Nature Beauty Power
Nature's Beauty and Power
Growing up along the banks of the Little Red River in North Central Arkansas, I have learned to appreciate the beauty of nature. I have been hunting, fishing, and roaming the woods since I was four years old. On February 5, 2008, I saw the result of a different side of nature. The tornado that tore through North Central Arkansas for one hundred twenty three miles showed the power and violence of nature. Wordworth's and Shelley's poems, “Nutting” and “Ode to the West Wind” both effectively illustrate characteristics of Romanticists attitudes toward nature. In the two poems I have chosen, the benign side of nature as well as its great power are explored.
Both poets are in awe of nature and write about its beauty in their works. They use imagery to appeal to the senses. Wordsworth was seen as more of a nature lover than most of the Romanticists. He appealed to the reader through his use of imagery to depict sounds of nature. The reader can almost hear and see the water of a quiet stream as he reads the words of the poet, “Where fairy water—breaks do murmur on/Forever, and I saw the sparkling foam.” One can feel the coolness of the rocks with the words, “ And--with my cheek on one of those green stones/That, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees.” Wordsworth wrote the poem, “Nutting” on a personal level to a single person, probably a girl. On a literal level, Nature is portrayed as good. As he wandered deeper into the forests, he discovered an area that he described as “a virgin scene! A little while I stood/Breathing with such suppression of the heart/As joy delights in.” Nature took the writer's breath away.
Shelley is known for his passionate language and use of imagery. The audience can feel the wind and see the vibrant color of the leaves dancing and floating to the ground as they are blown from the trees in autumn when they read. “ The leaves dead/Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing. Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red.” One can feel the cold of the dirt when they read the words, “The winged seeds, where they lie cold and low/Each like a corpse within it grave.” In “Ode to the West Wind,” Shelley portrays the beauty of nature when he writes about the Mediterranean as a “crystalline stream” and the Atlantic as a place “All overgrown with azure (purple) moss and flowers/So sweet, the sense faints picturing them.” Nature caused the writer to faint.
The speakers in both of these poems are grown men who refer to their childhood days. In “Nutting” the speaker refers to his “boyish hope” as he begins his day. We anticipate that it will be a good day when he writes, a “heavenly day that can not die.” However, the speaker in “Nutting” is confessing to a friend about a sin against nature that he had committed as a child. He details the event in terms of violence and betrayal. With the words, “Then Up I rose, and dragged to earth both branch and bough,” the reader knows that there was some destructive force at work. The speaker shares his sadness regretting what he did as a boy, destroying something pure and untouched in nature. To the casual reader this scene describes a violent act of tearing the branches off of a hazelnut tree. On a deeper level, this scene could be described as a metaphor of the rape of a virgin. The maiden's purity had been destroyed much like the progress of the Industrial Revolution had destroyed the beauty of the earth especially the town of London. From the lecture and the discussion in class, we learn that this was an issue with the writers of Romanticism. When Wordsworth wrote”—for there is a spirit in the woods,” he warns his reader or listener to go gently into nature for it has a spirit. The speaker has a greater respect for nature now as an adult; he reviews his boyhood actions as unthinking. “I felt a sense of pain when beheld/The silent trees, and saw the intruding sky.”
The speaker in “Ode to the West Wind” looks back on his childhood with grief for his lost vigor and inspiration. He asks Nature to give him back his enthusiasm and motivation. He expresses this wish when he asks, “Drive my dead thoughts over the universe/Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!” The speaker in “Ode to the West Wind” longs to be what he once was in boyhood—a comrade of nature, strong and capable. “If even/I were as in my boyhood, and could be the comrade of thy wanderings over heaven.” Now he needs the help of nature to make him an effective poet. “Oh! Lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!/I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!” He begs of the west wind the energy and inspiration to be a poet who can speak to the world. These words, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind,” represent a rebirth.
Both speakers speak about Nature and to Nature in terms of violence. Wordsworth alludes to Nature's spirit as one that may not only observe mankind's abuse but perhaps do something about it when he says, “Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades/In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand/Touch—for there is a spirit in the woods.” Nature rejuvenates itself each spring with a gentle touch. Shelley begs for Nature's strength to help him create words and poems that will have effect in the world. With the words, “Make me thy lyre...The tumult of thy mighty harmonies,” Shelley wants to be the voice of the West Wind which is the wind that brings change to the earth. Wordsworth, at least in this poem, seems to advise mankind to leave Nature alone and not damage her. Shelley begs for Nature to intervene in his life and make it better.
The writers of the Romanticist Era were displeased with the idea of progress and the materialistic attitude of society. They wanted to people to appreciate and preserve Nature so that it could be enjoyed by future generations. According to the lecture, they felt that the material gains brought about by science, industry, and material progress paled in comparison to the losses. The beauty of nature was being destroyed to build cities and urbane areas. Like the writers of Romanticism, I see this happening today in my own hometown with the invasion of the gas and oil companies. Arkansas is known as the “Natural State.” These gas and oil companies have invaded our county and started drilling for natural gas. They are purchasing all of the mineral rights and building rock and gravel “pads” for gas wells in place of what was once a beautiful landscape. The trucks run day and night polluting the environment with exhaust and causing noise pollution. They have almost taken over my favorite hunting grounds. Animals are migrating to find new homes because their habitat is being destroyed in the name of progress. One might ask why this is happening. There is only one answer. Society has again become materialistic and is willing to give up the beauty of God's creation for money. That beauty can never be replaced. Like the Romanticists, I want to preserve some nature for my enjoyment and for the enjoyment of the future generations.
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