William Wordsworth thrived in the early 1800’s with his poems rich in meaning. This is partly because he was a Romantic poet, the most popular form in poetry in Europe during the time. Wordsworth created many masterpieces including The Prelude, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, and Ode: Intimations of Immortality. Wordsworth experienced many tragedies throughout his life such as the death of his mother and father before the age of thirteen, and the death of his two children that inspired and molded his poems. Wordsworth utilizes nature as a common motif, as evidenced through his Romantic style, to express his ambivalent feelings for society because of humanity’s missing connection with nature; however, nature continues to give Wordsworth hope. Nearly all Wordworth’s poems have the motif of nature. For example, in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud Wordsworth uses vivid imagery and personification to describe nature throughout the poem. In the first stanza Wordsworth states, “A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze” (Wordsworth 4-6). He uses nature to express his message. Wordsworth uses nature in nearly all his poems, mainly because he is a Romantic writer. In Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth says, “Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, That on a wild secluded scene impress” (Wordsworth 4-5). This poem is primarily about a specific place and the description of it, including the nature
While both poets Muir and Wordsworth wrote about the happy feelings that they have towards nature the beautiful outdoors or what some people may say Mother Nature, some of which the feelings are the same and some that are different as they speak of the different plants.
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
Albert Einstein spoke of nature and its value when he said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” As Einstein pointed out, by looking into nature you could discover something new about yourself and the world around you. John Muir and William Wordsworth both discovered joy when they looked deep into nature. This joy gave them a new perspective on nature and life and they each expressed this joy through different works of writing. Both authors have a unique outlook on nature and its impact as well as different thoughts on how to share their relationships; Muir used diction and connotation to show his relationship in his essay “The Calypso Borealis” where Wordsworth used tone and syntax in his poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”.
William Wordsworth existed in a time when society and its functions were beginning to rapidly pick up. The poem that he 'Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye', gave him a chance to reflect upon his quick paced life by taking a moment to slow down and absorb the beauty of nature that allows one to 'see into the life of things'; (line 49). Wordsworth's 'Tintern Abbey'; takes you on a series of emotional states by trying to sway 'readers and himself, that the loss of innocence and intensity over time is compensated by an accumulation of knowledge and insight.'; Wordsworth accomplishes to prove that although time was lost along with his innocence, he
Henry David Thoreau once said, “It 's not what you look at that matters, it 's what you see.” William Wordsworth, the author of the poem I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, and John Muir, author of the essay The Calypso Borealis, have proved this in their works by looking at nature and portraying it differently but beautifully in each piece. They have been able to express their relationships with nature differently through choices about format, such as if a rhyme scheme will be used; their word choice, like choosing to give something a specific name; as well as through literary devices used, including tone, mood, and irony, but, even though they made many different choices, their works are both able to make nature seem beautiful and mysterious.
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth, a poem that discloses the relationship between nature and human beings: how nature can affect one’s emotion and behavior with its motion and sound. The words the author adopted in this poem are interconnected and related to each other. They are simple yet profound, letting us understand how much William Wordsworth related his works to nature and the universe. It also explained to us why William Wordsworth is one of the greatest and the most influential English romantic poets in history. As Robert DiYanni says in his book, “with much of Wordsworth’s poetry, this lyric reflects his deep love of nature, his vision of a unified
Wordsworth says that, wandering like a cloud floating above the hill and valleys, he encountered a field of daffodils beside a lake, in the poem. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” A poet could not help but to be happy in such a joyful company of flowers. William stared and watched but did not realize what wealth the scene would bring him. Whenever he feels “vacant” or “pensive” the picture would flash upon “that inward eye / That is the bliss of solitude. : and his heart fills with pleasure, “and dances with the daffodils.” (Wordsworth, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud). Wordsworth also created songs of innocence such as “Daffodils Song”. The Romantic poets, predominantly Wordsworth and Blake were spellbound by the natural world. The author used pastoral landscapes to evoke joy, to create peaceful scenes that were only darkened by the threat of urbanization and the Industrial Revolution. (William Wordsworth: Artistic Reaction to the Industrial Revolution, Fed 14, 2000)
Unlike society, Wordsworth does not see nature as a commodity. The verse "Little we see in Nature that is ours" (3), shows that coexisting is the relationship envisioned. This relationship appears to be at the mercy of mankind because of the vulnerable way nature is described. The verse "This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon" (5), gives the vision of a woman exposed to the heavens. In addition, the phrase "sleeping flowers"(7) might also describe how nature is being overrun unknowingly.
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
William Wordsworth was born in 1770. His mother died when he was eight years old, and his father died five years after. Wordsworth went to school in Hawkshead, a place he and Coleridge would eventually transform into one of the “poetic centers of England” (Greenblatt 124). Wordsworth wrote conversational poems, that tackled themes such as memory, wisdom, and imagination. He argued that poems should be written without what is generally considered to be “poetic language,” and that they should be written as if they were being spoken, with conversational language.
In "Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey", Wordsworth uses imagination to help him and others to live in the physical world peacefully. He recalls playing in Tintern Abbey, a forest nearby there and played in it when he was young. Now he comes back for different reasons. He escapes the world which is individualism and goes to the forest to get away from all the burden. He tells his young sister that she can always come here to get away from her problems as well. In the poem, Wordsworth uses nature to solve problems in life.
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.
Romanticism is a style of art or literature during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that emphasizes a love for nature, distrust of society, organized religion, celebration of the child or individual, and emotion over reason. In William Wordsworth’s “The World Is Too Much with Us” Wordsworth speaks about how society is so materialistic while speaking on the significance of nature. Ironically the title of this sonnet exemplifies one of the Romantic ideas and expresses one of Wordsworth’s main points regarding nature. Wordsworth uses a connection to nature as well as religion to emphasize Romanticism in his work.
How does William Wordsworth's poetry fit into the literary tradition of Romanticism? Q. How does William Wordsworth's poetry fit into the literary tradition of Romanticism? A. Romantic poetry was an artistic movement of the late 18th and early 19th century. It dealt with nature, human imagination, childhood and the ability to recall emotional memories of both happiness and sadness.
Wordsworth takes readers on a reminiscent journey in "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" reflecting upon visions of nature. The figurative language and diction used elucidate the poet's response to nature. Wordsworth uses each stanza to share his experience in nature through the image of a dance that culminates in the poet's emotional response.