Final Thoughts Inspired

My final thoughts about the power of nature and the relationship of human kind with the force of nature came after reading a great blog post by Nicole Noelliste, entitled The Destructive Power of Nature. Up to this point, therefore, throughout the whole semester I focused on the strict relationship and evidence of the inevitable human connection with nature. However, I looked at the relationship through the prism of positive background and sort of "sunny side" of nature's existence in human characteristics. Lines like "This poem reminded me of how powerful nature is in comparison to human kin" made me realize one thing. I have failed to even think about that aspect of nature throughout the semester. However I would have to kindly disagree with the statement made in Nicole's blog. Even though her work made me realize the destructive aspect of nature I cannot abandon the notion of nature being a building block of human character. Nicole shows us the inverse relationship: most of the time the ballads talked about the negative human impact on the natural world and the separation from it and Nicole shows the negative impact of nature on what is human. Noelliste reminds us of the natural disasters in her blog for example: The earthquake in Haiti or the hurricane Katrina, which are undoubtfully great examples of nature's fury. However, I would like to point out that human nature is closely realted to the natural world. Humans, despite the modern separation from nature, are a mirror image of the characteristics of the natural world, even the destructive side of it. Let's look at a very current event like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Due to human activity and the never ending need to make money, thousands of species are in danger. This is just a relatively mild example, which can be contributed not necessarily to deliberate activity due to human nature. However I do have a more aparent one. Nature can be destructive at times but so can humans. Best example is World War II. Human fury and madness had caused destruction and death on a scale which is uncomparable to Hurricane Katrina and Haitian earthquake combined. Countless wars and conflicts represent the dark side of human natural heritage. The characteristics of nature, the good and the bad, are a building block for human behavior and tendencies. Despite the fact that we get to be more and more separated from the natural world and trapped in the synthetic human environment we behave like nature because we are a part of it. Whether we like it or not, we are the reflection of what is natural. I can only hope that people will realize that one day, and try to emphasize the beautiful aspect of our natural heritage, so far the human kind is great at showing off it's fury and destructiveness rather than the beauty and peace. One can only hope that the earth won't have to look at the terrible scenes like the one above ever again. The picture was taken in Poland after the German invasion; it depicts the outcomes of human fury in the most drastic way possible.

Johnny: The "Idiot" in all of us.

William Wordsworth in his poem The Idiot Boy, chooses a bizarre story to convey a message. The story makes me wonder whether The Idiot Boy was really so idiotic... . Lines : "All like a silent horseman-ghost, He travels on along the vale" indicate something deeper than just a mentally challenged boy unconsciously running away. The meaning of the word "vale" can be interpreted as a valley or mortal, earthly life. Johnny is somewhat like a ghost to the rest of a society because of his differences from the regular people. He is sort of a "unnatural" being even to his mother. Johnny uses the situation in which he has a horse to throw himself at the natural world and let the natural help him forget his mortal life on earth where he might not experience the sense of belonging. In this dangerous, in his case, situation he rides on the ridge of life and death to experience freedom and the sense of belonging among what is natural. By taking the horse and riding into the forest and through the town Johnny expresses his will to leave all the troubles behind, the dying neighbor, the worrying mother, the, probably not very understanding, society. Johnny wanted to leave the world in which he is an "idiot" and be in a place where he could explore himself without the prism of idiocy which is forced upon him by the society. Many people can relate to Johnny, not because of his disorder but because of his dream of getting away from the problems, opinions, the society and experiencing own understanding of who we really are as individuals.

The Natural: Where our ancestors live

"Stately pleasure-dome decree", the temple of the godly Kublai Khan, the grandson of the great Genghis Khan, stretches its wise rule over the empire and benefits from the natural world instead of spreading total destruction. The poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Coleridge has two sides to its meaning. Coleridge is truly mesmerized by the beauty of the kingdom and the achievements of the Mongol empire, and the magnificence of the tribute temple which was a reflection of Khan's vision of future of Mongol cities. On the other hand, Coleridge is trying to show the relationship of the empire with nature. Through lines full of symbolism, like:"The shadow of the dome of pleasure floated midway on the waves" Coleridge is trying to show the harmonious rule of the Khan over nature instead of barbaric and cruel alteration of nature. Also, the fact that the sacred river brings the voices of the ancestors to the emperor shows the meaningful relationship of the Mongol culture and nature. Coleridge is trying to show this beautiful notion of civilization and nature coexistence. It is a definite contrast to the British empire from Coleridge's times. Coleridge's "vision" or a dream of the appreciation of the natural by the civilized world corresponds to most of the poems in Lyrical Ballads. By creating Kubla Khan Coleridge shows that such relationship between the natural and the civilized is possible and was once achieved by The Great Mongol Empire.

Multifaceted Diamond: Love of men.

"Most musical, most melancholy" ! We see those words again in the Lyrical ballads and Coleridge uses them in his Effusion XXIII : To the Nightingale for a good reason. Coleridge writes about his experience with love. He writes about his encounters with the strangest and the most beautiful of human feelings. I think Coleridge, pushed around by his troubles and challenges of love life, compares love to a song of a nightingale. It is beautiful, pleasant or "musical" and brutal, sad, "most melancholy" at the same time. The author shows in this poem that the most beautiful and the most meaningful thing in human life can also be the most hurtful and sad. Just like the beauty of the Nightingales song or the beauty of a rose with sharp thorns, love is a multifaceted diamond. The deeper meaning dwells in the reason for which love is beautiful or the melancholic song of a nightingale is musical. Without the violent storms which tug the sail of love with its strong winds one wouldn't know how strong love can be and how beautiful it shivers when the winds of trouble calm down. Without thorns the beauty of the rose would be too easy to get, too common to experience up close . Without the melancholy in the nightingale's song no one would realize the beauty of his singing. This poem is a magnificent example of how the natural, or the wild can help with understanding something very human in nature, love.

The guide: Blindfold for the people

The work of William Gilpin is a good addition to the Lyrical Ballads. The text entitled From Observation on the River Wye shows an absolute contradiction of the message which Wordsworth is trying to put forth in his work. Gilpin uses a lot of words which are meant to create an opinion in the mind of a reader. " Elegant", "vulgar", "beautiful" are only few of the manipulative adjectives which kill the whole purpose of experiencing nature for oneself. This, sort of, guide created by Gilpin creates a barrier for the potential traveler. A barrier which separates man from nature. The irregular shapes, vastness, beauty of nature along with sensetions of thetouch of wind, the smell of air, should be the primary factors which should arise feelings and emotions in the traveler's own mind. While reading the "guide" one can clearly see what Wordsworth didn't like about the way it is written and the way it serves the traveler. Author, with his colorful, but subjective descriptions ruins the notion of intimacy of the traveler's encounter with nature. Instead of directing to a perfect place where one can develop his own unforgettable emotions from observing nature, Gilpin dictates the emotions. Such dictatorship crates an invisible barrier between the traveler and the natural. Instead of harmony the traveler will feel frustration in the pursuit of the feelings described by the author. Indirectly the "guide" takes the eyes of the wanderer off of the well of emotions, nature, and focuses the traveler on the book,creating a mental blindfold. It is fascinating, yet very sad how easily people can drawn in the sea of our own ignorance and lock ourselves out from something far greater the the human being and its creations.

Envy of the "Gloomy Rest"

"Envy" is the absolute highlight of the sonnet by Charlotte Smith Written in the Church Yard at Middleton in Sussex. Mrs. Smith envies the dead for their rest and, so to say, peace of mind. Why would that be? The author through the descriptions of nature describes her life or perhaps just an episode in her life which is overwhelming, rapid, and violent. She uses the depiction of the raging sea at night, storming through the caves to raise the emotions of fear and helplessness, perhaps. She makes the meaning of nature equal to the meaning of her life. Overwhelmed and scared of the reality that surrounds her and does not give her rest Charlotte wishes she was dead just so she would not have to face those raging waves of life and the dark ocean of troubles. Envy of the rest, silence and carelessness shows the result of detachment from nature by the human being. Smashed with the everyday darkness of stress the author shares the feeling of envy with many other products of civilization, people.

Humanity: Prisoner Happiness

The expression "second spring" which is used by Charlotte Smith in her Sonnet II Written at the close of spring underlines the meaning of the poem. First, the author depicts the beauty of nature while it is going through it's rebirth in the spring. This makes a connection to the theme of the Natural World which can be seen throughout the Lyrical Ballads. Being inspired by the beauty of the event and all the colors Charlotte Smith is comparing the depressed, sad, and "poor Humanity"
to the natural world which rises from the dead after winter. By making the comparison the poet highlights human incapability to be happy. She says that it is impossible for humanity to through sort of a Resurrection and be happy again. By the natural standards the humanity is not able to wake up from the winter stage of grayness, sadness and sleepiness go through the "second spring" and become green and flower again along with the rest of the natural world. It is a definite indication of the human detachment from the origin, nature. It is also a definite indication of the state which the detachment is causing. Tyrant and corrosive human is imprisoned in his sad world and the heavy shackles of civilization do not allow him to blossom with happiness ever again.