Jean-Jacques Rousseau has stated “The World of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” Accordingly, many romantic poets have put emphasis on imagination as a method of creative expression, conveying the notion that knowledge exists outside of the self. Possibly the most intricate understanding of the imagination, its ramifications and its advantages is best introduced in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison.” Throughout this conversation poem, Coleridge introduces the bower as a symbol for the confines of the natural world, acting as a metaphorical prison. This is apparent when the speaker is unable to join his acquaintances on a nature walk. However, as the poem progresses, the bower calls
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After his long-awaited guests have left on the nature walk, the speaker’s mood instantly shifts to one of self-pity and hopelessness, which is seen when he whines “Well, they are gone, and here must I remain / This lime-tree bower my prison!” (Coleridge 1-2). This uncovers the speaker’s melodramatic tendencies, as while he loathes over missing the nature walk, he fails to acknowledge the abundance of nature surrounding him in the garden. Moreover, because he pities himself, the speaker over-exaggerates the bower – a setting often considered to be pleasant and shady – as a prison that isolates him from his friends. In misreading the bower as a prison, the speaker also reveals the negative powers of the imagination when it is used incorrectly, which is seen when he says that he has lost “Beauties and feelings, such as would have been / Most sweet to [his] remembrance even when age / Had dimmed [his] eyes to blindness” (3-5). His pessimism leads him to imagine that he will eventually go blind and will not have the comforting memory of the nature walk with his friends. Additionally, the bower’s prison-like qualities are further reinforced when the speaker states, “Friends, whom I never more may meet again” (6). Through this, he demonstrates …show more content…
As soon as he adopts a positive attitude, he begins to forget about the bower’s confining qualities, and the sights he envisions become brighter. Most notably, he imagines his friends under the “wide, wide Heaven” (21), and describes pleasures such as “the glorious sun” (33), and “the slip of smooth, clear blue” (25). Not only does the imagery become more joyful, but also the speaker’s tone becomes increasingly enthusiastic. Suddenly, the speaker has an epiphany – he has escaped the bower by imagining the beautiful sights his friends are seeing. He exclaims that he is “glad / As if [he himself] were there” (44-45), and decides that contrary to his original dramatization, the bower is actually enjoyable. In fact, he begins to appreciate the delights of the garden surrounding him, claiming that the bower “has soothed [him]” (47). As a whole, the speaker’s dramatization and misreading of the bower is crucial in teaching that by having a positive outlook on life and the natural world, nature will reward one with its many wonders. This lesson is apparent when he says, “Nature ne’er deserts the wise and pure” (60). Subsequently, the speaker concludes with the thought that “‘Tis well to be bereft of promised good / That we may lift the Soul, and contemplate / With lively joys the joys we cannot share” (64-67). This statement suggests that he is grateful
After his long-awaited guests have left on the nature walk, the speaker’s mood instantly shifts to one of self-pity and hopelessness, which is seen when he whines “Well, they are gone, and here must I remain / This lime-tree bower my prison!” (Coleridge 1-2). This uncovers the speaker’s melodramatic tendencies, as while he loathes over missing the nature walk, he fails to acknowledge the abundance of nature surrounding him in the garden. Moreover, because he pities himself, the speaker over-exaggerates the bower – a setting often considered to be pleasant and shady – as a prison that isolates him from his friends. In misreading the bower as a prison, the speaker also reveals the negative powers of the imagination when it is used incorrectly, which is seen when he says that he has lost “Beauties and feelings, such as would have been / Most sweet to [his] remembrance even when age / Had dimmed [his] eyes to blindness” (3-5). His pessimism leads him to imagine that he will eventually go blind and will not have the comforting memory of the nature walk with his friends. Additionally, the bower’s prison-like qualities are further reinforced when the speaker states, “Friends, whom I never more may meet again” (6). Through this, he demonstrates …show more content…
As soon as he adopts a positive attitude, he begins to forget about the bower’s confining qualities, and the sights he envisions become brighter. Most notably, he imagines his friends under the “wide, wide Heaven” (21), and describes pleasures such as “the glorious sun” (33), and “the slip of smooth, clear blue” (25). Not only does the imagery become more joyful, but also the speaker’s tone becomes increasingly enthusiastic. Suddenly, the speaker has an epiphany – he has escaped the bower by imagining the beautiful sights his friends are seeing. He exclaims that he is “glad / As if [he himself] were there” (44-45), and decides that contrary to his original dramatization, the bower is actually enjoyable. In fact, he begins to appreciate the delights of the garden surrounding him, claiming that the bower “has soothed [him]” (47). As a whole, the speaker’s dramatization and misreading of the bower is crucial in teaching that by having a positive outlook on life and the natural world, nature will reward one with its many wonders. This lesson is apparent when he says, “Nature ne’er deserts the wise and pure” (60). Subsequently, the speaker concludes with the thought that “‘Tis well to be bereft of promised good / That we may lift the Soul, and contemplate / With lively joys the joys we cannot share” (64-67). This statement suggests that he is grateful