The Symbolic Use Of Birds In Romantic Poetry

Symbolic Use of Birds

During the Romantic Period, the French Revolution began and lasted for years. Horrified by the cruelty of French society, poets during the Romantics period created beautiful poetry to bypass the worries and tragedy that brewed about in their hometowns. In order to see a different perspective of what was going on around them, poets turned to nature for inspiration and hope such as birds. Birds are vertebrates that are cute and interesting to the human eye. “Birds are distinctive with endless variety of colors, shapes, sizes, sounds and motions. These characteristics has long been an immensely rich source of inspiration, symbol and metaphor.” Poets referenced bird’s numerous times to symbolize freedom, life or reincarnation. Such poets like William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley saw birds as an interesting topic to speak on. Even though birds symbolized something different in each of the poet’s writings the audience was able to understand the poet’s connection with the interesting creature. A creature that flies in the air, unable to communicate with humans may not strike some people as influential. What is so special about a creature, that the most …show more content…
Wordsworth enjoyed nature so much that his poems reflected his appreciation for what nature offered. Wordsworth wrote several poems that included birds, including “Lines Written in Early Spring. The “Lines Written in Early Spring”, is a ballad which is included in the collection named Lyrical Ballads. “Wordsworth sees birds as a mysterious presence that represents the disembodied spirit of nature.” In “Lines Written in Early Springs” Wordsworth speaks about what is in front of him; his surroundings. As Wordsworth observed the birds, he notices they are having a tone of fun hopping and playing. He’s deeply trying to understand and connect with the