Human nature has always preyed upon worldly nature for creative inspiration. It is human nature to fashion oneself as a god, creating worlds and influencing thought by one stroke of a pen. In a writer’s creation, worldly nature is a necessary component of his imaginary world. Whether nature is praised or cursed by an author, a human’s only opportunity to control nature lies within ink and paper, which explains why nature is such a prevalent theme in literature. Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Pope took the liberty to create their very own worlds, vastly different though each of these worlds may be. However, “Kubla Khan,” “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” and “An Essay on Man” all possess one underlying similarity; they reflect their respective authors’
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When the the first person speaker happens upon the field of daffodils, he transitions from an almost dejected condition to a state of bliss. The lonely wanderer stumbles upon a milky way meadow, a poet’s dream. The comparison of the yellow flowers to a majestic system of stars creates a sacred vision in the reader’s mind, almost like Wordsworth has had a glimpse of the afterlife. This unearthly description parallels the “holy and enchanted” Xanadu. Similarly, still in reference to the field of daffodils, Wordsworth’s language exudes an air of religious awe. Because he refers to the multitude of flowers as a “host,” though this term is synonymous with the word “crowd,” it could also compare the flowers to a heavenly host of angels. In Holy Communion, a sacramental wafer is also known as a “Host,” as some Christian denominations believe Christ’s body is physically present in the wafer. Assuming Wordsworth was aware of the religious connotations of the term, one could deduce the narrator, who is most likely Wordsworth himself, regards the host of daffodils as a holy force capable of absolving his sin of melancholia. Both “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and “Kubla Khan” transport their readers to an otherworldly dimension through their devout worship of nature. If one conjectures that Wordsworth’s view of nature corresponds with the first-person narrator of his poem, then it is evident that his ideal world is reflected in the field of daffodils. Nonetheless, a reader should consider a literary work as a separate entity from its author, meaning one cannot be sure this absolutely reflects Wordsworth’s experiences or
When the the first person speaker happens upon the field of daffodils, he transitions from an almost dejected condition to a state of bliss. The lonely wanderer stumbles upon a milky way meadow, a poet’s dream. The comparison of the yellow flowers to a majestic system of stars creates a sacred vision in the reader’s mind, almost like Wordsworth has had a glimpse of the afterlife. This unearthly description parallels the “holy and enchanted” Xanadu. Similarly, still in reference to the field of daffodils, Wordsworth’s language exudes an air of religious awe. Because he refers to the multitude of flowers as a “host,” though this term is synonymous with the word “crowd,” it could also compare the flowers to a heavenly host of angels. In Holy Communion, a sacramental wafer is also known as a “Host,” as some Christian denominations believe Christ’s body is physically present in the wafer. Assuming Wordsworth was aware of the religious connotations of the term, one could deduce the narrator, who is most likely Wordsworth himself, regards the host of daffodils as a holy force capable of absolving his sin of melancholia. Both “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” and “Kubla Khan” transport their readers to an otherworldly dimension through their devout worship of nature. If one conjectures that Wordsworth’s view of nature corresponds with the first-person narrator of his poem, then it is evident that his ideal world is reflected in the field of daffodils. Nonetheless, a reader should consider a literary work as a separate entity from its author, meaning one cannot be sure this absolutely reflects Wordsworth’s experiences or