Preview

William Wordsworth and Nature Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
909 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
William Wordsworth and Nature Essay Example
Wordsworth’s Connection to Nature William Wordsworth is one of the famous authors from the Romantic era. Romanticism was an era which began to change during the French Revolution and continued through the Industrial Revolution. This genre of writing was different from previous genres. Romanticism followed little of the rules and authors were free to write as they felt. Most literature from this period was based on love, fascinations, obsessions, myths, and nature. A majority of Wordsworth’s literature expressed his obsession with nature. Three poems in which express this obsession is “Composition upon Westminster Bridge,” My heart leaps up when I behold,” and the most popular, “I wandered lonely as a Cloud.” In Wordsworth’s poem “Composition upon Westminster Bridge,” he is consumed by the beauty of the scenery. The poem is a recollection of his travel on the Westminster Bridge in London on one early morning. Wordsworth seems to be drawn into the scenery for it is the early morning and all are still asleep and calm. While reading the poem his details and words can allow a reader to almost smell the morning mist and dew in the air. Wordsworth says, “Ne’er saw I, never felt, calm so deep!”(Anthology, pg 39) For him this scenery from the bridge was simple calmness which made him feel comfortable and safe. The scenery of the buildings and sleeping houses were just as fascinating and pure as trees in forestry. It’s as if Wordsworth is more overwhelmed and shocked by the beauty given off by landscape which is not just trees and hills. The way that everything was laid out from the houses to the to the buildings to the sun’s glow over it all just seemed to fit together perfectly as if the town being overlooked by Westminster Bridge was a completed puzzle. This view may not be the typical natural scene but it’s not unnatural. In “My heart leaps up when I behold,” Wordsworth shares how is affected by natures beauty. The four stanzas of the poem which lets

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    According to Mr. Young, “Romanticism was a nineteenth-century literary and artistic movement that placed a premium on imagination, intuition, emotion, nature, and individuality.” These principles are reflected in many Romantic authors including Irving, Poe, Dickinson, and others. The compendium of poems with Romantic origins differ incredibly, but the dominant themes of imagination, intuition, nature, and individualism unify Romantic poetry.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wordsworth believes that the natural world they see and their mind are directly connected, a philosophy that Shelley agrees with and echoes in his writings of “Mont Blanc”:…

    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Muir and Wordsworth

    • 791 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” - John Muir Nature does not only show the beauty of the Earth, but it shows the beauty within us. So then, is it not easy to say that both of these authors have great beauty within them? After reading both “Calypso Borealis,” -John Muir and “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” -William Wordsworth, I can boldly state that with their loving choice of diction, tone, and use of syntax they clearly show that they truly admire nature and their surroundings.…

    • 791 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Romanticism was an intellectual, literary movement that began in Germany and England in the late 18th century. This enlightenment brought upon change to many different forms of art, from poetic literature and music (opera), to painting and sculpturing. The contexts of the poems created in this era were deeply influenced by the ideas and emotions that came from the romantic sensation, which further manipulated the poets of this time, and their style of writing. Poets, during this time, created text with a background of deep respect for nature, self-reflection, beauty in the simplistic, isolation, exploration and spiritualty. William Wordsworth was one of the most influential poets of this time, born in England, Cockermouth, the heart and birthplace of where the romantic’s movement began. The Romantics movement and Wordsworth’s life influenced much of the context of his later works, with his mother dying when he was just eight years old, and his father dying only years later, leaving him and his siblings orphans. Wordsworth attended St. John’s College in Cambridge, where, on his final semester, he set out on a walking tour along Europe, another experience that further on influenced much of his writings context.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reason Wordsworth wrote this poem was to express the beauty of all nature and how we take its beauty for granted. He is wishing to convey that we should acknowledge nature because we are nature and nature is in all of use. Also that we should admire its beauty before the image is gone and it’s too late.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Victorian vs Romantic

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Romantic Age in British Literature was a time of native-inspired poetry, political questioning and individualism. This time period has six different characteristics iconoclasm, nature, ordinary extraordinary, rule of emotions, simple language, and the supernatural. It was also the shortest of the ages and singles out five different poets one of which being William Wordsworth. William Wordsworth was born in West Cumberland in a scenic Lake District. In his poem Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbney Wordsworth is reflecting on what nature means to him five years ago and now and he is also reflecting on his childhood memories. Wordsworth begins his poem by telling us that it has been five years since he has been to this place a few miles from the abbey. He describes the "Steep and lofty cliffs," the "wild secluded scene," the "quiet of the sky," the "dark sycamore" he sits under, the trees of the orchard, and the "pastoral farms" with "wreaths of smoke" billowing from their chimneys. These lines are describing how important nature is to him at that point in time. In the second stanza Wordsworth tells us that his first visit to this place gave him "sensations sweet" when he was in…

    • 705 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Examples of Romanticism

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Romanticism centers around emotion and free expression. According to the preface of William Woodsworth’s Lyrical Ballads, poetry should be “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” The best way to express this emotion was to develop content through imagination, and not to be dominated by what would be considered rational.…

    • 935 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    William Wordsworth's poetry is characteristic of poetry written during the Romantic period. His pantheism and development of ambiance, the thoughts and feelings expressed and the diction Wordsworth employs are all symbolic of this period's poetry. In this paper, these characteristics will be explored and their "Romantic" propensities exposed. This will be done by utilizing a wide selection of Wordsworth's poetry spanning the poet's lifetime.…

    • 5615 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wordsworth renews traditional themes and emotions through his poetry. The general meaning throughout the poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” exaggerates the conflict between the speaker and the term that relate to what nature meant to him in various stages throughout his life. The poem is a reflection of the speaker’s feelings and ideas concerning nature and how it has formed his memories about the past, present, and future. From the beginning to end, Wordsworth related every feeling he ever felt through scenes of nature. Nature has many unique features and characteristics that can relate to different emotional states, such as happy, depressed, mad, or lonely.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This grand age of enlightenment brought upon change to many different forms of art, from poetic literature to poems and songs. The contexts of the poems written in this era were greatly influenced by the ideas and passions that came from the romantic perception of the world. This influenced the poets of this time, alongside their style of writing. Poets during this period, produced writings with an undertone of deep respect for nature, isolation and spiritualty. William Wordsworth was one of the most influential poets of this…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Romanticism was one of the largest movements in poetry to this day. As stated by William Wordsworth, Romantic poems outlined three key effects that an active imagination engaging with nature can achieve. Wordsworth’s three ideas were to soothe and restore a person later, encourage acts of love and kindness, and make a person aware of a spiritual unity in the world. One of the most well known poems from the Romantic Era is a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge called, “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison”. In this poem, William Wordsworth’s ideas of to encourage acts of love and kindness and to make a person aware of a spiritual unity in the world are exemplified.…

    • 909 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stretching across nearly all realms of Romanticism is the idea that individual freedom animates the imagination. I find that Samuel Taylor Coleridge explicitly expresses this query of thought in his poem “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison.” In addition to Coleridge, many other members of the Romantic movement also engaged in imagination-centered writing. Conversely, the Enlightenment movement opposed encouraging individuals to utilize their imagination. Instead, the Enlightenment valued scientific conclusions brought about using rational and empirical thinking, and therefore, Romanticism challenged the preexisting Enlightenment beliefs in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romantic authors’ tendency to use emotionally charged…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miles Above Tintern Abbey

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thy memory shall be a dwelling place for all sweet sounds and memories the absolute happiness and recollection of pleasant emotions…

    • 864 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    William Wordsworth had a great love for the natural world. His poem “Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey” was particularly inspired by the memories from childhood of visiting the Wye River. He is comparing his feelings as a youth with his adult emotions about the same beautiful area. Throughout this poem he references the spirit of nature as living. This makes me believe he feels close to God when he is revering a natural landscape. He then goes on to sum up his feelings by saying that nature is “The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, the guide, the guardian of my heart, and soul, of all my moral being.” There is a suggestion that nature is his guardian angel, guiding him through his life. He feels nature keeps him moral and heals him. I hold a similar view of nature. When I am with my horses and other farm animal there is a strong connection with my God and a sense of freedom. Standing on top of a mountain covered with snow, enjoying the view of other mountains, there is always a feeling of euphoria. I agree with Wordsworth, nature is still the defining essence.…

    • 266 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the poems I have analyzed that were written by Robert Frost, the common theme is always nature. The theme nature encompasses so many areas but can be narrowed even more specifically to Robert Frost's fascination with woods and trees. There must be a reason why Robert Frost is compelled to use this as an almost constant theme. By looking at his poems with biographical criticism it may be easier to see what motivated his fascination with woods and trees. He uses woods and trees as a medium to express his thoughts about change and other views on life. Robert Frost's imagery of woods and trees is also extraordinary. He portrays the woods as a lovely but dark place.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays