Harmony In Nature example essay topic

575 words
"Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" William Wordsworth was a notable poet helped to start the English Romantic Movement with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth, West Cumberland in 1770. It was this period of his life that gave the young Wordsworth an appreciation of the natural sights and sounds of his environment and encouraged his inclination toward poetry. In 1792, a friend died and left Wordsworth some money that allowed him to pursue poetry as a livelihood. He lived with his beloved sister, Dorothy, in a rent-free cottage.

During this time that he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and together they began to change English literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge met on a daily basis to discuss and compose poetry. Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems was the result of their collaboration, and was published in 1798 anonymously. Wordsworth comes into his father's inheritance and marries Mary Hutchinson in 1802. In 1810, Wordsworth and Coleridge became estranged after a bitter quarrel. It was only after Wordsworth died in 1850, that "The Prelude", which is considered his masterpiece, is published.

In the poem "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey", Wordsworth returns to Tintern Abbey after five years and reflects on the past and present in terms of his appreciation and overwhelming love of nature. The things in nature have important meaning for him. When Wordsworth was away in the cities, noise and chaos surrounded him. In the beauty and calmness of nature he becomes spiritual. This spiritual transformation allows him to see in life things he has never seen before. Recalling his boyhood year he was possessed by a fear.

As a boy nature was his perception, not holding any deep meaning. Since his childhood days are gone now, he no longer feels the same about his perception of the world or nature. He sees who he was through his beloved sister Dorothy. For Wordsworth, nature now includes music, a sense of tragedy. There is a harmony in nature that it is absorbed and penetrates everything. It affects his feelings and perceptions of everything.

Nature acts as a guide and the soul of all people being. Nature is the anchor of his purest thoughts and sense of spirituality. Wordsworth's poem expresses nature in very vivid and plain English style not the Shakespearean style of the past. He used first person narration, illusive imagery and an amiable tone to make his connection to nature.

He has grown tired of the world mankind has created, and turns to nature for contentment. Nature is music to the heart and soul. His words allow the reader to feel and see the beauty of nature in the simplicity of his words. Nature is harmony, harmony is simplicity, and his poetry is meant to express that harmony and realism. Nature in all her beauty and complexity, which holds the simple truths for human body and soul.

He believed that one could learn through observation of the natural universe. Also, he teaches that we learn and grow once we accept that we are part of the natural world. Additionally, that Nature does not exist to be conquered and that following your heart is the most important decision making skill a person could possess.