Throughout history the technological advancements made by mankind gradually forms a gap with nature, separating us from our ancestors. These products of society pull us away from nature, making it harder to appreciate what is truly is. William Wordsworth was a romantic poet who witnessed this lack of appreciation during his lifetime. Wordsworth’s poetry aims to inform those people who are too engulfed in the material world to pause and witness the miracles that come with the beauty of nature. The poems and sonnets I analyze in which Wordsworth’s views are expressed are The Prelude, The World Is Too Much With Us, and London, 1802 and Tinurn Abbey. In each one of these, Wordsworth shows us the ignorance that the people in the world have towards
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At the start of the French revolution William Wordsworth felt that the French revolution was a wonderful thing for poeple. Everyone was doing things that helped them set themselves free and make them feel equal to everyone else around them. As time went on the revolution took a turn for the worst, the French rebels became more and more violent, causing Wordsworth to lose hope in the movement. Wordsworth positioned himself on the side which was fighting for a freedom he felt everyone deserved. What started as a fight for freedom, and for equality among men slowly turned into a hatred of the opposition, fueled by killing every last enemy. Some feelings or mindsets of the revolution can be represented in the quote, “‘As they set out to eliminate their enemies, they seemed to follow the cynical imperative coined at the time: "Be my friend, or I will kill you.’”(Betts) The savage nature that overtook the Revolution became too much for the rebels, and it ended up being the cause for William Wordsworth losing faith in the revolution. Wordsworth writes, “But now become oppressors in their turn, Frenchmen had changed a war of self-defense for one of conquest, losing sight of all which they had struggled for: now mounted up openly to the eye of earth and heaven, the scale of liberty. I read her doom.”(Prelude lines 41-45) …show more content…
Wordsworth feels and thinks that people are too obsessed and invested with the creations of man, rather than the creations and gifts of the world that were created by God. “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste to our powers: little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (The World Is Too Much With Us, lines 1-4) Later on in the sonnet, Wordsworth expresses how he wants to be greek. If he was greek, according to greek philosophy, he would be inclined to observe the world around him the work of the gods and godesses; he wouldn’t be surrounded by people who don’t understand the value of nature. The eighteenth-century poet Alexander Pope gives a better explanation of Wordsworth's message when he says, “Unerring Nature, still divinely bright, One clear unchang 'd and universal light, Life, force, and beauty must to all impart. At once the source, and end, and test of Art.”(Pope) This neoclassical message given by Pope is similar to Wordsworth’s idea, but it conveys a purpose for admiring nature. He explains to the reader that nature is the beginning of our history and that we as humans need to look at nature and understand how important it’s been to humanity throughout our existence. These men both emphasize the knowledge of knowing and appreciating the gift from a
At the start of the French revolution William Wordsworth felt that the French revolution was a wonderful thing for poeple. Everyone was doing things that helped them set themselves free and make them feel equal to everyone else around them. As time went on the revolution took a turn for the worst, the French rebels became more and more violent, causing Wordsworth to lose hope in the movement. Wordsworth positioned himself on the side which was fighting for a freedom he felt everyone deserved. What started as a fight for freedom, and for equality among men slowly turned into a hatred of the opposition, fueled by killing every last enemy. Some feelings or mindsets of the revolution can be represented in the quote, “‘As they set out to eliminate their enemies, they seemed to follow the cynical imperative coined at the time: "Be my friend, or I will kill you.’”(Betts) The savage nature that overtook the Revolution became too much for the rebels, and it ended up being the cause for William Wordsworth losing faith in the revolution. Wordsworth writes, “But now become oppressors in their turn, Frenchmen had changed a war of self-defense for one of conquest, losing sight of all which they had struggled for: now mounted up openly to the eye of earth and heaven, the scale of liberty. I read her doom.”(Prelude lines 41-45) …show more content…
Wordsworth feels and thinks that people are too obsessed and invested with the creations of man, rather than the creations and gifts of the world that were created by God. “The world is too much with us; late and soon, getting and spending, we lay waste to our powers: little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!” (The World Is Too Much With Us, lines 1-4) Later on in the sonnet, Wordsworth expresses how he wants to be greek. If he was greek, according to greek philosophy, he would be inclined to observe the world around him the work of the gods and godesses; he wouldn’t be surrounded by people who don’t understand the value of nature. The eighteenth-century poet Alexander Pope gives a better explanation of Wordsworth's message when he says, “Unerring Nature, still divinely bright, One clear unchang 'd and universal light, Life, force, and beauty must to all impart. At once the source, and end, and test of Art.”(Pope) This neoclassical message given by Pope is similar to Wordsworth’s idea, but it conveys a purpose for admiring nature. He explains to the reader that nature is the beginning of our history and that we as humans need to look at nature and understand how important it’s been to humanity throughout our existence. These men both emphasize the knowledge of knowing and appreciating the gift from a