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.

Emotional Flow: Erotic Encounters

"Flow" is the word that in my opinion best reflects the core meaning of Wordsworth's work the Sonnet on seeing Miss Helen Maria Williams weep at a tale of distress. William Wordsworth in this work focuses on his platonic relationship with his beloved author. As he sees Miss Helen weep he gets engaged in a closer encounter which is based on forming the emotional connection, and energy flow between him and Miss Helen. Wordsworth, by developing the strong emotional connection, is allowed to become one with his beloved author. He feels what she feels, they share the emotion and tears. They get entangled in this beautiful, erotic, emotional spiral which makes their bodies and minds work and exist in harmony. Carried away by the heavenly cloud of sensibility, Wordsworth's heart stops beating for a sweet moment just to start beating again and to carry the sensible, dreamlike experience in his veins. Wordsworth doesn't want it to end. He doesn't want the night to end, by expressing that he also shows the fact that he realizes that it is just a moment, and their bond is only visible in those special moments like the one in the sonnet. Their bond is only visible for a moment just as the stars are visible with the absence of the sun.

The Pleasures: Natural Vibration

"Pleasure", the word which is extensively used in the work of David Hartley puts the best emphasis on the point that he is trying to make which in my opinion is the backbone of the Lyrical Ballads. Hartley's idea of connection to nature through the vibrations on the molecular level gives the backbone for the despair which is presented in some of the poems. Despair which is caused be the loss of that connection. The idea is clearly seen in poems like the "We are seven", where the character shows the graves of her siblings and is confident in the fact that they are alive because of her awareness of the close connection and of the human and the natural world. Hartley also shows the conflict of the two worlds,the natural and civilized, which is reflected in almost every poem in the Lyrical Ballads. He describes the natural world as an inspiration for the arts, as the spring of pleasure from contemplation, as the ultimate destination in the human quest for pleasure, which is the one of the most natural human needs. In opposition, the description of the civilized world includes words like Offensiveness, corruption and dangers. This, in my opinion is the backbone for the human struggle which is presented in the poems by Coleridge and Wordsworth. Also, the philosopher makes a very important argument which states that pleasure is enhanced by the pain. Without experiencing the painful civilized world human kind would never be able to realize the beauty of nature. Hartley gives the main principles for the poets, the philosophical stem for the smaller arguments which are made in individual poems. That philosophy has its reflection even in today's world, which makes me wonder. How much more pain do we have to suffer to finally and truly understand, appreciate and drink from the spring of pleasures of the natural world?