Humanity and Nature Humanity lives in the realm of nature, they are constantly surrounded by it and interact with it every day. There is a presence of nature as a constant energy between men that speaks of our connection with the Earth. If we lose nature 's image, we lose our life. This statement is expressed through both Victorians and Romantics authors that discussed humankind’s close relationship with nature. Through their works, authors William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Gerard Manley Hopkins all show sincere reverence and appreciation for nature as a core human relationship. Wordsworth’s poem The world is too much with us describes the deteriorating harmony between nature and humanity. As a Romantic author, Wordsworth had
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Shelley’s Romantic writing could be seen through his comparison of humans and “clouds that veil the midnight moon” that represented his reverence for nature (744). The definition of mutability is a way to describe something that is liable or subject to change. Shelley’s true message to the audience can be embodied through the definition of mutability—the likelihood to change. Humans, just like nature, are in constant change and movement with nothing being the same. Shelley compares human nature to a lyre’s “frail frame no second motion brings / One mood or modulation like the last” as it reveals how every moment in life is unique and not repetitive (744). He goes on to underline the motion of human nature through how “we rest”, “rise”, “feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep” which was an effective way to describe how the power of emotion and thought create who we are—people with choice (744). By the end of the poem, Shelley goes to mention the movement of time of how a “Man’s yesterday may never be like his morrow” similar to how the clouds move with “speed, gleam, and quiver” but as “night closes round, and they are lost forever” (744). This goes to show how although there may be good and bad days, time will move forward and is mutable as well as unique. As one could see, Shelly successfully illustrates the similarity of change between humans and …show more content…
With Hopkins’ poem God’s Grandeur, he relates three relationships together: God’s relationship with earth and humanity’s relationship with Earth. The definition of grandeur—splendor and magnificence—illustrates God’s power within Earth’s domain. This was evident as the poem opens with how the Earth resonates with the “grandeur of God” and his greatness is “like the ooze of oil” (1518). Hopkins then introduces the works of humanity and how they defiled the magnificence of God’s work because they have “trodded” on his world which caused “the soil [to be] bare” (1518). Hopkins juxtapose men and god and only wonders “why do men then not reck his rod?” which emphasizes humanity’s insincerity and arrogance towards God (1518). Hopkins’ powerful statement of how humanity has disregarded the importance of nature is reflected upon Wordsworth’s The world is too much with us. This poem resonated with both Victorian and Romanticism as Hopkins portrayed some reverence towards nature. The poem then goes on to return back to God by stating that as “the last lights off the black West went” the morning has come “because the Holy Ghost” had used his power to give us day and night (1518). Hopkins had gave God the power of the renewal of the day, as well as time, which truly makes him powerful and formidable. Thus, Hopkins communicates to the reader that the human relationship
Shelley’s Romantic writing could be seen through his comparison of humans and “clouds that veil the midnight moon” that represented his reverence for nature (744). The definition of mutability is a way to describe something that is liable or subject to change. Shelley’s true message to the audience can be embodied through the definition of mutability—the likelihood to change. Humans, just like nature, are in constant change and movement with nothing being the same. Shelley compares human nature to a lyre’s “frail frame no second motion brings / One mood or modulation like the last” as it reveals how every moment in life is unique and not repetitive (744). He goes on to underline the motion of human nature through how “we rest”, “rise”, “feel, conceive or reason, laugh or weep” which was an effective way to describe how the power of emotion and thought create who we are—people with choice (744). By the end of the poem, Shelley goes to mention the movement of time of how a “Man’s yesterday may never be like his morrow” similar to how the clouds move with “speed, gleam, and quiver” but as “night closes round, and they are lost forever” (744). This goes to show how although there may be good and bad days, time will move forward and is mutable as well as unique. As one could see, Shelly successfully illustrates the similarity of change between humans and …show more content…
With Hopkins’ poem God’s Grandeur, he relates three relationships together: God’s relationship with earth and humanity’s relationship with Earth. The definition of grandeur—splendor and magnificence—illustrates God’s power within Earth’s domain. This was evident as the poem opens with how the Earth resonates with the “grandeur of God” and his greatness is “like the ooze of oil” (1518). Hopkins then introduces the works of humanity and how they defiled the magnificence of God’s work because they have “trodded” on his world which caused “the soil [to be] bare” (1518). Hopkins juxtapose men and god and only wonders “why do men then not reck his rod?” which emphasizes humanity’s insincerity and arrogance towards God (1518). Hopkins’ powerful statement of how humanity has disregarded the importance of nature is reflected upon Wordsworth’s The world is too much with us. This poem resonated with both Victorian and Romanticism as Hopkins portrayed some reverence towards nature. The poem then goes on to return back to God by stating that as “the last lights off the black West went” the morning has come “because the Holy Ghost” had used his power to give us day and night (1518). Hopkins had gave God the power of the renewal of the day, as well as time, which truly makes him powerful and formidable. Thus, Hopkins communicates to the reader that the human relationship