Throughout romantic poetry and in particular Wordsworth’s work the beauty of nature provides the ultimate escape. In “Strange fits of passion have I known”, Wordsworth compares Lucy, the love of his life to a rose which elevates the status of nature and signifies its importance. Throughout the poem the moon is a beauteous symbol of nature and when contact is lost with the moon “wayward thoughts” begin to slide and the …show more content…
mind becomes corrupt with thoughts of death. In the “solitary Reaper” use of words with positive connotations such as “field” and “highlands” create the imagery of vast mountainous greenery. Opposed to the modern polluted, disease ridden suburbia, Wordsworth’s poetry conjured up images of superb escape.
Wordsworth believed that humans’ innate empathy and nobility of spirit becomes corrupted by artificial social conventions as well as the squalor of modern city life.
The “solitary reaper” perpetuates this by highlighting the purity of a woman who lives outside the realms of modern suburbia. Music was highly valued by romantics and Wordsworth uses similes to compare the woman’s voice to cherished romantic icons such as the nightingale and the ocean which symbolises that she has retained the nobility and purity of her soul by being “alone”. The idea is also explored in “strange fits of passion have I known” when words which are associate with escape such as “climbing” and “moved” are told in an upbeat, excited mood. This mood suggests the overwhelming feeling of joy and freedom which companies the escape from
society.
Individual imagination and memory allows Wordsworth’s speakers to overcome the harshness of the contemporary world. Its significance is shown in past tense phrases such as “The music in my heart I bore, long after it was heard no more”, which suggests that even though the music is over the memory still brings him happiness. In “strange fits of passion have I known” the beginning stanza informs us that he is going to “tell” a memory, this reinforces Wordsworth’s idea which he referred to in the preface , that poetry sprang from the calm remembrance of passionate emotional experiences. Both poems are told in first person which stresses the importance of individual experiences, this writing style also escapes the modern socially accepted literary form of universal poetry and therefore provides originality.
William Wordsworth is considered one of the most talented and influential poets of the romantic era. His poetic masterpieces created the ultimate escape by stressing the general romantic philosophy of human imaginations, emotions and feelings over rationality and reason. Never before had the simplicity of a rhythmic ballad showed so much beauty, originality and strength.