The speaker begins by introducing the water lily as a stage for the activity that goes on around it. He describes “a green level of lily leaves” that “reefs the petal’s chamber and paves the flies’ furious arena,”--a cover for the activity below and the ground for the action above. The picture establishes the speaker’s view of nature as a complex body with layers that reach beyond its seemingly inactive surface. The language used by the speaker to describe the lily leaves, marked by alliteration and subtle imagery, also demonstrates the speaker’s appreciation of the beauty of nature’s “outer surface,” the face it shows most plainly to the casual observer. The speaker also personifies nature by describing it as a “lady” with “two minds,” clearly those that exist above and below its surface. Study these, the speaker notes to himself, and only then can one develop an accurate understanding of the heart of nature.…
Indeed, through individual transformations, subsequent sensations of timelessness and stability demonstrate the restorative ability of landscapes. Harwood’s autobiographical poetry “At Mornington” conveys her personal reflection of childhood innocence depicted in her biblical interaction with a remembered landscape – “As a child I could walk on water – the next wave, the next wave”. However, the interruptive aposiopesis in “Memories of childhood iridescent, fugitive as light in a sea wet shell” signifies both Harwood’s nostalgic connection with the landscape, and the ability of nature to provoke a depressing contemplation of life, evident in the pessimistic immersion “among avenues of the dead”. The construction of a pumpkin as “a parable of…
Humankind’s threat to the earth and the natural world has been a common theme of writing since the industrial revolution and underpins The Crest. Kinsella’s forboding poem presents a powerful analogy with man’s pastoral development and it’s intrusion into the natural world.…
The Americans, also led by Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam along with Prescott, knew what they were doing. With the British’s intent revealed, Putnam and Prescott exercised disciplined initiative, and forced the “British to fight on ground the Americans chose” (Kurtz, pg. 612).…
Thomas has a very distinctive eye for the miniature of nature, often overlooked by others. Explore his appreciation of the natural world in the poem ‘But These Things Also.’…
Richard Wilbur presents a peaceful and enchanting image of a meadow going through the natural changes of the autumn season. Not only does he allude to the peacefulness of nature but also the subtle changes a person goes through such as personality, physical, and emotional. Wilbur compares the beautiful changes the meadow undergoes to how “a forest is changed / By a chameleon’s tuning his skin to it,” revealing the uninterrupted natural order of things and the fine tuning people do every day to become the person they want to be. The peaceful connotation brought on by many phrases such as “Queen Anne’s Lace lying like lilies,” “wading,” and “glides,” reveals the unity and accord that nature has and experiences.…
He talks about how he was fascinated as a kid by the brilliance of nature. He remembers almost every detail: the sound of the “mountain springs,” “this dark sycamore,” and the “hedge rows.” He mentions how he would always reminisce about his experience, which would help keep him keep sane. When he’s there, he’s thinking about his perception of it in the past, and the way he will reminisce about this experience in the future. His perspective on nature changed. Now, he is not only fascinated by its beauty, rather looks at it in a more detailed form, understanding its place in the world as well as how everything in the world is connected with one another. As he grew older he became more mature and wise, which allowed him to see things differently and have a much more deeper understanding of life in connection with…
Judith Beveridge’s poetry examines the ability of humans or the materialistic world to be interconnected with nature. In the poem Mulla Bulla Beach she examines a human’s ability to be part of nature, particularly from an outsiders perspective. She states “ A new world to me, but familiar”, demonstrating how she can be related to nature. She also examines an insiders perspective on the beach, in particular the fisherman, stating “ who are born hearing the sea always there” She examines how the fisherman have become part of the natural rhythm demonstrating how humans can be part of nature, and the tension between the material world and nature does not need to exist. She uses many similes to link humans or human objects to nature for example “Jellyfish clear as surgical gloves” and “ tide winded shells pacing quietly as shore runners”. These similes demonstrate how humans can not only understand but also be part of the natural rhythm. This is also seen in Judith’s poem, The Fox in a Tree Stump. Judith examines how the child feels a connection to the fox and its innocent nature stating, “ Fox hairs of dust sweated in my palms” although, this connection does not overpower the fear of her uncle, so she kills the fox. This demonstrates that although humans may feel connected to nature although this does not prevent them from destroying aspects of nature. Judith Beveridge examines the inherent tension between nature…
In this poem MacCaig portrays beautiful yet unusual images and an admiration of nature and many of its qualities. Small and normal parts of nature are hyperbolized with the use of paradoxical similes, language and imagery. One of the main qualities, which the speaker seems to admire, is the tranquility and sedateness of nature and just being in nature. He lies carefree “in the cool, soft grass” as he watches nature take its course.…
The use of imagination brings a child's perspective of the garden to a level in which everything is brought to life in and around the backyard. The child's perspective makes simple items show great symbolism such as the washing line which lifts the persona to an "exalter position, almost sky high". The washing line is also personified with "sliver skeletal arms" and is "best climbing tree" which metaphorically describes the washing line. Sustained metaphors like "pegs adorning its trunk" are used to further show the responder the comparison between the washing line and a tree. The use of similes enables the responder to be able to take part in the poem and see things in the eyes of an imaginative child, a child who finds a simple backyard, where clothes can be hung like "coloured flags in a secret code", mystifying and amusing.…
Walt Whitman is considered one of America’s greatest poets. During his lifetime, Whitman wrote hundreds of poems about life, love and democracy, among many others. In particular, Whitman’s poetry reflects the spirit of the age in which he lived, the Civil War. In taking a closer look at one of his most renowned and brilliant pieces, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, three particular themes are observed; his love for nature, the cycle of life, as represented by both life and death, and rebirth.…
Within “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, the narrator illustrates the surroundings with such clarity; the reader could almost feel like he was standing in the woods with the speaker. The narrator expresses the solitude of the woods by commenting “To stop without a farmhouse near” (6). They illustrate for the reader that they are between the woods which are “lovely, dark and deep” (13) and a lake that has frozen over with the arrival of winter. The only sounds the narrator hears, other than the shaking of their horses harness bells, are the wind and snow falling. This strengthens the poems tone of isolation within the surroundings, as well as the narrator.…
The poet uses imagery throughout the poem, evoking strong images in each stanza, and language that appeals to the senses. The first stanza uses an image of a "tree, or a wood". This natural image conjures a sense of freedom. It then moves to "a garden, or a magic city", evoking images of human tampering with nature, and the idea of large possibility.…
During his life, Robert Frost, the icon of American literature, wrote many poems that limned the picturesque American Landscape. His mostly explicated poems “Birches” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” reflect his young manhood in the rural New England. Both of these poems are seemingly straightforward but in reality, they deal with a higher level of complexity and philosophy. Despite the difference in style and message, “Birches” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” are loaded with vivid imagery and symbolism that metaphorically depict the return to the nature and childhood, the struggle between reality and imagination, and also freedom and captivation.…
1- Return to Nature: Areal feeling for the world of leaves and flowers, this feeling of nature chon as early as Thomson's seasons (1730), is grow stronger and rich culmination in the poetry of word south poet growth turned away from the "town" and took more and more interest in country life. The works of poet like Thomas Gray, William Cowper, Robert Burns, George Crabbe, showed a marked sympathy for the poor and downtrodden. The written to nature renewed interest in simple humanity. We find this in Gray's Elegy. They turn back for inspiration to Milton. Shakespeare and Spenser.…