‘Be Music, Night’ by Kenneth Patchen is an intriguing piece of literary art. A picture is painted of human interaction with Earth immediately. The manner in which humans fall into her beauty and vastness is apparent in even the first lines of Patchen’s poem, but why is this important?
Two scholarly writers brilliantly conveyed nature in their own opinion, an essay written by John Miller called, ”The Calypso Borealis," and a poem by William Wordsworth called, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” Both authors created work that acquires their idea of the beauty of nature while showing their compassion and love for nature. They each endured the essence in their own way. Each author also used their memory as descriptive imagery to creative share the scenery and amazement of their experience. Each individual has their own personal opinion about nature and how they decide to express their feelings can be diverse, and both authors, John Muir and William Wordsworth, expressed their compassion and love for nature in their own way.
Leaves rustling in the wind on a brisk fall day, the sun’s rays glistening the dew drops of a flower, and the heavy weight of snow on one’s rooftop after a chilly December night; these are all detailed and sensational descriptions of nature's most extreme conditions. Typically these detailed descriptions evoke a strong sense of emotion within the reader's mind, and provide a feeling of connection with nature. In the short story The Fall of the House of Usher by: Edgar Allen Poe, and in the poem Thanatopsis by: William Cullen Bryant, Poe and Bryant set the mood using two romanticism characteristics; detailed descriptions of the surrounding landscape to connect to the senses of the reader, along with parallels of nature to human beings, these
This poem dramatizes the struggles and fear that a hostage faced when in captivity. The poem titled “Captivity” by Louise Erdrich, is about a woman reflecting on her times when she was held captive and the anxiety that she felt. While she eventually is rescued, the speaker notes that her time spent as a hostage took a toll on her life as she no longer finds purpose and does not know what to do with her life.
Poets like Lucille Clifton, author of "the earth is a living thing", Pat Mora, author of "Gold", and Mary Oliver, author of "Sleeping in the forest" use personification to create a message about nature in the poems. In "Sleeping in the Forest", in lines 3 and 4 it says "arranging her dark skirts". The author shows personification in this way to help humans like us understand the Earth better. In "Gold", it says in lines 1 and 2, " When the Sun paints the desert with its gold". This shows personification because only humans can
Wordsworth and Muir express their fascination with nature using imagery and mood. In “Calypso Borealis”, John Muir states that he finds himself “glorying in the fresh cool beauty and charm of the bog and meadow heathworts, grasses, carices, ferns, mosses, liverworts displayed in boundless profusion” (Muir). The words “boundless profusion” appeals to the sense of sight and helps us imagine the scene and all the bountiful natural beauty of the place. The image shows Muir’s relationship with nature because it demonstrates his overwhelming, nearly spiritual, experience with nature. In the poem “I wandered lonely as a cloud”, Wordsworth also uses imagery to expresses a similar experience. In the first stanza he describes “A host, of golden daffodils; /beside the lake, beneath the trees, /Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” (Wordsworth Ln 4-6). Words such as “host”, “golden”, “Fluttering” and “dancing”, all appeals to the reader’s sense of sight, hearing, and smell. It brings us into the scene. These images show Wordsworth’s relationship with nature because he personifies this flower allowing him to relate it and become one with nature.
Nature is easily projected onto, as it allows for a sense of peacefulness and escapism. Due to its ability to evoke an emotional reaction from the masses, many writers have glorified it through various methods, including describing its endless beauty and utilizing it as a symbol for spirituality. Along with authors, artists also show great respect and admiration for nature through paintings of grandiose landscapes. These tributes disseminate a fixed interpretation of the natural world, one full of meaning and other worldly connections. In “Against Nature,” Joyce Carol Oates strips away this guise given to the environment and replaces it with a harsher reality. To her, it is superficial and only has overlying positive associations because humans
Dana Gioia’s poem, “Planting a Sequoia” is grievous yet beautiful, sombre story of a man planting a sequoia tree in the commemoration of his perished son. Sequoia trees have always been a symbol of wellness and safety due to their natural ability to withstand decay, the sturdy tree shows its significance to the speaker throughout the poem as a way to encapsulate and continue the short life of his infant. Gioia utilizes the elements of imagery and diction to portray an elegiac tone for the tragic death, yet also a sense of hope for the future of the tree. The poet also uses the theme of life through the unification of man and nature to show the speaker 's emotional state and eventual hopes for the newly planted tree. Lastly, the tree itself becomes a symbol for the deceased son as planting the Sequoia is a way to cope with the loss, showing the juxtaposition between life and death.
Renowned American- writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay, “Nature” reflects the true beauty of nature, he proposes the idea that we become careless towards nature we lose our sense of wonder. Emerson’s purpose is to express the miracle of reality. He inspires a sense of wonder to convey to his readers that nature is far more beautiful than we think, how unappreciative we become. Through the use of influential language Emerson’s emotional appeal is strengthened, his use of logic aids his argument to help sway the reader to be more appreciative of nature as well as connected to it.
In his passage from “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv uses various rhetorical strategies in order to make his audience more supportive of his argument. The passage discusses the connection, or really the separation, between people and nature. On this subject, Louv argues the necessity for people to redevelop their connection with nature. His use of tone, anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and factual examples all help develop the pathos and logos of his piece.
Nature is a beautiful component of planet earth which most of us are fortunate to experience; Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about his passion towards the great outdoors in a passage called Nature. Emerson employs metaphors and analogies to portray his emotions towards nature. Emerson begins by writing, “Our age is retrospective. It builds the sepulchres of the fathers.” , this is a metaphor for how we think; all our knowledge is based on what is recorded in the olden days and a majority of our experiences are vicarious instead of firsthand encounters. Additionally, Emerson says, “why should we grope among the dry bones of the past, or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe?” This metaphor portrays how people hide
Ray Bradbury uses the character Clarisse and her connection to nature to show that nature is very calming and can lead to happiness. Late one night when Montag was coming home from work, he turned the corner and almost ran into Clarisse. Montag and Clarisse began to talk to each other and then,” They walked in the warm-cool blowing night on the silvered pavement and there was the faintest breath of fresh apricots and strawberries in the air” (Bradbury 10). This shows that natural things
Many people who go into nature always see it as something beautiful and aesthetic, but they never see the other side to nature. Humankind’s connection with nature isn’t a real one. They always look at the bright side of nature but are blind to the true dark side of nature. JB MacKinnon’s article “False Idyll” (2012), reveals that nature is not just flowers in a field but can also be the survival of the fittest. He backs up his claim by talking about nature through anecdotes and expert’s research. MacKinnon’s purpose to have people open their eyes and not be closed minded towards nature. The author's intention is to have environmental experts and college educated people interested in the wildlife read his article on the different perspectives
There will come a time in every person’s life where he has to make a decision that could alter his life forever. In fact, this exact situation may occur multiple times in his existence. In trying to make the right choices, a person might weigh both options and take into account all the possible effects and arguments for each. For example, when he was growing up, Robert Frost would take strolls with his friend, Edward Thomas, who would constantly face the struggle of choosing the right path and would always worry about whether he made the right decision. In his poem, “The Road Not Taken,” Frost portrays this relatable clash of choices. Going to the woods to make a serious decision, a lonely traveler torn between two paths fears choosing wrong.
“Report to Wordsworth” by Boey Kim Cheng and “Lament” by Gillian Clarke are the two poems I am exploring in this essay, specifically on how the common theme of human destruction of nature is presented. In “Report to Wordsworth”, Cheng explores the damage of nature caused by humans and man’s reckless attitude towards this. In “Lament”, the idea of the damage of oceans from the Gulf War is explored.