Eolian Harp Essay

The nature around them is symbolic of their emotions and mental states. For example, the weather turned stormy when Victor’s mood worsened (ch. 10). Victor also feels that nature, “gives wings to the soul and allows it to soar from the obscure world to light and joy.” (ch.10) Nature has a calming and peaceful effect on both of them when they are not in good mental health; using nature to clear their minds. It is not surprising that Mary Shelley wrote this during the period of transcendentalism. In this time period, books like Walden by Henry David Thoreau highlighted the importance of nature. These similarities in how they interact with nature show their deeper similarities in mentality.

Another technique of emphasis used throughout the poem is the use of imagery. Coleridge personifies the nature around him by comparing it to abstract nouns - the white flowerd Jasmin represents Innocence, the broad-leavd

This shows that meteorological conditions are able to affect a character’s thoughts and alter their feelings. As has been noted, Shelley accentuates the description of spring to express the hope and renewal bestowed upon the creature by the exemplifications of the weather.

“The Sound of the Sea” is a sonnet by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, describing the sounds of the sea and relating it to human inspiration. Through only auditory images of the sea and other powerful natural forces, Longfellow effectively alludes to the nature of human inspiration. Through detailed and sensory imagery, Longfellow communicates the subtle details of the human soul and how inspiration functions.

In the poem there is also an idea of man verses nature, this relates to the survival of the fittest. John Foulcher shows this through the use of first person point of view. For example in the second stanza “Then above me the sound drops” this again possesses sensory imagery creating a deeper human aura throughout the poem. Foulcher further uses a human aura to build a sense of natural imagery for example in the last stanza : “I pick up these twigs and leave them” adding closure

The poetic techniques were symbolism, imagery, and tone. Symbolism is the most powerfully used technique due to the fact a good number of lines located in this poem is used to signify a certain object or idea related to our life or today’s world. Imagery in the sense that you can visualize the path, the yellow wood, the undergrowth, the divergence; it is all made very vivid. Frost did this throughout; you know trying to stimulate the reader’s mood using one’s senses. In this poem, imagery permits the reader to imagine the scene that this poem takes place in resulting in an enhanced understanding of the theme. The tone Frost’s work presents is an insecure attitude which allows the theme to be brought out due to the fact the theme relates to a dilemma in one’s life. These techniques strongly aid in the revealing of this specific theme.

The poem highlights the beauty and sensuality of nature. He uses the theme of nature to explore the pleasure he feels whilst taking in the sights and smells of nature. Montague uses broad vowel sounds to create assonance in the first stanza. This creates euphony and a sort of verbal music, possibly representing the noise of the river and the theme of nature.

The second stanza is rich in imagery, which Shelley uses to narrate his points. He depicts humans again, this time as "forgotten lyres [stringed musical instruments of the harp family], whose dissonant strings/ Give various response to each varying blast,/ To whose frail frame no second motion brings/ One mood or modulation like the last"(Lines 5-9). Shelley describes the simple beauty that humans can be as well as create, but presents the frailty of our existence and how quickly humans along with the beauty created can be forgotten as well. These lines present another metaphor that furthers the concept of human mortality. Shelley compares humans to "forgotten lyres" in that our ability to create and produce is short lived; all that is amounted during our lifetime will be forgotten once we cease to exist. Each motion brings the lyre a different sound, which induces a different mood. Shelley may be referring to the human body and how frail it is, regardless of how strong it may feel. He compares humans to instruments that have been cast aside, whose melodies sweet in their own time

Walt Whitman loved to experiment with form when it came to poetry. He used his verses to show his complete adoration of all things wild, and our role as beings in this infinitely complex and thought-provoking universe in which we exist. To say he had a bit of a “nature crush” would be an understatement – Whitman goes in to great detail of his love for the wildness and often describes his emotions in a viscerally sexual manner, using poetic devices to underline his immense feelings for environment and hammer in the imagery to readers of how majestic the world appears to him. “Romantic” poets loved the outdoors – if it wasn’t contained in four walls and a roof, they were all about it. They loved to praise the innate details that made our planet so incredible,

       The poem gives a wonderful amount of images so a mental picture can be drawn. Just in these six lines Shelley introduces another character, tells all about this sculptor, gives information that is important to the mood of the poem, and lets the image of an upset artist appear in the picture. 

Robert Frost’s nature poetry occupies a significant place in the poetic arts; however, it is likely Frost’s use of nature is the most misunderstood aspect of his poetry. While nature is always present in Frost’s writing, it is primarily used in a “pastoral sense” (Lynen 1). This makes sense as Frost did consider himself to be a shepherd.

With the formation of a “rare device”, symbolizing his masterpiece of poetry, Coleridge acknowledges that poetry forms through the combination of nature and human perception. In the end, Coleridge demands the readers to “beware” (49, p.1634) of the power of the inspired poet, who recreates his own “sunny dome” (47, p.1634) in the protection of a “circle round him thrice” (51, p.1634). The energy from nature is eventually transferred to the poet, the poet to use his imagination to create his own “Paradise” (54, p.1634), which resembles Xanadu of Kubla Khan. Through the metaphors developing in the poem, Coleridge pieces together the process a Romantic poet creates a poem from the inspiration of a nature scene.

Shelley in his poem ‘Ode to the West Wind’ has used similes in his poem. He states that, “the leaves dead are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing.” He also states that, “the winged seeds where they lie cold and low each like a corpse within its grave.” As observed from these examples, the poets will use these techniques to assist in easier interpretation of the poem.