Professor Natalie Holter
Enlightenment and Romanticism Humanities
14 April 2013 The poet that I chose is William Wordsworth and the poem of his that I chose is "A Night Thought." Wordsworth was a poet who thought that imagination was a strong force that, combined with our senses, made for a powerful, active force altogether. Basically he believed that this enhanced the way we interpreted the world around us and the way that we reacted to certain events. A strong imagination is what was essential to pave the path for a good life and one's well being. That is part of what the Romanticism era was all about, people expressing themselves for their own well being and to enjoy their lives more. From what I interpreted from "A Night Thought" it appears to be about Wordsworth himself proclaiming that he enjoys the distant beauty of the moon, and even when it is hidden behind the clouds beneath it it is still admirable and beautiful. The moon is always bright as if it were smiling constantly, whereas man, who is spoiled by the many pleasures of the earth along with his fortune, always seems to have a sad look upon his face. Wordsworth enjoys the sight of the moon compared to the chaos and turmoil of the world around him that man has created on earth for themselves due to the continuous fighting from the wars. It appears as if Wordsworth is envious of the peace that the moon has about it. He wants to go against the same rule that his fellow human beings have to follow. Basically, he wants to be as happy and bright as the moon always is. The way that I think that this poem reflects the values of the generation that produced it, the Romanticism era, is by it's general message of wanting to be as happy and at peace as nature rather than be tarnished by the turmoil that man has created in the world. The Romanticism era was all about loving and admiring nature for all of its qualities along with expressing one's self in order to live a happier life and enjoy life a little more. In the poem the moon is an aspect of nature that is being admired by Wordsworth for its beauty even though it is far from our reach in the sky, and even though the clouds dim its bright smile from time to time it can still be admired once the clouds beneath it disappear, revealing the bright smile that was waiting to be shown to the world once again. Rather than focus on the chaos of the world around him, Wordsworth would rather admire the moon for all that it is and appears to want to be as happy and bright as the moon.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, that turned my life into one long night seven times sealed.” (Night 24) Never shall I forget reading that bone chilling quote from Elie Wiesel’s novel Night, Taking place during one of the darkest periods of human history. 6 million lives lost and countless families destroyed with one goal in mind; Exterminate the Jews. Throughout his novel Wiesel experiences many instances of hope and hopelessness, as many of us do. Without hope many things that we try to accomplish could not be done, hope is what helps us carry on and survive, Night proves this point.…
- 802 Words
- 2 Pages
Better Essays -
‘The Waking’ is a contemporary jazz piece written by American vocalist, Kurt Elling, and features Theodore Roethke’s 1954 poem of the same title. Released in 2007 on the album Nightmoves, Elling uses musical techniques to enhance the message of Roethke’s poem. However, in order to understand the reasoning behind the devices Elling has used, the meaning of Roethke’s poem must first be discussed.…
- 549 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“Bread, soup - these were my whole life. I was a body. Perhaps less than that even: a starved stomach. The stomach alone was aware of the passage of time” said Elie Wiesel in his book separating his mind and body. In the memoir, Night by Elie Wiesel, Wiesel tells his story of his experience in the concentration camps in Auschwitz and of how he survived. He experienced all this along with his father, who may have decreased more than increased his survival in some of the events that occurred in the book.…
- 713 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout high school and previous situations I have engaged in all of the modes of W.O.V.E. I personally believe that I rely on the subject to perform well while communicate. One such instance of comparison was in high school English our class was required to write an eight to twelve minute oral report over the book Night by Elie Wiesel. I struggled to reach the minimum requirements of the assignment. I simply couldn’t motivate myself as it wasn’t exciting.…
- 364 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Elie Wiesel’s Night is a novel about himself and his family and their time in Auschwitz. This book describes the most gruesome event in human history, the Holocaust. It also describes the psychological effect that the Holocaust had on the young people and adults who survived the horrible event. In the interview with Bob Costas Elie describes some of the aspects of Judaism. The main setting of this book is in Auschwitz, a concentration camp in the Holocaust and is from Elie’s point of view. This book has a sad tone to it and this book has many different conflicts.…
- 943 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Elie Wiesel’s novel, The Night,describes Eliezer’s journey of being part of the Holocaust. Through the novel, he faced many hardships and had to try and survive through the whole book. This was the reason he used, The Night, as the title of the book because the title conveys the deep darkness he went through at the camps. The night symbolizes the darkness that was mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Eliezer faced many tough times and chose the title, The Night, for a reason.…
- 588 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
While this line could simply be about the beauty of the plain midnight sky or it could be about the beauty of Black people. The tone of this poem seems to be one of resentment and fury. Although the speaker doesn't use harsh words, it seems like he is fed up with a situation and is telling the audience to realize that something is wrong as well. Through my reading of this poem, I conclude that its intended audience was Black people who accepted things the way they were. I'm not really sure as to what the situation of this poem is, but I think the author's feelings toward it could be that he wants the audience to see things for the way that they were, reject them, and stand up for themselves.…
- 749 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
“Acquainted with the Night” is written by Robert Frost. It is about a lonely man walking in the city. He writes in free verse with fourteen lines. Frost uses the devices metaphor, parallel-structure, and personification to convey the theme of the struggle of light v. darkness caused by depression.…
- 334 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Night is a book by Elie Wiesel about his experience at the concentration camps and what he had to go through during; physically and emotionally. Elie is wracked with guilt at having survived the Holocaust, since his family did not. It also talks about his struggles to stay sane and how he questions his faith in God, since he is letting The Holocaust…
- 418 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The book Night, written by Eliezer Wiesel is about his experience in the holocaust and the pain and suffering him and the jews went through. He was taken from his home as a young boy and put into multiple ghettos before he was shipped off to Auschwitz. There he was separated from his family and left with his father, Shlomo Wiesel. He was sent to different camps and stuck with his father until the end. But at the last camp they stayed at, his father was sent to the crematorium and burned to death. Elie was liberated a few days after that and was able to write this book to tell his story to the reader. In his personal narrative Night, Elie Wiesel’s uses symbolism and very detailed description of the setting with a deep and profound tone to show the story of his hellish time in the Holocaust concentration camps.…
- 1073 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Many Jews in Sighet chose not to believe the warnings from Meadle the beadle who caught glimpses of the full horror. Many people clung to the belief that his reports were exaggerated because contemplating the truth was too horrible. Even Elie who heard of Meadle’s stories took pity on him not fully aware of what was to come. The Jews of Sighet caught glimpses of what waited for them unwilling to believe in Hitler’s plan or escape whatever was to come. Until the Jews experienced first-hand the horrors that existed, they cannot believe that such horrors exist. On the first train to the first labor camp Elie felt optimistic when arriving to Auschwitz saying “Confidence soared. Suddenly we felt free of the previous nights’ terrors. We gave thanks to God.” (Wiesel 27). When arriving to the camp Elie became more optimistic when he started to find people he knew still alive, even in these dark times he was able to find happiness. Not only did Elie have this mind set but the others in the camp as well they believed the war was about to end, even though there was no clear sign. Upon hearing that they were bought to Auschwitz to be killed the younger Jews wanted to rebel while the older ones told them to rely on faith. In the midst of religious persecution the Jews managed to look on the brighter side of things…
- 973 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The two authors John Muir and William Wordsworth are two authors that write two different types of literature, one being poetry and the other being essays. These two illustrative literature artists both included nature in their writings. They say that poetry and essays are completely different but on the other hand they have similarities. In the essay "Calypso Borealis" written by John Muir he compared his life and his feelings to the world around him. The nature around him explained how he felt if you look deeper into what he was saying. His feelings showed through the plants flowers and fruit all around him. He explained that happiness and the joy that everything around him gave him. In the poem "I wandered lonely as a cloud" written by William Wordsworth he explained…
- 661 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
“Night” focuses on how evil is born when darkness rises. In the first stanza the speaker reveals that the day is ending and night is beginning. The moon and the sun are personified when the speaker says “the sun descending in the west” and “sits and smiles on the night.” Throughout the beginning of the poem the speaker’s tone is comforting. For example, he mentions “warm, sleep, and bed”; then towards the end of the poem the tone changes drastically. William Blake is famous for mentioning a guardian angel in his poems, and he does so in the second stanza.…
- 472 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Everyday people all over the world are constantly judged and criticized for their appearance, how they act, or what they believe in. Many thought that their religion made them more superior than others. This kind of thinking is insidious. Not only is this destructive to the individual's feelings, but it can cause greater problems around the world. For instance, the Holocaust. The holocaust was a mass murder of thousands of people. The nefarious Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis, believed that anyone who was not Arian, blue eyes and blonde hair, was inferior. Although many different races and religious cultures were targeted by the Nazis, the holocaust was generally aimed towards the Jewish culture. He got other people to join his movement…
- 735 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Throughout the novel the theme was “At the core, all humans have a strong instinct to survive.” At the camps, the Jew’s main purpose was to survive and Mr. Wiesel was doing just that with his father by his side. As Mr. Wiesel explains through all this pain and suffering that he is still strong, “I was no longer capable of lamentation. On the contrary, I felt very strong” (65). When running through the icy winds and snowy weather Mr. Wiesel had become strong minded because his foot was still healing and if he were to stop he would get shot by a SS officer. Wiesel explains, “These thoughts had taken up a brief space of time, during which I had gone on running without feeling my throbbing foot…” (82). When SS officer’s decided to take a break…
- 273 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays