Final Reflection.

As I was reading over my colleagues' blogs, I found many interesting ideas, but there was one that stuck out the most. Nicole's blog on Charlotte Smith's Sonnet 44 carries a different perspective of nature. The title of her blog - The Destructive Power of Nature - is very strong and stimulating. I agree with her in the sense that most people usually just talk/write about the "therapeutic, utilizing and life sustaining power of nature" and they don't realize that there is a negative side to nature as well. The idea of nature is for the most part always portrayed as something stunning, bewitching, and beautiful, but in reality, that's not always the case.

Looking over my previous blogs, I noticed that I mainly paid attention to the good side of nature, and tended to overpass the bad. Nicole pointed out that "the tidal waves have even destroyed the grave yard, and consequently,many of the remains of the bodies have been washed into the sea." In general, humans tend to associate the "destructive power of nature" with a separate force and may not realize how it's all connected. I admit to being one of those people. Before reading this blog, I knew that natural disasters are part of "nature," but I just didn't associate the two.
Nature is such a captivating, awe-striking phenomena and it can be so wild and destructive at the same time. The pictures that I posted are before and after shots of volcanic eruptions. Before, you see a majestic landscape, but after, there's not too much beauty left. It is amazing how much force nature has.

Kubla Khan

Samuel Coleridge uses an interesting rhyme scheme in his poem titled "Kubla Khan." Each of the stanzas has its own, distinctive rhyme scheme (even though they may appear to be similar). I believe the poem is written in iambic tetrameter which gives it an overall neat flow. It's actually a fun poem to recite because of the way it's written giving it a song-like tune.
Before even interpreting the poem, I saw a relationship with nature. It's chant like quality reminds me of the bird songs, like the many we have discussed throughout the semester. There was the nightingale, finch, linnet, etc. All of these birds sung their own unique song, just like the unique rhyme schemes in Coleridge's poem. When a bird sings, there is a certain, cheery sound that brings pleasure to the ears. The same occurs when reading this poem. You can even say that it's an exotic sound which can then correspond to the place he talks about in the poem. He describes Xanadu and the Alph with such rich imagery allowing the reader to portray it as this beautiful, exotic scene. I think the picture above does a great job revealing this image.

Frost At Midnight

What stood out to me in this poem is Coleridge's change in word usage. His words are like a roller coaster. They go from happy to sad, calm to angry, joy to sorrow, etc. What I found interesting is how this compares to nature. You can say that nature also has it's "mood swings" which can be identified through various ways; take the weather for example - one day it's warm and sunny, and the next it's cold and rainy. Coleridge starts the poem off with strong words such as "owlet's cry", "loud", and "hark"and then moves on to calm language like "solitude", "peacefully", "calm", "meditation", and "silentness." Those two groups of words are very different, opposites in fact. The same can be with nature; an ocean can be loud and rough, while the fields can be filled with peace and tranquility. What's neat about all this is that no matter what side nature is showing, the baby is so calm and at peace. Whether it be the "redbreast that sit and sing" or the "silent icicles shining to the quiet moon, " there is a sense of security that nature provides. The pictures illustrate nature in two different ways - the first shows nature in the winter time on a mountain while the other is during the spring near a creek. You can see how different these two images are, but they are both beautiful in their own ways.

Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree

What is unique about this poem is William Wordsworth's use of the long dash. It really made me think and what I came up with is that the lines that were left upon a seat in a yew-tree are the first seven lines in the poem. Wordsworth uses the long dash as a separation which divides the "lines...yew-tree" and his own poetry. I think that he might have come across those few lines and then in a way responded to them through the rest of the poem. What convinces me even more is that in the first seven lines, he is directly addressing a person (the traveler) telling him to stay and wait and then talking about the yew-tree. In the lines following the dash, the use of the word "he" is very common. Wordsworth may be trying to analyze and figure out "who he was that piled these stones..." and he talks about this with the "stranger" or "traveler." The Lake of Esthwaite also put a thought into my head. I looked for images of what this lake is like and it turns out it's a very beautiful part of nature. So maybe someone started writing some lines in this yew-tree, but never got around to finishing it because of the beauty nature. Perhaps nature was calling them, and so they went to explore the terrain rather than finishing up what they started writing - hence the long dash in the poem. It would be nice to know what Wordsworth really meant, but it sure makes you think and every time I look at it from a different angle, I come up with a different interpretation.

The Haunted Beach

Throughout the whole poem, Mary Robinson uses words with apostrophes. There is at least one in each stanza, and most stanzas have more than that. As a reader, my eyes were attracted to these words. The words in which Robinson uses the apostrophes are verbs, and they bring attention to them. Those words are significant because they are part of the descriptions. For example, the white foam in line 2 was "scatter'd"; lofty Barks were "shatter'd"; Sea Birds "hover'd"; the wave resistless "roll'd"; the green billows "play'd", and so on... There are just so many words like that within the poem and they especially emphasize the lines in the poems in which they are used. It's like they are haunting the reader, just like the ghost is haunting the fisherman. I also noticed that most of the time, Mary Robinson is using words with apostrophes when writing about nature (birds, waves, billows, etc). The apostrophe replaces certain letters, so it looks like letters are missing. Similarly, this is connected to nature because this beach she writes about is "lonely" and "deserted" so something is missing there too. The video below is basically a reading of the poem, but I think it does a good job of setting the spooky, supernatural mood.

The Haunted Beach

Sonnet IV------To The Moon

The moon, the "queen of the silver bow," is Charlotte Smith's topic in Sonnet IV To The Moon. The speaker of the poem, probably Charlotte Smith, is directly addressing the moon and speaking to it. This sonnet is filled with so much imagery and descriptions. Even with all the pessimistic and depressing language, Smith is able to portray the moon as a beautiful creation. The moon can be compared to "heaven"; it's a better place. There is so much bad on planet earth and life on this planet is not that wonderful, however on the moon, the wretched (those living in poverty, misery, or distress - according to the Oxford English Dictionary) "may have rest." Not only that, but the moon also allows the "sad children" to forget about all the sadness and grief in their lives. I wasn't sure what the word "benignant" meant, but it looks and sounds very cold and unpleasant. The OED defined it as cherishing, gracious, and generous. I found it very fascinating how some of these harsh, negative words can be formed and defined in such ways that expose the beauty of nature. In line 3 for example, the words "shadow" and "trembling" aren't always very pleasant, however the way that Smith uses it represents a beautiful image. She could have easily said something along the lines of the moon sparkled against the flow of the water. I feel that she has purposely used this tactic to write her poem to get a point across. The moral I got from this sonnet is that there is happiness behind all of the sadness; it just takes patience and time to uncover it.

Sonnet On Seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams Weep At A Tale Of Distress

In the first three lines of William Wordsworth's poem, there is a lot of imagery that is referenced to nature, a reference to water to be more specific. Miss Helen Williams "wept"; her tear drops are just like rain drops. When it rains, it is gloomy outside and people tend to be less happy, just like when people cry, they usually aren't very happy. Drops, whether they be rain drops or tear drops, provide the audience with a dark, murky image. Similarly, "swimming eyes" are ones that are full of tears. The reference to water is within the eyes - it is the tears themselves. Also, the word "swimming" provides an even deeper reference to water because where do we swim? In the water, of course. Tears swim in the eyes, just like rain drops swim in lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water. Wordsworth also mentions words like "tide," "flow," and "streams." It's pretty obvious how tides and streams relate to water, and "flow" does so as well since water flows through rivers and streams. The water flowing through a river is like blood flowing through the human body. The stronger your tears, the more emotional you are leading to a more rapid blood flow due to the anxiety within your body. Similarly, the stronger the rain, the worse the weather leading to a more turbulence on water causing a faster flow. The flow of blood in the human body is complex process as blood must be delivered to many different areas in the body. There is also more to a river than just a long narrow body of water - rivers have forks and separate, therefore rivers deliver water to different areas as well. As you can see, nature and humanity are connected in various ways; they have comparable habits and work in similar ways.
Rain and Tears Song

Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey

For this particular poem, I decided to use wordle and see what it would throw back at me. As I look at the many words, I see two main categories. One of the categories deals with people and the other with nature. Words such as, life, mind, years, thoughts, eye, power, heart, joy, and spirit, all deal with people. These words mainly focus on an individual's inner being, mind, and emotions. Then there are those words like, landscape, nature, green, woods, world, and of course the word 'wild' which as was discussed in the beginning of the semester is a very significant word in nature. These words all relate to the world and nature. What I see through this is that there is a deep connection between humanity and nature. These are the main words of Wordsworth's poem, and the poem connects them. There is a bond between humanity and the natural world. We are united; we work together as one force. The picture of Tintern Abbey below also does a great job showing nature and humanity are one. The scenery is so beautiful - the "wild green landscape", the luscious woods, the deep river, etc. And in addition to that, there are signs of humanity, symbolized by the small houses and cabins. Both aspects combined produce such a strong, powerful reflection of the world. We the people (humanity) are surrounded by nature from every side and we rely on it to expand our knowledge of the world, to teach us, and so on. We may not even realize that our thoughts are based on nature; as soon as we step out the door, we are exposed to the power and beauty of nature and that opens up our minds, thoughts, and emotions.

Put Down That Book!!

In Wordsworth's poem titled "The Tables Turned An Evening Scene on the Same Subject," the significance of Nature is quite obvious. The speaker in the poem is "giving advice" to his friend Matthew. Matthew is reading a book, and the speaker tells him to stop reading the book - there's so much more that the world is offering. Nature is in a way compared to books because books provide you with knowledge, and the speaker says that nature is a greater source of knowledge. Books are dull and boring, while experiencing the outside world and all of it's beauty is so much better for the mind. Nature is so beautifully written about in this poem, and almost every stanza describes a new aspect of the outdoors. A more detailed comparison I see is in the third stanza. The words in a book are like the songs of a linnet. The music from the bird just flows out and is filled with such great "wisdom." Knowledge is not only gained through reading and this poem is a great example of that. "Let Nature be your teacher." Nature has so much more to offer; you learn more about the world by interacting with nature. All you need is an open mind and "a heart that watches and receives" and you will learn a lot more about humanity in this way rather than by reading a book.

Green Finch and Linnet Bird Song

Not Five....Seven!

William Wordsworth's poem "We Are Seven" is written in a dialogue form. The speaker is talking with an eight year old cottage girl, questioning her about her siblings. Even though two of them have died, the little girl declares that there are still seven of them. Eventually, she explains to the speaker how little Jane and her brother John were "forced to go," and he keeps questioning her "how this may be?" She is only eight years old; she realizes that her siblings are gone since she talks about their graves, but to her, they are still there and there is no way they can't be counted as a part of her family. She still communicates with them whether it's by knitting, singing, sitting, or eating her supper by them. They are all connected through nature by the green of the graves that are just steps away from the door. The girl's persistence to the fact that there is still seven of them is so rousing and awakening. Death is a tragic event, but she has accepted Jane's death and sees it as "God releasing her of her pain." I understand it as being a way of healing Jane and that's why she is still included in the count of seven. Her brother John on the other hand was forced to go so that he would lay by Jane's side. Whether her siblings are physically there or not, they are all family and will never be forgotten. It's a beautiful, inspirational poem portraying the true meaning of love and family. No matter what happens, no matter what people tell her, the little girl will always respond, "we are seven!"

The Nightingale

Samuel Taylor Coleridge admires the nightingale's song in his conversational poem, but he also says goodbye. He does this through the use of the word "farewell" on a few occasions. "Farewell, O Warbler! till to-morrow eve, And you, my friends! farewell, a short farewell!" At the end of the poem he writes, "Once more farewell, Sweet Nightingale! once more, my friends! farewell." Not only does he bid farewell to the nightingale, but he is also addressing his friends. By doing so, he is making it clear that both are equally important to him. In other words, nature and humanity are of equal value. Coleridge hopes to see his friends and the nightingale again, and that's why he says goodbye to them in such a warm way. He could have not said anything and just left, but as a sign of respect and appreciation, he bids them "farewell" in hopes of seeing them soon. It's important that he chose the word "farewell" rather than something more casual because once again this points out the importance and respect that he has for his friends and the nightingale and this way, Coleridge is leaving in a "civil" way.
As to the meaning of the word, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "a parting salutation, formal leave-taking" which is how Coleridge used it in his poem. If you were to separate the word into two words (fare and well), it would also have a significant meaning. One way that the American Heritage Dictionary defines the word "fare" is "to get along." The definition of "well" came up as "in a close or familiar manner" or "with care and attention." As you can see, this confirms Coleridge's proper word choice (diction) because if you put the definitions together, you could infer that Coleridge was close with the nightingale and his friends and he cared about them.

Farewell Song

The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere

Samuel Taylor Coleridge tells a story of a long sea voyage through this poem. I found it to be very exciting and interesting. There are so many aspects to chose from the poem and I wasn't sure what to write about, but I came across a picture on the internet which is especially related to the first part of the poem. It is a statue in England which actually portrays the Ancyent Marinere which shows how well known Coleridge's poems are. In the statue, the Ancyent Marinere is holding the bird that he shot in line 80. "Why look'st thou so?-with my Cross-bow I shot the Albatross." The Albatross (bird) is significant in the poem because it did in fact help the sailors find their way out of Antarctica after some strong winds and bad weather. You can see how much happiness and excitement the bird brought the sailors and this represents the value that nature holds. When the marinere shot the bird, he killed a part of nature, and even though it was just one element of nature, there was still sorrow, gloom, and misery that came with it's death. Once again, the importance of the bird (or nature) was emphasized when the sailors had the marinere wear the albatross around his neck as a punishment for killing it. So what it basically comes down to is that the bird (the albatross) is a representation of nature and its importance is emphasized by the crew on the ship.

Lines Written in Early Spring

"But the least motion which they made, It seem'd a thrill of pleasure."

In this particular stanza, Wordsworth is writing about the birds. Every little move they make is full of pleasure, joy, happiness, excitement. The word "thrill" is what provides this feeling of excitement. It's like being on a roller coaster at an amusement park... Even though the ride may just be starting out, and although it's moving slow, the excitement builds up and then there is a rush of adrenaline, happiness, cheer, glee. That's exactly what the birds are experiencing; the main difference is that the birds movements are sort of like a routine, nothing new, yet they still get such a thrill out of it. Wordsworth is showing how beautiful nature is - not much is needed in order to get a "thrill" out of it. Nowadays however, much more is expected in life and what should bring us happiness really doesn't. I think that's the beauty of nature - the fact that you don't need any materialistic things to be happy - life itself should provide us with enough pleasure to keep us happy. The image that goes along with this post does a great job with portraying a "thrill of pleasure" in nature.