Lord Byron Essay

     “She Walks in Beauty” starts off from a traditional picture of a lady as fair and bright. It links with the brightness of daylight, in its comparison of the mistress to the night. “The distinctive quality of the poem derives not from any departure from the norm but from a graceful elaboration of the conventions of compliment” (Seifter, 82). Avoiding unoriginal or obvious similies, Byron uses metaphors which expresses the idea of a quiet and slight glow. “The mistress like the night/ Of cloudless climes and starry skies” (ll 1-2), not pitch dark but glimmering with a diffused light” (Seifter, 82). She is like a portrait in “chiaroscuro”, her face is copied through an interaction of light and shadow.

John Muir and William Wordsworth are great examples of this theory. Throughout their stories, both men give great insight to how the harmony of nature impacts their lives in a way that can make them forget about all the sorrow and depression they have following behind them; Wordsworth and Muir’s stories include syntax and diction to verbalize their passionate relationship towards nature. William Wordsworth’s poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” excellently shows how the power of beauty can changes one's once depressed, sad day into joy and blissfulness. In Wordsworth's story, he exploits his experience of how nature changed his mood of depression and sorrow to grateful and glee when he stumbles across a bed of beautiful golden daffodils dancing in the breeze. Wordsworth writes: “A poet could not be but gay, in such a jocund company” (stanza 3). In this passage, Wordsworth shows his change of heart when in the presence of something so beautiful and alluring. Wordsworth also shows how nature impacts his mood from the quote: “They flash upon the inward eye, and my heart with pleasure fills” (stanza 4). In this final quote, Wordsworth explains that even when he is apart from the beautiful golden daffodils, it is the memory that keeps his spirits alive. While Wordsworth's experience with nature

Once his heart is lifted, he sees the true beauty of nature and it’s true meaning.

Physicist Albert Einstein showed that fulfillment and understanding come from studying nature when he said, “Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better” Both William Wordsworth and John Meir show how their relationships with nature have led them to a deeper understanding of their lives and the world around them. In The Calypso Borealis, John Meir discovers a sense of freedom when he discovers the simple but beautiful Calypso Borealis. Whereas Wordsworth finds happiness by holding on to the memory of a beautiful field of daisies in I Wandered Lonely as a cloud. William Wordsworth and John Muir used imagery and diction to express their relationships with nature. Muir uses these literary devices to bring the reader on a journey filled with ups and downs. Wordsworth, on the other hand, uses these literary devices to paint a picture of a scene that lifts his spirit. Both authors use of imagery and diction explain their love of nature and how it has impacted their lives.

Lord Byron’s works, such as Don Juan and other poems reflect not only the suave and charming characteristics of the Romantic Period, but they also reveal the nature of Byron’s uncommitted and scandalous life. Byron, like most Romantic era authors, was very unpredictable and opinionated in all of his writings. From the hatred of his upbringing, to the love of adventure, and also to the love of meaningless relationships with various women were majorly influenced and illustrated through all of his works and especially in “Don Juan.” Yet he still managed to infiltrate his poems with charm, romance, and heroism. Byron was a perfect fit for the Romantic Period and his poems and he was therefore known as a great contributor towards the era.

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,

Throughout “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” William Wordsworth shows his relationship with nature through his choice of diction, fantastic descriptions, and shifting mood of his poem. There are also many words and phrases that Wordsworth included into his poem that shows how he feels about nature. These phrases are well written, extremely descriptive, and show how Wordsworth is influenced by the wild: “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, “When all at once I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils", “Continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on the milky way, they stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay: ten thousand saw I at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance”, “The waves beside them danced; but they out-did the sparkling waves in glee”, “I gazed—and gazed—but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought”, and “For oft, when on my couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood, they flash upon that inward eye [...] and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils.” Another phrase, which indicates that the flowers were so beautiful that no true poet could be sad in their presence, also builds upon Wordsworth’s relationship with nature. These particular lines in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” show how Wordsworth’s mood shifts from somber and lonely to joyous and content. The lines also show how the gorgeousness of nature sticks with

Nature has an undefinable meaning as the theme is utilised in literature, and it has been a topic of reflection within the Romanticists since the beginning of the era. Romanticism and nature and inextricably linked ideas. Poets; Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman wrote during the romantic era, and both drew heavily from aspects of nature in their work. Nature can be paralleled against several things, including humanity and the idea of life and death. The contrast between the natural world and the artificial world, and what this means for society, is also strongly eluded to in Dickinson and Whitman’s poems. Each poet uses nature as the backbone to their poetry in several instances. Dickinson’s, “Hope is the Thing with Feathers”, (Dickinson, 19) and “My Life Has Stood A Loaded Gun”, (Dickinson, 69) are strong examples of this. Whitman’s, “Song of Myself”, (Whitman, 29) and, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, (Whitman, 255) are also poems that show the connection between nature and romanticism. Poets, Dickinson and Whitman engage with romanticism in a creative and constructive manner through the utilisation of the natural world.

As I researched life and death in his works, I assumed that he was fascinated with it. This belief is reflected in The Span of Life, a two-line poem that contains a whole lot of symbolism. It is the story of a dog that is too old to get up. The narrator is reminiscing of when the dog was a pup. This poem reminded me of an old man looking back on his life, wondering where all the years went. I translated these two short lines into a person's submission to life and death, accepting the fact that one must die sometime.

Many Romantic poets embrace the concept of self -expression through the use of imagination to convey their personal visions of love and life. The power of emotion is evident in Lord Byron's poems. It can be possible that light can be emitted through the darkness of night. In his poem, "She Walks In Beauty", Lord Byron epitomizes the balance between two opposing forces. The two forces involved are the darkness and the light at work in a woman's beauty both internal and external. Throughout the poem, Byron uses imagery through the visual senses that allows us to observe the symmetry between a woman's beauty and the mixing of the darkness and light.

Two closely related texts, one that we've studied in this class and one that we haven't, that handle natural description differently are Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and Lord Byron's "Manfred." Both of these texts' central characters have experienced trauma, and their portrayal of their environments reveal the effects that the events have left on them. While Coleridge's mariner is unable to consolidate his past and is relegated to constantly relive it, Byron's Manfred has protected himself from his unnamed vice by distancing himself from his feelings and environment. Obvious parallels exist between the poems, but what I found most striking

Although these poems have conflicting themes, they mutually share an appreciation of nature, specifically the night. In "She Walks in Beauty," the speaker is associating the qualities of a woman to the qualities of a night sky. This simile is introduced instantly in the first line, "She walks in beauty like the night." By doing so, Byron alludes to the comparisons that occur during the remainder of the poem. This leaves the reader wondering how the woman can compare to the night and forces him/her to continue reading. "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" also has the night play a key visual aspect. Byron begins and ends the poem by speaking of the bright moon.

Nature has been a prominent theme in poetry. It is a subject that everyone can associate with. Nature is an eternal and everlasting part of our everyday life. Poets use nature as theme to remind us of the peaceful, magnificent, beauty many of us take for granted. Most of society does not take the time to stop and take a look at the flowers. Nature themed poems help us to experience appreciation for the earth.

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.

Nature was a theme factoring in many of his works and Blake associates nature with different elements in these poems and we find that nature is seen in communion with God in the introductory poem and throughout these poems Blake points out the relationship and harmony between Man and Nature, children and Nature and he also talks about sex in Nature in `The Blossom'.