory and imagination.” In “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” William Wordsworth uses various natural phenomena, such as clouds, daffodils and waves, as devices to characterize his speaker’s different stages of emotion and feeling.

Contrasting Poets Lawrence and Shapiro in Their Views of Nature Throughout the history of literature, poetic views of nature has evolved through time. One of the most differing eras is the twentieth century. With it's non-classical views, the twentieth century is one of the most influential eras. While the Victorian era practiced traditional values, the twentieth century influences techniques of love and the loss of the beauty in nature. Poets of the same century have multiple views, many differing.

William Wordsworth and his not so Spontaneous Overflow of Powerful Changes in “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” William Wordsworth wrote that “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity” (Owen, 329). Wordsworth revised “I wandered lonely as a cloud” after a period of reflection and recollection on the scene of daffodils during a time that placed importance on nature, reflection and imagination. His revised version of “I wandered lonely as a cloud” should be considered the authoritative version as it is a better and more vivid description of the scene of daffodils and reflects the literary movement at the time, i.e. Romanticism. The changes are strongly influenced by the Romantic period in which he revised the poem.

A Victorian era ideal was that of the respect of nature. With the rapid change of industrialization, Carlyle would agree that this little grain of nature is good because it maintains the identity of the natural world. Carlyle would also agree that in nature are some of the only good things that are on earth. Arnold does not say anything bad about nature except that the waves give an “eternal note of sadness” as they rise and fall (Arnold ln 14). This would mostly be attribu... ... middle of paper ... ...ian.

But, these images are individually deconstructed, leaving the natural scene as a whole barren and hollow. Frost crafts a poem that is dependant on nature for both its subject and it... ... middle of paper ... ... he holds on to the romantic notion that nature reflects the human experience. Where Emerson says, "I am nothing. I see all" (1109), Frost would say, "I am nothing. I see nothing."

... ... 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.