Romantic Literature : The Natural World

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

Nature has always had a role in providing for humanity. However, what does it provide for humanity? The poems that Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, and William Williams present touches upon the topic of this. To help support their perspective on how nature provides for humanity, and what it provides, the three of them use both imagery and structure to go into detail as to why their perspective is so.

Imagine a candle-lit dinner on a starry night in Paris, the Eiffel Tower just in view with dazzling lights shining into the night. This image is probably what you think of when you hear the word “romantic,” correct. However, this image is a stumbling block when people think of the “Romanticism Period” in literature. Where “romantic” means having a lovely time with the person you love the most, “Romanticism” is a piece of literature written with key themes in mind. Those themes tend to be a strong emotion, imagery or worship of nature, and individuality and subjectivity. The peak of inspiration for these pieces was in the years 1800-1850, and there are famous poems that are well loved today from this period. Many of the poets that you enjoy reading and know are, in actuality, Romanticism writers, and instill the themes above in our minds.

The poem sits easily on a page and is visually satisfying, although this is in part due to the visual rhymes previously mentioned. This appearance though is false as the poems content is analysed but reinforces the theme of appearance and reality in the 4th stanza. Again, the "controlled" use of structure can be seen as adding to the poems "passion" showing a masterful combination of the two. The repetition of and permutations on the line: "my heart is breaking for a little love" is another structure that reinforces the poems meaning and show the despair that the poem communicates. The move away from the 1st person in the last two stanzas serves to provide a different perspective on the emotions discussed allowing a broader view than if the whole poem was in the first person, again this use of structure emphasises the underlying emotions.

At the end of chapter 20 in Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria, Coleridge describes his own experience with poetry and its effect on others’ imagination from an outsiders point of view:

To the Romantics, the imagination was important. It was the core and foundation of everything they thought about, believed in, and even they way they perceived God itself. The leaders of the Romantic Movement were undoubtedly Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his close friend, William Wordsworth. Both were poets, and both wrote about the imagination. Wordsworth usually wrote about those close to nature, and therefore, in the minds of the Romantics, deeper into the imagination than the ordinary man. Coleridge, however, was to write about the supernatural, how nature extended past the depth of the rational mind.

Coleridge’s ‘This Lime Tree Bower My Prison’, is a poem describing a man’s changing views as he contemplates the natural word which he has been prevented from seeing. Coleridge’s poem demonstrates the ability of individuals to modify their morals and values upon receiving a cathartic release from their relationship with nature, as predicated almost entirely on the imagination. Through allowing the persona to visualise the encounters his friends are making with nature along their journey, Coleridge first demonstrates the capabilities of the imagination in allowing us to picture things in certain detail, as shown through “now my friends emerge,” which in all exemplifies the presence of imagination in our relationship with nature. Furthermore, the description of their journey demonstrates the liberation received from engaging with nature, as shown where they “wander in gladness,” which relates to the cathartic release obtained from viewing nature that pushes us to reassess our ideas and perceptions. By showing his gradual change in tone, the influence of the persona’s imagination is shown, which when in conjunction with his exclamation of “yes!” reveals our emotional capabilities if becoming engulfed in our imaginations of nature. Also, by choosing to allow the persona to speak in a melodramatic tone, the poet is able to again explicitly demonstrate his

Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped revolutionize literature and, along with William Wordsworth, spearheaded the Romantic period in england. A world renowned Poet and Philosopher, Coleridge achieved many great things during his lifetime, but he was no stranger to hardship. Living with chronic pain, he was prescribed opium multiple times in his youth. It soon turned to recreational use and, eventually, addiction. “a habit formed early...and one to which he resorted for the rest of his life”(Bansal). In many ways opium was both a stimulant and a destructive influence on coleridge. A stimulant in that it caused incredible dreams and acted as an amplifier of Coleridge’s genius. For instance,“Kubla Khan” “would never have existed had it not been for

During the Romantic period, which began in the late 18th Century, and ended in the early 20th century, there were many political changes, such as the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, repression and reform, pre-industrial economic changes. There were also many changes throughout literature and culture during this time. Poetry during this time often had strong themes of nature, internalization, subjectivity, and imagination. Three highly influential poets who were also often characterized as poets of the Imagination are William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and William Blake. Imagination is important to romantic poets because it was used as a healing tool for the writers’ troubles, using reason and emotion to relate to and participate in the world around them.

Lastly, the Romantic Era blended human emotions with nature. The interfacing of emotion and nature was emblematic of Romantic poetry, whether it engrossed the idea of bequeathing human emotions to an innate article like a river or connecting the scenery to the temperament of the writer. (James, 491) This kind of beauty that is

In American Literature many authors write about nature and how nature affects man's lives. In life, nature is an important part of people. Many people live, work, or partake in revelry in nature. Nature has received attention from authors spanning several centuries. Their attitudes vary over time and also reflect the different outlooks of the authors who chose to discuss this important historical movement. A further examination of this movement, reveals prevalence of nature's influence on man and how it affects their lives.

Such a situation warrants Coleridge the title of visionary, and therefore his poem becomes a vision: a Romantically textual utopia whose realisation was challenged by the rational status quo of its historical origin. Due to this, Coleridge’s work will always seek practical affirmation and will therefore constantly be the source of metaphysically-oriented debate, leaving the dualism that rules it to be decided by the reader and the ideologies he or she brings to the text. This conclusion is supported by the words of John Beer:

Through the late 1700s and early 1800s, the period of Romanticism blossomed. “Romanticism” very loosely describes the era in which modern culture began to take shape. During the Romantic era, many advancements were made in all aspects of people’s lives and cultures. One aspect in particular has held great value even to this day. That aspect being the expansive amount of literature created during the era. The era of Romanticism had its name for a reason. It can be greatly attributed to the romantic style or genre of literature that defined the period. Romantic writers wove many tales of admiration, longing, and aspirations. They were fantastical, in a sense, and almost the antithesis of realism, even. Amidst the great breadth of literature

Again this piece by Coleridge is a demonstration of this principle. The lyrics flow up to a moment of clear recollection of the scenery, leaving the poem incomplete so that the faculty of imagination would not be diluted. Coleridge in the 3 stanzas which he relived captured the sublime, and the striking feature of this poem is in its deconstructed syntax which eagerly captured the scenery. “But oh! That deep romantic chasm which slanted/ Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! / A savage place!”. This is a scene that Coleridge experienced in a dream, and its recollection in reality must express the resplendence of what he felt. We can see that grammatical requirements were not fulfilled since they would merely limit the true

'Christabel', an unfinished 'gothic' ballad, evokes a sinister atmosphere, hinting at evil and the grotesque. In his poems Coleridge's detailed perception of nature links scene and mood, and leads to a contemplation of moral and universal concerns. In his theory of poetry Coleridge stressed the aesthetic quality as the primary consideration. The metrical theory on which 'Christabel' is constructed helped to break the fetters of 18th-century correctness and monotony and soon found disciples, among others Walter Scott and Lord Byron.