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?