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Wordsworth’s Depiction of Nature
Wordsworth is one of the poets with a deep feeling for the beauty of nature. Unlike his contemporaries, who considered scenery to be soulless, the poet imbued any natural features and objects such as a flower, fruit, rock, or stone with life. He is one of the best masters of the landscape, measuring time by flowering spring, warm summer, plentiful fruits in autumn, and long winters. Wordsworth depicts everything against the nature backdrop: a beggar sits on a distant rock, a cat plays with withered leaves, a deaf peasant lies under a pine tree.
“To every natural form, rock, fruit or flower,
Even the loose stones that cover the high way,
I gave a moral life, I saw them feel,
Or linked them to some feeling” (Wordsworth, 1994, p. 651)
William Wordsworth believed that his purpose as a poet was to show nature not as a shelter for people, where they could forget about their troubles and everyday obligations, but as a source of pure passion, fun, inspiration, and support. One of the famous quotes of William Wordsworth is “come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” (Wordsworth, 1994, p. 481). This belief is rooted in Wordsworth’s childhood and youth, which determined his development as a poet.
The subtle senses and sensitive ear allowed the young poet to enjoy the beauty and mystery of nature that he often plunged into a trance or in a state of delight. Another feature of his poetry was his love for humankind as a whole, as for him, people were mother nature’s children and heirs. When he was a child, he admired the work of countrymen such as shepherds and peddlers. Their images can be found in his poetry as well. Meanwhile, the figure of an unbridled, cruel, insensitive tramp being also a child of nature capable of repentance and tenderness is also the feature of Wordsworth’s poesy. The picture of country life contributes to the creation of Wordsworth’s unique style, embodied in the rhythm and composition, plot, and imagery of his works. In turn, the poet tries to show the nature in all its glory to reveal its soul.
Shelley’s Poetry
Shelley’s poetry consists of the intricate techniques of personifying nature, and the poet’s language is extremely rich in metaphors. Shelley’s descriptions of nature are often philosophical; he frequently appeals to the past, boldly connected with the present and the future. The poet draws a parallel between the variability of society and nature. The tone of Shelley’s poetry is optimistic: spring follows after winter, so the age of peace and prosperity will inevitably replace the century of social disasters and wars (Holmes, 1987, p. 255). The theme of invincibility and immortality of life and freedom is expressed, for example, in the poem called Ode to the West Wind. The idea of the west wind, a wind-destroyer, is a traditional theme in English poetry. However, due to the poet’s approach, this topic receives an entirely different interpretation. “Be thou, Spirit fierce, My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one! Drive my dead thoughts over the universe like wither’d leaves to quicken a new birth!” (Shelley, 2016, p. 112). Shelley illustrates the autumn west wind not as destructive power with its cold breath but as the guardian of new life.
In Shelley’s poems, a large-scale depiction of the mighty natural forces corresponds to heroic themes. Open spaces, storms, streams are the elements of the poet’s masterpieces. In Shelley’s lyrics, there is the motive, when landscape sketches transmit human sensations and mood; a picture of nature arises from a comparison between the force of nature and a human drama. For example, in the poem The Waning Moon, he describes the moon, presenting it as a dying, pale lady.
“And like, a dying lady, lean and pale,
Who totters forth, wrapped in a gauzy veil,
Out of her chamber, led by the insane
And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,
The moon arose up in the murky east,
A white and shapeless mass.” (Shelley, 2014, p. 37).
The pantheistic view of nature is the philosophical side of Shelley’s works, being the basis of his poetic worldview, and a way to reproduce the reality. A human being is involved in the world; natural processes are not subject to logical control. For Shelley, the main component of attractiveness is the constant movement, and nature in his poems appears in rapid motion and continuous change.
Conclusion
During the period of romanticism, the image of nature underwent significant changes. Romantic poets began to consider the world mind as the main principle of life, which also influenced the romantic perception of the landscape. Countryside seemed to be bifurcated since the importance was given not only to the scene but also to the spirit that controls it. Consequently, recreating the image of nature, romantics used various stylistic devices to provide imagery to the artistic atmosphere. In Wordsworth’s works, the image of nature is dominant; it passes through all the works of the poet, determining the central theme and linguistic features of the writing, regardless of genre. Shelley also paid attention to nature as he portrayed the inextricable unity between man and nature and did not distinguish between these concepts.
Reference List
Holmes, R. (1987) Shelley: The Pursuit. London: Penguin.
Shelley, P. B. (2016) Ode to the West Wind. Journal of Singing, 73(1), p. 112.
Shelley, P. B. (2014) Shelley: Poems. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Wordsworth W. (1994) The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth. Ware: Wordsworth Editions.
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